5 ELEMENTS OF A BALANCED AQUARIUM - FATHER FISH || FOREVER AQUARIUMS
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2023
- FATHER FISH is an advocate for natural aquariums. His research over 25 years provides a wealth of information about the creation and maintenance of natural aquariums.
There is a wealth of scientific research as well as personal testimonials by countless hobbyists who have applied the Father Fish System and are enjoying its amazing benefits.
THE FATHER FISH SHOAL on Discord is a wonderful way to meet and make new fishy friends as well as get the help you need.
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Edited by @deadmanswill
All clips used in the video are for representation or visual beauty and there's intention of maligning anyone. We always use clips contributed to us directly on discord or clips released under the Creative Commons license on TH-cam or other platforms.
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I have five tanks set up with the father fish method and every one of them is profuse with life. I feed them less than twice a month and change the water even less. Perfect water, multiplying fish, and essentially an unlimited supply of plant material to keep in grow out jars on various window sills. My only complaint is nobody believes how easy fish keeping can be.
We believe you no talking! Join the big fish on THE FATHER FISH SHOAL on Discord. discord.gg/GDXcjeap
@FatherFish the link to the discord says invalid I been trying for a couple days to connect with yall over there
The discord link is still not working.
@@Y.F.I.Jason.thecarpetslayer You need to download the app first. I had the same problem.
Twice a month of feeding wow!
This is all such a wholesome view of nature. We keep a tank of nature via her rules. Father Fish gives us all biology lessons for this nice hobby!
Best Hobby Community Ever!!!
This is what Father Christmas does for the rest of the year
Yes. That i true.
😆😂🤣 🇦🇺👍
This is such refreshing content! All of the other people I see posting videos on here teach you how to keep fish alive. They’re fish store owners or sponsored influencers that have crystal clear tanks that they dump chemicals into to artificially keep things cycled. It’s amazing to finally hear from someone who knows how to have a healthy, thriving ecosystem that can sustain itself (with a small amount of food) for generations. Really awesome stuff!
Thank you Tysen
Father Fish, I am so appreciative for what you are doing. I came across your channel a month or so. I use to feed my fish almost everyday. I tried your method of dead leaves and my testimony is real. I put in some dead leaves and didn't need to feed till about 2.5 weeks 😀. I then feed frozen brine shrimp and its been about 1 week now. I will throw in some more dead leaves next week. This is sooooo amazing. Now I have all these full jars of fish food and wondering what in the hell....!?!?!. Im working on my 5 gallon tank that is currently gravel filled with poop. I'm so excited to cap with sand! You are making this journey so exciting, makes my brain work overtime thinking of the many wonders I can do with nature 🌱🦠🐠💚 Thank you so much!
Thank you unbeatable123. You have caught the spirit. Join us on THE FATHER FISH SHOAL at Discord. discord.gg/GDXcjeap where all the big fish swim.
I started keeping aquariums in the mid-1980’s and getting back to ecological basics is of paramount importance. Essentially, ecology already has systems in place, and by embracing them, instead of working against them, a stable, beautiful ecosystem can be achieved.
Father Fish, I cannot thank you enough for upholding the importance and appreciation of managed decomposition. (Key word there is managed.) It’s a vital process for nutrient cycling. Decomposition has for far too long been mistakenly viewed as a messy, undesirable phenomenon in aquariums.
I think another process that is misunderstood in the hobby is succession. Properly established aquariums are dynamic systems. They are not static. A tank will not look the same a month after it is set up as it will a year afterwards. I don’t understand why so many tanks are torn down and restarted because they don’t look pristine as they were at the start. Succession will and is happening. Aging is a beautiful process in nature, in my opinion. Plants will compete just like fish. The substrate ages and matures. Driftwood changes. Microbial systems develop and change. It’s like a garden: you can manage succession, but you can’t stop it.
EXCELLENT!! Managed decomposition and succession. You are right. I have not used to word succession but I happily adopt it. PLEASE join us on DISCORD Keith. Your understanding is critical.
I am new to Florida and fish keeping this channel has helped me out so much. A complete and living ecosystem should be the goal of every fish keeper to ensure the longevity and happiness of our little friends we enjoy watching.
Welcome aboard! Eric. Where are you in Florida? I moved to Maryland near Ocean City last June after 32 years in Florida. Join us on THE FATHER FISH SHOAL at Discord. discord.gg/GDXcjeap where all the big fish swim.
