Large Stone Tanks

C

cheryl

Guest
I have just set up a 4ft tank with large stones as my substrate.

I have been looking at everyones pictures but can only find pics of tanks with sand. I am very keen to see how people deal with setting up plants in a stone tank. Does anyone have any pics I could look at? I have attached a picture of my tank. It is pretty bare at the moment as it is just cycling.
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Hey cheryl. I had a big stone tank when i first started. However i found that i could not plant any plants and it just didnt look as nice as my black sand. heres a pic of my tank. Looks liek you have a bit of a mess at the back, lol.
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lol... the mess isn't actually as bad as it looks through the tank. im kind of regretting my decision to use stones now, but the thought of converting to sand makes my head hurt.
 
Hey Cheryl!
I dont, nor have ever, had a setup with big stones.
RE plants etc, you may just need more rocks to hold the plants in place
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i wasn't sure if the rocks would crush the roots, or if they would take hold in them. The rocks range from 30-50mm wide.
 
LOL... changing to sand wouldn't be all that hard.... seeing as the stones are so large, just scoop them up, get your sand, rinse well in a bucket, and voila!!!
Way easier in the long run... for cleaning and for plants.
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would it just sink down like that or would i have to empty the tank and then pour water on top gently?
 
When I put sand into one of my smaller tanks I just left the water in. Most of the sand sunk to the bottom and the rest settled within 24 hours.
 
You could leave the plants in their pots (if buying potted ones) and bury the pots under/into the rocks.

I have rocks like the ones in your tank (replaced the gravel in my pic) and left the couple of live plants I bought in their pots. It worked well except my Axies loved the plants SO MUCH, they all too quickly "loved them to death!" (Literally
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inspiration has struck... i've separated the white rocks and made a garden path with them. There is a rock as a "pond", and i will put in a nice big castle or something at the end of the path. Im going to have manicured gardens in pots along the path, and a bridge over the pond.
 
I am having some serious murkiness problems (cant even see the mess behind the tank now! lol). Is that a good thing at the beginning of cycling? It is getting worse at this stage. My rocks are kind of slimy, too. Not sure if that is a good thing. sorry for the terrible picture. the haze makes it impossible to get a good shot.
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This is common during cycling and if you went back and looked in the aquarium literature in 40s, 50s and 60s you would see that this is called "new tank syndrome".

Ed
 
If its only "murkyness" (looks like only that from what i can see from the pic), this its fine - its will settle down once its been running for a couple of days (not even that long).
It doesnt look dirty (as per the pic). Or does it Cheryl?
 
no its not dirty as such- just looks like a cup of milk has been dumped in it. It also has some foam around the top now.
 
i wouldn't be concerned Cheryl, mine was also like that when it was cycling, then it went crystal clear.
 
Yeh, i didnt think it was dirty, just cloudy.

"ssssshe'll be right"
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