Aquarium Gardening Notes

Mag Float: The Ultimate Aquarium Glass Cleaner

My aquariums are kept clean and well-maintained with weekly water changes and plant pruning. Nevertheless, fine particles, diatoms possibly, and algae slowly but surely accumulate on the front glass. Removing this film is a snap with the Mag Float Magnetic Glass Cleaners.

1. These sturdy cleaners have the strongest magnet I've seen in any aquarium glass cleaners.

2. The abrasive side is tough yet gentle enough not to damage the glass.

3. The abrasive side does not ware out easily. It seems to be made with a fabric that resembles Velcro rather than felt.

4. The abrasive side floats, therefore, no string is needed to prevent the cleaner from falling to the bottom of the aquarium.

As far as effectiveness, it is unsurpassed in all the magnet glass cleaners I've tried so far.

Substrate Materials

Before creating a new aquarium setup, I'd like to take time to think about the composition of the substrate. I've read several books on setting up aquariums for freshwater plants and the advice often varies.

First, I'll compile a list of materials people use for this purpose. Then I'll come back to this post and try to expound on each component. Last, I'll sort out a plan for my next substrate layout.

None of this is perfect. Different people, different decisions. Many variables, hours of fun experimenting.

Terralit
Flourite
Clean cat litter
Aqua Terra
Top soil
Fine grained gravel
Aimcor baked clay
Profile
Turface
Sterilized potting soil
Red flint
EcoComplete
Laterite
Vermiculite
Sand
Silver sand
Pea gravel
Peat moss
Sera Floredepot
Dennerle Deponit-Mix
Duplarit G
Mexican pebble
Granite rock

Other Hardware relating to substrate
Undergravel heater
Undergravel filter

PH Testing with Pinpoint

Just received a Poinpoint PH Monitor from ThatFishPlace.com Calibrated the probe and tested both aquariums.

10 gallon tank: PH is 7.7 using the Pinpoint PH monitor.
35 gallon tank: PH is 7.9 using the Pinpoint PH monitor.

Looks like I wasn't far off with the color tests at 7.6. My tap water is at 7.6. This is tap water that has been passed through a household water softener. The oxygenated R.O. water is at 7.4.

Red Sea's CO2 Reactor 500

Talk about a neat product! Everyone knows most aquatic plants need lots of light and carbon to grow lush and healthy.

I always shied away from investing in pressurized CO2 tanks. I always thought that would be costly or at least combersome compared to simple sugar and yeast systems. So my planted aquariums are all equipped with bottles of yeast, which consists of sugar, yeast and water to create CO2 gas. The gas is channeled into the aquarium using an air hose.

In order for this carbon source to be used by the plants, it needs to be mixed with the water. In low aquariums, the gas bubbles simply float to the surface and dissipate into the air.

It's probably difficult to see from these pictures, but if you look closely at the device, you will see a cup-shaped vortex in the little glass cage. The vortex is made up of CO2 bubbles being swirled around as they come into the reactor. Water and excess bubbles escape in the front. The fantastic part of this is that almost no bubbles are ever lost. I can sleep at night now knowing the CO2 is actually available for the plants.

That's why the CO2 reactor 500 is such a blessing. This device takes whatever CO2 source you give it and it thoroughly dissolves the gas before releasing the carbon-rich water back into the rest of the aquarium. All this is is a very small water pump and a vortex chamber where the gas is stirred into the passing water. Gas rapidly dissolves and the water is pushed into the aquarium. Since installed, rarely do any CO2 bubbles escape to the surface. Nearly all the gas penetrates the water. Within two days of installation, some of my plants started pearling: A sign of healthy plants I rarely seen before.