@@FatherFishwaaaaat you're in Maryland!? Do you have a shop, I must visit!
not yet. I am outfitting a warehouse now.@@nakedbanana7056
I wish I knew father fish before starting my tank. Full of wisdom!
We are thankful for your great experience Father Fish. Loves You!!
So nice of you My Hlbby.
I love father fish. The mud layer is what they said use in the old books going back to the 50's and 60's.
After being 40 years out of this hobby I returned to it a year ago. To cycle my first re-entry I went to my local drinking supply lake and hi jacked some sand from the bottom, some swamp plants and actual land based moss. Rocks are abundant here in NH so I got lots of options. This worked great! My instincts dictated my actions. You are right on target. Mother Nature is the best cycling agent you can get. All natural. I would NEVER have a tank without a natural setting or real plants. Now, after a while, I removed the moss and some of those plants that wilted away, but they served the purpose.
Building an aquarium with natural resources creates a real home for fish.
I love this so much!! Thank you for explaining it!!
Good to see you Father Fish!
It's been great to see all the projects you have in the works!
All the Best to You 🙏❤️
Thank you kindly Sghetti.
Love how simple you explain it...great video very educational 👍
Thanks so much! Stiles.
Thank you soo much for always sharing and updating substrate recipe
My pleasure 😊 Conor. A new vid on substrate supplements is due out in about a week.
This video was almost poetic. Very inspiring and calming.
I've just set up my first live tank last week following your method.
Just a little thing I did differently was to prevent the mud from showing in the front glass. I find it more estetic this way.
I had a leakeage of mud when I poured water in but it seteled quickly so now I have to remove it by hand with an eyedropper. My wife asked me why should I care and not starting over from scrach, to which I answered
"I prefer to do that the Japanese way"
😂😂
Fish tanks are made to test your patience and ability to contemplate nature by repressing the "need" to help it. Nature is stronger than us all with our mighty science.
At first I did not washed the sand so I had to put cotton balls into my filter to clear out that cloud of clay. Took only a night to get cristal clear water but just to be sure I changed the cotton balls twice a day for 3 days.
Now I removed any sort of sponges and filters from the device and it's sole purpose is to circulate water.
So far I found 8 or 9 different kinds of aquatic plants to but in the botton. Since I live in north of canada I am a little bit worried about plants that may have a need to winter so I cross my fingers that they don't if I give them summer conditions in temperature and a 15 hours exposure to light...
If it doesn't work I will have to buy plants from the market.
There are now 6 babies guppies in there (just waiting for more of them to come) saved them from being eaten by their own parents in my wife's tank. Since I transfered them in my natural tank they stopped dying for nothing all the time and are actually looking so happy and playfull.
I preserved some insects from a swamp to give them only live bait as food.
I'm keeping them in separate jars but wouldn't mind if they where to reproduce right in the main tank. This would eliminate even the need to feed.
excellent
Wish had known this method years ago, thanks for your time teaching us, will save a lot of newby mistakes.
I've been experimenting with tanks for 2 years now and spent over 1k£ on various methods.
I set my first tank up with mud. Zero fatalities. Infact its a miracle. Other tanks, mixed results. But to be honest don't bother with anything but the advice this man gives.
Thanks again; I am addicted to your videos now! LOL...
Very useful information. Thank you for sharing father fish 🙏
I did this method the first time had a problem with fish digging in substrate and exposing the dirt. Took the dirt and made a bag out of flower bed material now it works beautiful in my cichlid tank. Roots still grow threw it but keeps the organics out of the water.
creating a barrier can be effective. Extra sand will achieve the same goal.
Thank you father fish.
I have 2 dirted tanks that are over a year old and running great. My first person for me to see how well dirt works is Dustin. But in the end when I found you and your videos it gave me the confidence to do it. Thank you for the great videos.
That is awesome!
im very happy that i found your channel! very enjoy!
Welcome aboard! Thank you Peter. Join us on THE FATHER FISH SHOAL at Discord. discord.gg/GDXcjeap where all the big fish swim.
Heya father fish ❤ I just started a 20 gallon tank..with your method.. after my 75 gallon dirted tank a few months back is doing extremely well..i was thinking on my next dirted tank im going to put down ,a cut to fit piece of burlap over the 1 inch soil substrate and then capped it with sand.. it might help keep the soil matted down along with the sand.. 😊
Burlap is organic and will deteriorate over time. It is really an excellent material for substrate. I have use it to culture black worm.
