Tearing down...

[azn_fishy55]

I will be tearing down my 30 gallon planted because of my mistakes with the substrate.I have some questions before I tear down this tank.What substrate will I use?(I know this is a common question but I chose one and it turned out to mess up my tank and that is the reason I have to tear down),What will I do with the fish and plants(tearing down the tank and rebuilding it might take awhile to do espeacially that school starts again next week).TIA

 

[azn_fishy55]

I found a substrate that I can use,since I will be going to Aqua Forest(which in fact sells ADA stuff)sometime I will get some ADA aqua soil depending on the price.Do you think ADA Aqua Soil will be okay for growing Heimiacanthus callithrodes because I wanna buy some there(its 15 dollars for a a mat).I still don't know what to do with the fish and plants when I tear down.Any suggestions?

 

[BillD]

Plan ahead so that you can do it as quickly as possible. Plants and fish can go in any suitable containe (pails or whatever.) Clean the tank and get it back to gether as quickly as possible. Try and keep the filter alive by running it in the afore mentioned container that has the fish (Rubbermaid?). If the filter is kept alive, you should be able to put the fish back in right away, with out serious risk. A water change after a day or two would probably be helpful. It really should be done as quickly as possible.Good luck.

 

[czcz]

Aquasoil will definitely be more than okay for HC. As a heads up, ADA recommends Aquasoil be used over Powersand and with supplemental substrate products (Bacter100 and so on IIRC), but many experience great results from Aquasoil alone. Be aware that Aquasoil is an acidic substrate that will lower KH and pH (after CO2 injection my tank pH is below 6.2, the limit of my test). Also be aware that, at least with Amazonia, ADA literature recommends you not keep any animals that stir up the substrate in the tank. All this said, every Aquasoil tank I have seen on the internet has growth that makes me envious.

Here are a couple bookmarks you may find useful (I have been considering taking a road trip to Aqua Forest)

http://www.e-aquaria.com/aquaforest.html
http://swcta.com/ADA_price_list_2005.htm

I am not posiitive, but I believe you need 2 9Ls of Aquasoil for a 30gal.

I agree with BillD and would put aside a day to tear down and set up the tank.

HTH

 

[azn_fishy55]

Will one bag of Aqua Soil and one bag of Powersand work?Can I use regular sand onstead of Powersand?I got a Penguin that my cousin was using for his SW can I use this in my tank?It doesn't have a spray bar,so I thought I could use it.I moved most of my fish to an old ten gallon that I got from my cousin too that has been set-up for a few weeks now that housed a betta and a female guppy which I moved back to the 2.5 gallon.So far I only put 5 fancy guppies and the 2 dwarf gouramis in there.I'll move the other fish in there thursday or friday because they keep hiding in the plants.The temples and the java fern started dropping their leaves and dieing,any reasons why?

 

[czcz]

If you followed the ADA system, I am pretty sure you would need 6L of powersand in addition to the 2 9Ls of Aquasoil. You can find this info on ADAs European site or aquariumdesigngroup.com (another US distributor and the source of my Aquasoil). I was supposed to use 2L of Powersand S in my ten, but used pumice, peat, mulm, and carbon instead. Regular sand has no nutritional value nor the ability to hold nutrients, and is not a replacement. Again, many use only Aquasoil and have great success. There is much to be said for keeping it simple and using Eco or Flourite and moving past substrate.

 

[azn_fishy55]

I see,I will just use the Aqua Soil alone then.Will my cories disturb the substrate alot,when I watch them in the tank they dig around in the substrate a little.Will this be a problem?

 

[czcz]

I don't know. I have the same concern because I want to use it in a tank with loaches, and the only response off-site says MTS won't live in it. Doesn't look good.