# 75g CA Aquascape



## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

The CA are more territorial and like their caves.

....Bill


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## vodoochild (Feb 26, 2011)

i really like your aquascape. its very relaxing to look at.


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## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

Great looking aquarium. That substrate looks like gravel, is it ? And I cant see the equipments either. How did you manage that ?


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## Norm66 (Mar 3, 2005)

Gorgeous. I like the mix of rock & wood along w/ the plants. :thumb:


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## Guest (Sep 8, 2011)

nice... what kinda stump/ fake stump is that on the left? is that real or an ornament?


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

Thanks all.

Yeah that is pea gravel from Lowes. A pain to keep clean as I have to strip the tank down every two months and do a deep gravel vac to get all the settled dirt out.

The log is real. It is hollow inside and has four holes to go in and out. Lots of room for a pair to spawn in.

Plant are silk and plastic.

...Bill


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## irondan (Nov 22, 2007)

great looking tank Bill =D>


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

....Bill


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## tuscany2007 (Sep 8, 2011)

Where did you get the rock? How much was it and what is it called?

Nice tank!!!


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

It is Granite. They use it around lakes and dams (called riprap) to prevent erosion. There is a mine local to me here. Basically all I want for free.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riprap

....Bill


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Check landscape supplies for the rock. I see it here in Texas and I'm sure it is not local product.

For those not familiar with what all can be found at rock places, check this product list:

http://brooksstoneranch.com/product.html

Most areas will have something like this business.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Rip rap is a construction material that can be obtained in different sizes. Also used to retain banks and line drainage ditches. I imagine that it is made from various minerals, depending on what is available locally.

It would probably have to be a rock that fractures (like granite) because it is the sharp edges and angles that lock it together so it won't move easily once in place.

I've never seen it at a landscaper, I always figured municipal construction organizations had wholesale suppliers.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Rip rap is usually just limestone in the center part of the country as it is cheap. Railroads use different forms of granite or marble as it needs to stand up to much more beating along the tracks than it does for drainage. I don't use much rip rap in my tanks because it is hard and often does have sharp edges. When I collect rocks, I look for the ones which are more rounded as that usually means they are easier to drill and attach to wood.


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## cichlidfan16 (Sep 22, 2011)

I'm jealous of this tank, very beautiful and natural looking. I love how real those plants look, would of thought they were real if you hadn't said they weren't.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

This is getting somewhat old but rereading it brought a question to mind.



> Yeah that is pea gravel from Lowes. A pain to keep clean as I have to strip the tank down every two months and do a deep gravel vac to get all the settled dirt out.


Bill-- You say you have to strip it and clean? This may sound really dumb but , I wonder why? I know the theory of getting the dirt out is well engrained in the hobby but what is it that drives the thinking. We all know the least successful fishkeepers are the ones who do the total cleaning and kill all their good bacteria. Have you tried it and found that your water doesn't stay clean or your testing shows ammonia/nitrite overwhelming your filters? Not wanting to argue with your methods but I'm finding a bit different result in some tanks than I had always assumed would be true. As I moved slowly into planting tanks, I stopped deep cleaning the substrate and now do very little even in the tanks with no plants.

Is deep cleaning to get the dirt out really needed or is it just a result of our human nature compelling us to "clean" combined with the way myths seem to hang on forever?


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

Good point Pfunmo.

I always assumed that the "dirt" was decaying food and fish waste that slipped through the cracks and would raise Nitrate levels.

I do 50% WC only every week.

I have a cannister and HOB that grow good bacteria and never clean all at once.

....Bill


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Hi, Bill. Thanks for the rational reply. Sometimes when we ask questions like that we get a rather "snappy" answer. I sometimes see things different than the normal operation expected but just me seeing it doesn't always make me believe it. For a long time I was not very involved with testing my water but now as I am testing more, there seems to be some things that don't fit what I had always thought. I don't like to think I'm running my tanks and fish on the ragged edge but it seems in the tanks where I'm leaving more "dirt" and not working to remove it all, I get the same test results as the tanks where I've always worked harder to clean. 
Wouldn't it be nice to find that there really is no harm in leaving that dirt that sticks down between the rocks and gravel? Doesn't seem likely but I wonder if it is possible the filters and our understanding has improved past the day when we felt dirt in tanks was a problem. May be just another question that I never get a really firm answer or it could be just I'm missing the point. I certainly would like to find I don't need to do a bunch of the cleaning I've always done. Moving those rocks and swishing the debris out is a job that I could live without!


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2011)

when i had gravel if i didnt gravel vac for a few weeks and just did water changes eventually the gravel was noticeably really really gross and dirty and id have to gravel vac fill the tank back up and gravel vac again itd be so bad you can get away with it a week or 2 but inevitably with gravel i think you have to gravel vac it


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

When my gravel gets too dirty I get pests like snails and nematodes. Maybe it would work if your gravel/sand had enough plant roots throughout to take up the nutrients, but my tanks are either not planted or the plants are in pots.


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

Years back gravel and undergravel filters with powerheads or bubblers were the norm.

I just know when I gravel vac, the water that comes out is dark brown.

My other tanks are sand and as far as I'm concerned that is the way to go.

....Bill


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I see what each of you is saying as I find the same look in my tanks. When I don't vac the water is dirty looking and depending on outlook can look gross. But eh I still have the question of whther it is a real problem or a matter of perception. When we garden, we stop thinking of dirt as "gross". It is your best "friend' in the garden and I wonder how much it is really the "enemy" in our tank. We spend a lot of time fighting it in the tank but then I see my wife spend hours fighting dirt in my garage. She's never going to get the dirty out of my garage as long as I have saws and cars there. We all fight dirt in our tanks but we are never going to get rid of it as long as we have fish. I'm thinking it might work out just as well if we both backed off on the fight a bit. I have a 20 ggallon tank wher I have gravel that has not been vac'ed at all for at least a year. It is a tank I use for growout, both for fish and as a starter area for plants in pots. What I find is this tank is VERY easy to maintain. If I choose to stir the gravel a lot of dirt is stirred up so I don't stir the gravel and the dirt just settles lower and lower in the gravel. I test the water and do water changes on this tank much the same as my other tanks except this tank can go for a month without water changing or getting high nitrate readings. I'm working on a plan to get more plants into my other tanks and work toward fewer water changes and at the same time, I'm stopping the deep vac'ing of gravel or sand. I'm not against seeing dirt. I have quite a bit on me when I come in from the garden. If it will lie there and not bother me, I will stop fighting it.


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## Guest (Sep 26, 2011)

the easiest solution is dont use gravel.. why are you using gravel instead of sand? with sand the detritis sits on top and you can vaccuum it or not.. it doesnt really matter cuz it never goes in the sand it just sits right on top.. the problem with gravel is that the poo and uneaten food all gets under the gravel.. sometimes i dont even vaccuum the top of the sand in my tanks.. but eventually i do.. i dont even bother testing tanks anymore unless i think something is off..


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

The gravel is used to make the Flourite go further and to help hold it in place. When used with sand it mixes in and looks pretty shabby to me. I have tanks of each type and find that both sand and gravel have their good and bad points. Sand can pack down and make it difficult for plants to spread through runners. In planted tanks there is a need for a different substrate.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Flourite makes a plant substrate that is black sand.

I have the matching Flourite sand and gravel in a tank. The gravel I use in pots and the sand is filled in around to cover the terra cotta. Fish and plants are both happy.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

That's where we all have to figure what works for what we do. I drain my water into a line going to the yard. If I start dumping fine black sand in the yard it will be a lot more noticed than when I dump white sand as much of the yard is sand. :lol:


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