I'm so thankful for your videos
Thank you Phayao Lem . I am thankful for the opportunity to help.
Wow natural soil nutrision good work thnks 😃👍🙏
You betcha Space Scape
So sad that I found this channel long after setting up my tank😢 Definitely trying this in the future though!
Same here, but I transformed my tank to this, I had a layer of aqua soil under a cap of gravel, but my water was green because all the poop and fish waste was coming out of that substrate.
I added more plants and then I put a layer of sand on top of that gravel with mulm and aquasoil, now the green water is gone and my shrimps are reproducing really fast.
Great content as always sir but I wanted to ask when putting nature into our tank what about Schistosomiasis how do we detect it and not get it into our tank thanks
This is like touching the aquarium monolith. Thank you.
Funny what you said there. Thanks David.
You have tremendously helped me better understand fishkeeping and how much I have been over feeding my fish even in light oF only feeding every 3 days. An immediate benefit is I no longer have to skim biofilm off the surface every couple of days. My area recently experienced a power outage that lasted 3 and a half days. I thought for sure I was going to lose all my fish. The temperature in the tanks dropped from 76 to 54. I was concerned about oxygen in the water but the fish didn’t appear stressed. They just hovered near the bottom barely moving around I assume to conserve energy. By day 3 I was looking around for a way to increase oxygen in the tank and tried the suggestion to inject hydrogen peroxide into the tank, 5ml for every 10 gallons which is supposedly good for 12 hours. When the power came back on I was surprised to see I lost no fish and only a few leaves on the crypts melted. There was no spike in ammonia, nitrite was in barely there, nitrate was less than 50 ppm. My tank is planted but the plants are still growing in. Can you help me understand what happened to preserve my fish or do a video on that subject?
The mid 50's is a normal winter temperature for a subtropical environment. they were not stress because they were not facing extreme temp plunge. Your tank is well balanced and the fish are not stressed by fouled water or overfeeding. This was a normal winter day for them.
Thank you ❤@@FatherFish
Thank you
You're welcome Brett.
Could you do a video on how to set up a pond for fish and plants. Thank you!!
good idea. Will do
I just found your TH-cam channel tonight , absolutely love the video's and knowledge you are sharing, thank you very much . when I was younger I had aquariums, I just recently about a month ago setup a 55 gallon. It has gravel in the bottom and I hate it lol. found you looking for a better way or method. Not sure how I'll do it as I only have the one tank and it got fish in it. But the gravel is coming out to be replaced with soil and sand. Why isn't everyone doing this ?
Bravo Scott. Once the tank is set up the fish can be returned immediately. You will need t he biggest bunch of plants you can gather, preferably cheap, fast growing ones. Feed very sparingly for the first few weeks. Preferably no food for the first few days.
God bless father fish!
Thank you Leo. God bless you.
It works people. I’ve done this on my 10 gallon. Don’t be afraid. I used organic potting soil in mine. FF ive seen a video of someone freezing disks of dirt and putting it under their sand substrate. What do you think of this? I don’t want to tear down my 55 and start over.
You certainly can do that. I am guessing you have a gravel 55. Just add 2-3 inches of washed sand. You will be amazed at the progress.
wonderful!!!
how about mixing potting soil with the creek mud??
Yes. absolutely.
Did your sump filter tank have sections of different filters like we see on youtube? Yours looked like just a simple tank.. I liked it.
nno sections. 5" of substrate and a bag that was cleaned once a week.
Ive just changed 3 of my tanks to your method and currently doing my 2 of my other tanks i type this, going to be a long night 🤣
And a happy morning. Come to Discord and share your efforts.
@@FatherFish how do i find you on discord? 😁
discord.gg/QgbRerEM
@@CasperClone
hi I have just been basically gifted a wonderfully 4 foot boyu tank for 50 quid...absolute touch from a gentlemen in town.
Going to soil the tank and wondered what were the large plants in the tank please?
This is going to be a beauty.
I sell a rare sagitarius that grows wonderfully long. Also giant mother sword plants are available at my store.
My New favourite Chanel , Great Videos!!! I have a Canister filter , Wondering if that can still be used or if substrates/ Filter material could be changed to favour a balanced Tank ?
OK to use.
Amazing video, always open to learning new things #greetingsfromgermany
Appreciate you Mark.
