Work in progress (long) , updated 09/10/07

[pitt420dude]

How do you do gravel vacs, you just don't right? Plants eat up all the stuff you'd get rid of in a grav vac right?

[Purrbox]

You can still gravel vac a planted aquarium. It's just limited to unplanted areas and under hardscape. While the plants do consume the mulm, the excess in unplanted areas (where the plants are much less likely to be able to use it) should still be vac'd.

[rkilling1]

Originally Posted by Purrbox

You can still gravel vac a planted aquarium. It's just limited to unplanted areas and under hardscape. While the plants do consume the mulm, the excess in unplanted areas (where the plants are much less likely to be able to use it) should still be vac'd.

Dang, wherever there is a question Joy is there. (No sarcasm intended)

She nailed that one. I sometimes have to uproot plants inorder to vacuum spots that are just to loaded with mulm for my liking.

I like to overfeed my fish and that leads to a buildup of organics in certain spots.

If you have the time, look up substrate clogging. Having too much mulm is not always benefical. Not only do you have clogging and decaying organics, you have to worry about the lack of O2 in the deeper areas coupled with the decay of the mulm. H2S is not very nice to have in an aquarium. That's not even taking into account the amount of O2 required to decay said mulm.

[rkilling1]

Well it's been a long while and my tanks have suffered tremedously. I now have learned what it's like when you have to much organics in your tank. I didn't clean my filter for 6 months and kept the same routine for the ferts but extended the water changes to every 2 to 3 weeks. What a difference a clean filter makes.

I plan on returning this tank back to the way it was. It shouldn't take too long, I hope.

Here is were I am starting from:



Notice the stems on these plants. You can see when I cleaned out the filter. I didn't change anything else.

[rkilling1]

Just a couple of pics of the progress. (As it never ends)



I purchased my wife a new camera (LOL) for her birthday and now I get to play with it. I don't quite have it figured out just yet, but these are much better (IMO) then my other ones.

A look at some Hydrocotyle verticillata:


Some Bacopa sp. 'Colorata':


Some Pogostemon stellatus 'Broad Leaf' and to the right is the only stem of Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba' I have left. Oh and one of my newer rainbows:


A nicer look at the Pogostemon stellatus 'Broad Leaf':



My Echinodorus bleheri 'compacta' showing off:


I tried to get this as close as I could. Glossostigma elatinoides:


And not so much about the plants (Well, they have plants in the pics aswell):

My blind peacock cichlid:

[spilzer]

That picture of the glosso with the pearl reflecting the other plants is SO awesome!

[rkilling1]

One of the playful cory's:



And finally, Aus rainbows that I have had for quite some time:

[Ziggy953]

Wow! I've not looked through your thread before what an amazing tank! I'm a salty so most of that makes little to no sense to me but you have done an incredible job with your tank! BEAUTIFUL!

[rkilling1]

Originally Posted by Ziggy953

Wow! I've not looked through your thread before what an amazing tank! I'm a salty so most of that makes little to no sense to me but you have done an incredible job with your tank! BEAUTIFUL!

Thanks Ziggy. That means a lot coming from one of you invert guys.

[An t-iasg]

Randy, your tank is absolutely beautiful, as always! I love that little upside-down bubble picture. You know you're making me jealous with that gorgeous Pogostemon stellatus "Broad Leaf" pic