Hello! Please view my tank and tell me ur opinions

**Bracehero** · 1st Apr 2016, 00:23

image.jpgHi guys, I am new here. Please take a look At my tank, I think its overstocked right? My parents bought me the fish.. And the tank.. It consists of 4 minnows, 2 mosquito rasboras, 1 spotted hillstream loach, 1 guppy and 1 panda cory

**adidasvintage** · 1st Apr 2016, 08:53

Looks ok, what size is your tank? Actually you no need to use soil if you simply just using those plants. Your filter water outlet may create a hole in the soil if you placed it like this.

**vannel** · 1st Apr 2016, 09:04

Soil seems abit high. That's slightly dangerous as harmful gases could build up in pockets within the soil and should you accidentally stir up the soil and release the gases, it could lead to spikes in your parameters.

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**CowBoYReX** · 1st Apr 2016, 10:41

Cories should be in groups of 6 or more. As for overstocked, can't tell without knowing the size of the tank.

**Bracehero** · 1st Apr 2016, 10:53

Originally Posted by adidasvintage

Looks ok, what size is your tank? Actually you no need to use soil if you simply just using those plants. Your filter water outlet may create a hole in the soil if you placed it like this.

Hi! My tank is 6.4 Gallons. I decided to use this soil as rocks and pebbles as substrate were very hard to clean.. Any suggestions for use of sand as substrate? Oh no! What do I do now?

**Bracehero** · 1st Apr 2016, 10:54

Originally Posted by vannel

Soil seems abit high. That's slightly dangerous as harmful gases could build up in pockets within the soil and should you accidentally stir up the soil and release the gases, it could lead to spikes in your parameters.

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Hi Vannel! Oh no! Didnt know, sorry this is my second tank, but I didnt know about the harmful gases part. What do I do now?

**Bracehero** · 1st Apr 2016, 10:55

Originally Posted by CowBoYReX

Cories should be in groups of 6 or more. As for overstocked, can't tell without knowing the size of the tank.

I knew it! The fish keeper auntie at the aquarium said that the cory would be ok alone. But once I bought it, it seems to be quite inactive..

**CowBoYReX** · 1st Apr 2016, 10:57

Yep more would help with that

**vannel** · 1st Apr 2016, 11:39

Originally Posted by Bracehero

Hi Vannel! Oh no! Didnt know, sorry this is my second tank, but I didnt know about the harmful gases part. What do I do now?

It should be fairly easy to siphon out the soil with a tube. Just keep it about an inch will suffice, unless you are planting.

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**happydanio123** · 1st Apr 2016, 23:09

Originally Posted by vannel

Soil seems abit high. That's slightly dangerous as harmful gases could build up in pockets within the soil and should you accidentally stir up the soil and release the gases, it could lead to spikes in your parameters.

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Actually, for Aquasoil, higher is better. Higher elevations gives more options for scapes as well as deep rooted planting. The part about harmful gases I am not so sure but even if harmful gases are released, it would not be to such a considerable amount to impact the livestock. The only bug bear with high surface elevation is space. My opinion.

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**happydanio123** · 1st Apr 2016, 23:10

Besides, no gases cab get u Der the soil except Oxygen when you first place the soil in. Since roots do not release any gases, it should be okay to raise spot elevation.

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**vannel** · 2nd Apr 2016, 08:39

It's not the gases that are trapped whilst putting in the soil that you need to worry about. Whilst this topic really doesn't apply fully to the TS because the soil level is still manageable, it helps to understand that having a very high column of soil does lead to anaerobic zones within the soil which has no oxygen. This is due to the water not being able to traverse the soil column all the way to the bottom and hence the oxygen at lower levels are depleted fully. As the anaerobic bacteria works, H2SO4 or hydrogen sulphide also starts to collect within the soil column. Whilst soil typically has much larger granule size and should probably not suffer from gaseous pockets being trapped, it's not impossible as the granules start to break down and a layer of silt/sludge forms. Once this happens, gaseous exchange cannot happen properly and it allows pockets of harmful gases to build up. Typically, small amounts of hydrogen sulphide are quickly converted into harmless gases when it contacts oxygen. The danger comes when you accidentally release a large pocket of gas. This might potentially be fatal for livestock.

In any case, looking at the initial pictures, you'd realise that the TS has no need for so much soil. The plants in there are attached onto driftwood and not technically planted in the substrate. Given that, a thin layer of soil is a more prudent approach and still retains aesthetics as well as water buffering capabilities. Needless to say, lesser soil also means more water, which is also a big plus.

Note: I've been proven wrong many times so I better put a disclaimer. As far as I know, the information aforementioned is correct. But it's yours to interpret and do further research. Many reefers purposely go for a deep sand bed so that they can reap the rewards of anaerobic bacteria. That's much safer since they don't require planting and they hardly ever disturb the substrate given the amount of live rocks and corals in there. Once again, this problem usually exists for sand beds. But, I wouldn't rule it out for soil. In the end, I was just trying to bring across the dangers of high soil columns so that the TS understands the risks.

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**Bracehero** · 4th Apr 2016, 09:23

Originally Posted by vannel

It's not the gases that are trapped whilst putting in the soil that you need to worry about. Whilst this topic really doesn't apply fully to the TS because the soil level is still manageable, it helps to understand that having a very high column of soil does lead to anaerobic zones within the soil which has no oxygen. This is due to the water not being able to traverse the soil column all the way to the bottom and hence the oxygen at lower levels are depleted fully. As the anaerobic bacteria works, H2SO4 or hydrogen sulphide also starts to collect within the soil column. Whilst soil typically has much larger granule size and should probably not suffer from gaseous pockets being trapped, it's not impossible as the granules start to break down and a layer of silt/sludge forms. Once this happens, gaseous exchange cannot happen properly and it allows pockets of harmful gases to build up. Typically, small amounts of hydrogen sulphide are quickly converted into harmless gases when it contacts oxygen. The danger comes when you accidentally release a large pocket of gas. This might potentially be fatal for livestock.

In any case, looking at the initial pictures, you'd realise that the TS has no need for so much soil. The plants in there are attached onto driftwood and not technically planted in the substrate. Given that, a thin layer of soil is a more prudent approach and still retains aesthetics as well as water buffering capabilities. Needless to say, lesser soil also means more water, which is also a big plus.

Note: I've been proven wrong many times so I better put a disclaimer. As far as I know, the information aforementioned is correct. But it's yours to interpret and do further research. Many reefers purposely go for a deep sand bed so that they can reap the rewards of anaerobic bacteria. That's much safer since they don't require planting and they hardly ever disturb the substrate given the amount of live rocks and corals in there. Once again, this problem usually exists for sand beds. But, I wouldn't rule it out for soil. In the end, I was just trying to bring across the dangers of high soil columns so that the TS understands the risks.

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ahh, I see. What plants do you recommend for planting?