Look out for the new FF German based webshop 🥳
A pleasure to listen to your advise Father Fish!
I have a 2.5 gallon tank and I will try this method to grow some plants. But I will try to use regular soil from HomeDepot. I have other larger tanks but will try your method on my smaller tank first to make sure the water does not change to a darker color. And if I get it perfected like your tanks, I will use this method on my two 20 long amd my one 10 gallon tank. Thanks for making this video!
lots of plans. Folow the recipe for ultimate success.
I followed your recipe but on a 1.5 gallon tank instead and the first water pour was a dark brownish color, I could not see anything. But I figured out to do a water change to clear out the tank. I took out the first water pour and replaced it with my other tanks water and it is much better. And since I used water from an established tank, I added 2 minows and some Anacharis plants. Plus I am using a small foam bubble filtter inside the tank. If things start to grow, my next step is to do the same on my bigger tanks. Thanks again for your video upload.
@@jbmjbm323 Sounds as if you either did not adequately cap the soil or you disturbed the substrate while putting water in the tank. Best wishes on your follow up. Post some pics on our Discord server please.
legendary content
Thank you Ela.
Newbie here, my tank and occupants nicely established for two months now. Just found your wonderful channel, now realise I have no substrate ( mud) just partial sand. Do I take fish out and start again following your set up guidance ? Will the fish be stressed by this ? I can see where I’ve gone wrong. Many thanks, your knowledge is priceless !
Build a food web. That will solve all problems.
Father fish I have a question I have a tank with Sand as the bottom layer and aragonite from crushed coral, what should I do with the tank? As in what type of fish and plants should I put in it to make it an ecosystem?
Great stuff! Can’t wait to try. Can I use Miracle Grow potting mix for the mud base?
There is a formula posted in the SHOAL.
@@FatherFish Thank you! 😊
What do you use to occasionally clean the glass?
Hej! Great video! I wonder if putting soil/mud in filter bag or stocking can help keeping it undisturbed during capping/scaping/filling proces? I've seen some aquascapers do this. Maybe it will have the same biological effects on the ecosystem but make aquarium setup little easier? What do you think? Cheers!
It is not necessary. The sand will cap the dirt and allow microfauna to work in it. The cloth barrier can prevent adequate penetration of the soil by plants and microbiology.
Это очень познавательно!
ты отличник
HELLO
I started last week with a 4 gallon tank, it has 2 monks, 2 tigers, 2 parrots.
Can't wait to save enough money for flling the tank with plants.
What are you talking about?
@@FatherFish Sorry bad translation.
2 black tetras, 2 tiger barbs, 2 platinum parrot fishs.
Father Fish, thank you for everything you do for us, can you answer a question for me? How thick should the soil be for a 40-60 liter aquarium? Greetings from Romania!
1" with 2" of sand
@@FatherFish Thank you Father Fish 🫡
Dzien dobry czy ziemia z łąki jako substrat wystarczy i czapka piasek nie bedzie za jałowe takie podłoze?i oczuwiscie liscie ze stawu))pozdrawiam father fish
It's so hard to watch these because of how SLLOOOWWWWWWWW you talk BUT i LOVE your channel
I am an ent.
I was under the impression from reading different research studies that true anaerobics are nearly impossible to create in an aquarium, the substrate isn't remotely close to being deep enough for true anaerobics
The research I am following says that oxygen cannot permeate more than 1/2" into a mud layer in water. It clearly can permeate to the bottom o a gravel substrate, particularly if a pump is used to force water through the substrate.
Oh the mud, yeah most likely, I was talking more the sand. If you have a half inch of mud and even four inches of sand there shouldn't be any anaerobics. Using an inch of mud might create the anaerobic layer on the bottom half inch
@@natureswayaquaticslv Precisely. That is where the magic occurs. Bacteria extract oxygen ions from compounds that release minerals critical for the growth of plants. This occurs in every body of water on earth and nowhere on the land.
So you don’t want anaerobic in the soil …?
awesome,thank you!!
what temp is the last aquarium with Discus fish in it?,thanks
84f
@@FatherFish thank you! will live plants survive at 84?,i have valisneria,sagitaria and amazon swords,thanks again
@Rebellmac hey I wanted to say I have had Java fern, mini Taiwan moss, subwassertang, two anubias varieties and an unknown tiny tropica looking plant all been doing great up to 84.5 and always above 83 consistently for over a month, was treating ich but keeping the temp up as a precaution, I did have an experience with a crappy broken heater that got a fresh set up tank to 110, nuked the jungle val but this strange giant corymbosa looking plant survived and is still kicking months later
Dear Father Fish . I have two aquariums. One has only river sand and rocks with few plants and no filter .
