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Hi,
this is a
question about
cultured gravel.
In your website,
it says that
cultured gravel
is in any
well-established
aquarium, does
that mean that
cultured gravel
is just normal
gravel that has
been in a
healthy tank a
long time, or do
you have to buy
cultured gravel
from the start?
Also, do you
know a web site
where I can
order cultured
gravel without
having to buy an
entire fish bowl
kit?
Thanks. Anonymous
P.S. Perhaps you
should post this
on your website
in the gravel
section, because
I assume others
are thinking the
same ... also in
the past week I
have read about
every page of
your web site
and it's the
best site on the
net, and it
would be cool to
have contributed
to it.
Reply.
Hello. Yes that's right.
Cultured Gravel is normal
Aquarium Gravel that has been in
a healthy well-established
aquarium, fish bowl, or pond
long enough for the beneficial
bacteria to grow and become
established on the pieces of
gravel.
You should buy
gravel that is specifically
labeled for use in aquariums,
fish bowls, and ponds. Put a
layer of gravel about 1/4"
deep on the bottom of your fish
bowl. Beneficial bacteria will
grow and eventually cover these
pieces of gravel. But it will
take from three weeks to several
months for your new gravel to
become cultured gravel.
It is much
better to get cultured gravel
that is already covered with
beneficial bacteria rather than
waiting weeks for new gravel to
become cultured gravel.
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I don't know
where you can buy cultured
gravel. I have often seen good
fish stores put a handful of
cultured gravel from a healthy
aquarium into a bag and give it
to a customer. You might ask a
local store for a handful of
gravel from one of their
aquariums. If that doesn't work,
offer to pay for it.
Thank you for
your complimentary comment. We
are glad to know that you are
making good use of the
information in this web site.
How
can I keep the
plants in my
aquarium from
floating to the
top, if I only
have 1/4"
of gravel.
Reply.
There are two ways. First, for a
long time live plants have been
sold with a metallic lead band
around the bottom of each plant.
These heavy lead bands weigh the
plants down and cause the plants
to sink. You may be able to buy
these lead bands in a pet store.
But lead is a
heavy metal and can be
poisonous. This is especially a
problem in an aquarium with
water that has a very low pH.
Most aquariums in the U.S. have
water with a high pH, so I'm
told that the lead will not
dissolve and cause problems. But
lead kind of worries me, so I
try to avoid it.
The second
method is to put each plant in a
small pot and carefully fill the
pot with gravel. This method
works well with both plastic
plants and with live plants.
When you need to move a
live plant, you don't have to
uproot it.
This
Terra Cotta Pot
contains aquarium gravel
and four young
Aponogeton plants. A
3" Black Moor
Goldfish swims just
above the pot. This
aquarium has no gravel
on the bottom. Just
gravel in the pot for
the plant.
But you
must be cautious about where
you get the pots. Generally, I
recommend that you buy items
that are labeled for use in
aquariums. Otherwise, you may
contaminate the water in your
aquarium. But I haven't seen
pots for sale that are labeled
for use in aquariums.
I recommend
you buy new small terra cotta or
plastic pots. Examine them
carefully to be sure they don't
have anything stuck on them,
then take the pots home and
rinse them thoroughly with hot
water before you use them in
your aquarium.
We have been
using pots like these for many
years, and so far we haven't had
any problems with them
contaminating our aquariums, but
still I'd rather use pots that
are labeled for use in
aquariums. I just can't find
them, but I have heard that there are commercial items made and labeled
to contain aquarium plants.
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I am starting up a new 40 gallon acrylic tank. As you recommend, I am
adding only 1/4" of gravel. My question is...how to I get the live
plants anchored in so little gravel? I read your ideas about anchoring
plastic plants, but that won't work for live plants. How do I do this?
If I use small pots, the pots will be exposed and will look unnatural.
HELP!!!
Thanks, Bruce R.
Reply.
Hello
Bruce. I
recommend that you get some
ornaments that are labeled for
use in aquarium, and stack those
ornaments around the pots.
The ornaments could be
real rocks or plastic ornaments
in the shape of rocks or
driftwood.
Hi
its me again. I
just wanted to
know how to get
the fish bowl
kits. I would
like some
cultered gravel
for my Aquarium
instead of the
fish bowl. It
says on your web
site that the
cultered gravel
clears cloudy
water. It would
be great to get
this.
Thanks Jordan
Reply.
Hello again Jordan. The best way
to get cultured gravel is from
an aquarium that's been running
for a while with gravel and
healthy fish. Maybe from another
one of your aquariums, or from a
friend's aquarium, or from an
aquarium in a fish store.
Cultured gravel is very
important in a fish bowl that
does not have a filter, but an
aquarium with a BIO-Wheel filter
does not need gravel. In fact
fish in aquariums without any
gravel are usually healthier
than fish in aquariums with
gravel. Click here
for more information about
BIO-Wheels.
Cloudy water in your aquarium is
a very serious threat to your
fish's health. Click here
for information about how to
eliminate Cloudy Water from your
aquarium.
Click here
for information about how to
clean gravel with a gravel
cleaner.
I
enjoy your web
page and have
learned alot
about fish. I am
setting up my
aquarium and
have used sand
instead of
gravel on the
bottom. I let it
sit now for two
weeks with the
filter and the
heater running
(with no fish).
I noticed that
the water is a
little cloudy.
Is this because
there is sand in
the bottom or
another reason?
It is not near a
window or any
direct sunlight.
Thanks for your
help Kathy St. Paul, MN
Reply.
Hello Kathy. We would strongly
recommend against using sand in
your aquarium instead of gravel.
The first clue
is that I've never seen sand for
sale in a fish store. Since they don't
sell it, you probably should not
use it.
Why not?
Because the sand is too small
and traps lots particles of fish
waste and uneaten food. Sand
will be much more difficult to
keep clean and will probably
contaminate the water in your
aquarium.
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I am establishing a Malawi Cichlid tank and have hit upon an appealing way to anchor silk and/or plastic plants in the thin gravel layer.
I don't know if it is an original idea or not but it looks great. I first remove them from the usually ugly bases they come on. On wax paper, put down a layer of silicone about an eighth inch thick and about 1 1/2 square.
On this place three or four strips of the metal plant weights and cover with another layer of silicone. When set you can punch holes in the silicone and inset and arrange the plant any way you want.
If you carefully put another layer of silicone on top around the plant stalks it will anchor the plants and allow you to cover the whole thing with the gravel you are using which will stick to the silicone.
Snip off the protruding stalks underneath and seal with silicone and you are all set.
I commend and thank you for a fantastic web site---
Peter
Reply. Hello Peter. Thank you for the details about your idea, and thank you for your complimentary comment.
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