The other one has aqua soil with driftwood and tons of plants filter and co2. Both house one male betta fish , cherry shrimp . The larger tank has some tetras. I add indian almond leaves ( i live in India so get it for free) . Can i attain self sustaining ecosystem where I don't need to feed them when i am away or anything else like liquid fertilizer ? Oh i do add little nutrients as i have rotala blood red also . I am new to such concept but wanted to see it work on my existing system.
Join us on the Father Fish Shoal. discord.gg/vQJvcQge
We will help you achieve your dream.
@@FatherFish Thank you for the invite. I joined .
Great video thank you again for all the fish
You bet Rick
Hey boss, what do you recommend for dirting cichlids where my frontosa will build a 6 inch hill in a few hours any day of the week? Just more sand?
yes
Do you top off with RO or just tap water? I have the RO system already from Reefkeeping.
Mix RO with tap. 50/50
I have 21 tanks set up at the moment, my life has been in shambles aside from this, I have ironically been trying to build a fishroom so that I may find stability again but have been struggling very hard to find that in the majority of the tanks I have set up, I do not have that many fish though I am aware I have at least 3 tanks that are overstocked I have been setting up aquariums to give everyone the space they need, I unfortunately have not had time to do much besides maintenance on all the tanks several so unsustainable they require daily water changes, and trying to do damage control on the relationships that suffer as a result from me overworking myself, I currently have 5 tanks at my girlfriends, 7 upstairs at my dad's, and 9 downstairs where the fishroom is coming together very slowly even though I am being rushed, and so many things keep going wrong in and out of the aquariums that Im losing my mind, I have 6 dirted tanks and I must be doing things wrong with them as well, there are good things happening too, but even some of the good things are happening too often, my corys are outbreeding what I can sell to my local stores and there are no freshwater clubs for many miles, Ive driven out of town to sell 75 corys and got scammed for store credit less than what we agreed to in cash at a store with no merchandise and pretty much only monster fish, I will get my money's worth eventually, I had a tank turn south bad, still dont what happened exactly, long story short everything but the plants snails and two corydora died, most of the fish were having their slime coats eaten by 3 otocinclus that suddenly lost their mind, stopped eating any food I provided and then died as well, those two corys have laid eggs 5 times in their new tank, even after selling about 200 I will be on pace to have another 200, I have a huge bladder snail and ramshorn snail population that I don't have the heart to starve or cull and stores only want them occasionally, most say they will take them for free and feed to fish, I do not have any puffer or anything that reliably eats snails, though I do plan to get a puffer one day I know that is not a solution, just free food, I can't shake duckweed in many tanks and just really feel in over my head when it comes to choosing equipment, I have lots of different kinds but no canisters or sumps yet, I'm not setting up an automatic water change or top off system, every tank will be self contained, anything I can do to give myself less work I'm for it, I'm not a lazy fishkeeper, I like the work, I just don't have time for all that Im doing, and I should add I have been feeding all of my tanks twice a day, lights are on too long almost always but I dont have an algae issue in 19 of 21 tanks, lastly I really wish I came to you earlier, my first beta fish passed away on the 26th of last month, had him for almost 2 years and helped him through a lot of illness, but the last one eluded me and I feel awful, I have another beta with a similar issue and it seems to be a tumor at this point, its not anything with her swim bladder she's still graceful and agile with her portly disfigurement, I am not sure what to do as my previous attempt resulted in death
Dude, this is a lot! I'm overwhelmed reading this! I think you are hoarding fish! Get rid of the snails! Obviously you are doing something right if you have that much breeding going on. To treat your fish, separate on its own small fish tank or bowl . Keep plants in there but add isk leaves to increase tannin. Egg eggshells too. If that doesn't work you can add one or two drops of iodine directly to your water.
9:03
I wish I had seen father fish a few weeks ago when I decided to start this venture! Is it possible to take me fish out of tank and restart with his method?
Yes
Hi father fish 🤝How long does it take for a tank you fully function ?
If I have fish in a tank and wanted to do it all up again is it possible?
Yes. You can do it.
What about adding a bit of lake water to get things going .. Good idea??
yes
Father fish good afternoon. New to the hobby I have a 20 long gal how many inches of soil and sand should I do? Thanks once again
Watch the video. th-cam.com/video/1rU0JDDtLBQ/w-d-xo.html
I put dirt in the bottom but it wasn’t particularly wet then I capped it with sand. Is the mud vs dry an important difference?
It will be ok.
👍
I have a 10 gallon tank and a 40 gallon tank. The 10 gallon I added a bunch of pond water and leafs to and the water is crystal clear. I didn’t have any left for the 40 gallon so I didn’t add any to it and it constantly gets cloudy and has algae problems
add some from the 10
Hey is this method good for saltwater aquariums? Thanks been watching your vids and think about switching from saltwater. But if this works for saltwater even better
This system was developed for salt water, particularly reef systems. Check out www.Garf.org
Hello FF, how do I maintain this substrate method with pearl cichlids? They dig through the sand cap constantly and I get nervous that they’ll get to the dirt some day.
Most cichlids do not dig very deep. The Central Americans are the exce[ption. Add an extra inch or 2 of sand. You can also add a semipermeable material on top o the soil. Someone mentioned burlap, an excellent choice. Egg crate lighting shield is also effective.
@@FatherFish I love the egg crate idea! It will require a tear down but will be worth it in clean up later. Thanks again!!
@@timpeace5946 No need to tear down. Simply remove hardscape and plants. Then press the crate through the sand. VOILA! C'est finis!
Does it work in a big cichild tank ? I mean cichlids usually uproot all kind of plants
Yes. A deep substrate and large plants will be effective.
If you get dirt sand and leaves from the pond, do you still need to add the bag of added materials?
The supplement is intended to insure a strong variety of nutrients in sufficient quantity to last through the first year.
Fish father, Could I put the fishes immediately after putting the mud, sand and the plants or should I wait for the nitrogen cycle before putting the fishes?
I just made my first 2 dirted tanks two weeks ago and, yes, I put my fish right back in. Happy to report that they are all alive and doing fantastic!
Should i b checkin the nitrates and all that in my tank? Cause i have never and havent had any fish to die
No. There is never a good reason to check nitrates as long as you have plants in your tank.
@@FatherFish awesome👍
Hello father fish I have a question. Is it ok to use dirt in your back yard to put in the tank?
If it is healthy, yes.
Do fish tanks need heaters?
For tropical fish, most definitely.
Father fish is it a good idea to put some lava rock before mud?thank you
Not good but not bad.
Good morning We talked a couple of weeks ago. I told you I found 3 plants by the bayou and put then in the tank. I told you they were turning brown. You said leave them in,the rooting system was starting but since then they have completely died..should I pull them out??? I'm 4 weeks in with fish.ive lost 3 tiger barbs..I got the water tested they say the nitrates was high..I read decaying plants and overfeeding can make the nitrates high
Nitrates are not toxic below 400 ppm.
@FatherFish ok so is there any benefit in me keeping the decaying plants in the tank?
Also,I was two weeks in with the 3 zebra danio, got the water tested..the fish place said it was perfect..so I added those 5 tiger barbs..I lost 3 of them.
You think I added more fish to soon?
This Sunday will make month with fish
And 1 week without fish.
What about plants that do not have their roots in the substrate? How are they fed?
from the fish living in the water as well as the nutrients from deteriorating waste
Do i need to keep this setup at least one year to get settled and get oxygen to anaerobic layer
You will never know except by seeing the results, a beautiful, balanced tank doing its natural thing.
Can garden soil work as a subatrate seed if no access to mud?
yes. Watch some videos on substrate composition.
Do you have any fish aquariums with only substrate like sand or crushed coral for cichlids? Do you add anything like Potassium, Iron, or others?
I have literally hundreds of videos addressing these concerns. There are only a few Central American cichlids who are true earth movers. Some others dig shallow pits or simply pick up small amounts of sand to sift it for nutrients. Most cichlids do not impact substrate at all.
I have created a supplement composed of a dozen ingredients to insure a full compliment of organic and mineral diversity in the substrate. It is available at my web site www.father.fish.
What's the name of the supplement soil? I have 2 75 gallon aquariums when I get the double stand built. I'd like one the way you have the the soil at the bottom and sand on top. The 2nd with only sand or crushed coral. My goal is to have enough plants to reduce water changes. How much soil will I need for a 75 gallon and for a 125 gallon?
Can you explain to me what water changes you do for a setup like this?
No water changes :)
Basically Shnaky is correct. If there is a problem I may change 10%. I top off for evaporation.
Question I see you have filters and bubblers in your tanks . I thought by doing this method you don't need those anymore?
I like them and they protect from oversaturation of CO2.
@FatherFish thank you . ok, so do I need to add them to the tank or will it be fine without them ?
Hi Father Fish, can i use garden soil to replace pond mud instead? btw love your channel.
No. Garden soil replaces potting soil. A replacement for manure or compost is pond mud.
I have a 120 Gallon tank with a gravel bottom, do I need to remove the gravel to change to a mud bottom?
That is preferable. If you r tank has been set up for a year or more you can simp[ly cap the gravel with about 3" of sand and it should be able to grow plants. In about a year the gravel will have lots of life in it.
@@FatherFish thank you for your advice.love listening to your videos.
Commenting for the algorithm.
Always appreciated
🎏👍
Can anyone tell me what kind of water tk use for my fish tank i have tap from the city
learn if it has chloramine. If not it is safe. If so add vitamin C
Father fish. Would it work if i filled my entire 30 gallen tank with everything from a crystal clear little pond, i put moss carpet all across the mud i first put in, then added alot of big plants that are already submerge, alot new ones gave started appearing up thro the moss, every square inch of bottem is moss, wich im not sure will be ideal ? i even took the water from the same lake, it took .almost past a week for it to clear up and shes teaming with life, worms, snils, beetles, you name it, my question is how long should i get it grow out and balance itself befor its safe to add a few shrimp??
try some shrimp now. I am fascinated by your moss. Please join us on the Father Fish Shoal and share pics and description of your tank. I would love to see what you are doing. This may be a breakthrough! discord.gg/GdakStEjAy
@@FatherFish the moss very dusty from all the settling depree I guess, not the lush green color I want to see but that's natural, yess I want to add bottom dwellers that'll work around and shake that dust off the moss down into roots I'm thinking. I also have no filter and no light in the tank. Just natural sunlight though my window,
@@FatherFish the moss very dusty from all the settling depree I guess, not the lush green color I want to see but that's natural, yess I want to add bottom dwellers that'll work around and shake that dust off the moss down into roots I'm thinking. I also have no filter and no light in the tank. Just natural sunlight though my window,
@@FatherFish I also have surface area in the water for beneficial bacteria to grow, yes I want to add shrimp, and in the long run maybe 2 or 4 little nano fish. Remember I want it to be self sustaining, perfectly balanced, 4 little fish in a 30 gallon, that's paradise i think..
My 13 year old 14 inch pleco swishes the sand away so the mud comes up... the solution was a layer of gravel between the mud and the sand. Now how to get him to stop killing the plants.. He loves "bossing around" the rummy nose tetras, plants have never lasted so long but still getting decimated..
Try tougher leaf plants.
I’m so bummed out. My entire tank of fish was dead this morning and the only thing I did different was adding an Indian almond leaf. 😢
Very disturbing. We have a PDF in the works about leaves. Should be out in a month. Join us in the Shoal. Would like to take a deep dive into your tank and try to learn what happened.
discord.gg/father-fish-shoal
@@FatherFish I don’t have a lot of technology.
Do you use CO2 for your fish plants
No. The substrate creates CO2
Father fish u think this method also applies to saltwater
absolutely but with substrate from the sea
I cant attest that earth dirt/mud is the most superior substrate there is!!! I had to relocate my three female bettas but I had no tank so I put them in three empty ICE CREAM Containers photos plant on them. One has dirt mud already on it so I simply remove about half of it and put water, it was cloudy at first but became crystal clear in the morning. For the 2nd pot I added gravel while the 3rd pot i left it with no substrate. After 3 weeks only the pot with Mud is the most stable, no foul smell, no algae, crystal clear water almost see-through and the betta is creating so much bubbles which means she is happy. One thing to note is that the Mud/dirt contains Rice husks. I didn't bother to removed it and it seems its helping with the water parameters. The other two pot is a disaster, the gravel had blue/green algae after a week, while the no substrate smelled strange.
ok but how do I put the soil in NOW?
If the tank is set up you can try freezing it and sliding it under the sand or putting it in a thin paper bag and covering the bag with 2" of sand.