STEM PLANTS BUNDLE SALE - Over 75 plants - 15 Species for $59! Limited Time OFFER so HURRY! father-fish-aquarium.myshopify.com/ For Special Soil Supplements, Plants, FIsh & Merch in your country: fatherfish.fish/
You're an angel, I can see the love you have on fish and explaining the methods that have passed their test successfully. Long live, and healthy, I love you dear father fish!
Glad to make it into a video! It has been an awesome journey so far. Nature has this figured out for us already, and I appreciate your ability to communicate that. Will continue to give updates, I've already put more plants in my tank!
I just turned my boring bare bottom tank into a Father Fish Method tank last month and so far its working out. Congrats on growing your channel. I think people want to turn away from unnatural tanks and start a natural slice of nature in their tanks.
Your my favourite you tuber which has changed my opinion on the whole way you setup an aquarium and really is the onlyway i just changed my big 6 foot tank into a sand substrate
I just did this last week. It needed restructuring.I made a couple of trips to my local river system for mud and sand. Found recent flood debris along the banks for my botanicals. Two types of marginal plants and about 40 gallons of crisp clear river water. I saved the mulm and old water when I broke the old set up down and used it when layering in the substrate. I add organic potting soil and organic ferts to this before capping off with the sand. Added the river plants, Java ferns from my old set up and more plants from online. I sprouted bonsai lotus seeds in the substrate, they have little lilypads for surface cover. Ty for your guidance.
Oh what, no cigarette butts? I wish I'd seen this sooner 😂🤣😂, that had me crying. 👍❤️ I'm not bored with my tank but I am wanting to do exactly what you've described to make my aquarium natural, thanks as always.👍❤️🇬🇧
Father fish. I just wanted to let you know I've been following you and watching your videos for only a few weeks but it has changed everything for me I'm so grateful thank you so much. I wish i could show you how well my tank is doing it's better than its been ever and I'm so proud of it. I've set everything up your way and it's amazing it really is. Thanks so much your litteraly my fish keeping hero. Hope you have a great day
That is what you inspire me to do! I all ready start it a week ago. I bought my tank used 20+ years ago and there is same gravel still in it and i did not know what to do with it, it was not pretty sight anymore. Then i found these your videos and tank look better now. Even in one week. Many thanks for you.😃👍
hey father fish another great great video very informative and helpful!!! i guess the next step would be to ask you if u could make a vid explaining how to add sand to an already established tank... thank you for everything
I am loving seeing all that micro-fauna spring up in my tank. It's only 3-4 months old but it makes me (and the shrimp and snails) happy to see those microorganisms dancing about on the leaves, rocks, and even side of the tank. No need for a magnetic scrubber, snails love these. My anacharis is growing like crazy and I'm already giving some trimmings to a coworker haha! 😊
Wow! This is what I have been doing the last couple of days. Father fish, thanks for confirming what I’ve learned from your videos. My fishes are healthiest because of your videos.
Congratulations on 40k subs! Glad your channel is growing you give the best information and it's cheap easy and kinda common sense . We've all been brain washed by the community too buy chemicals and high priced items when all we need is outside our doors. Appreciate all you do sir.
The pet stores have told me to use and do all your don'ts, and my fish keep dying off breaks my heart. I've watched a few handfuls of ur videos last night today. I'm going to make my tank eco-friendly. Wish me luck lol
Im planning a full reconstruction on my naturalistic 30 gal of nearly 2 years. It has sand and plants and i havent added new fish for about a year but it recently developed algae that clouds the glass and the plants arent really growing despite fertilizer. I may consider adding nerites or otos, but first Ill try your method and keep what I already have. Ill deep clean the glass, add soil, squeeze the filter gunk into it, add back the original sand plus any additional that may be needed and reintroduce the plants and fish. I don't know when Ill have time to visit a pond but it's on my list now. In the reptile hobby we have "bioactive" enclosures that are self cleaning by the same principles of adding plants and critters to an enclosure to break down and recycle waste. I want to do the same for my tank, especially since I dont really have time for regular water changes which us why I added plants to begin with. This is exciting and I dont need to buy anything to get started :)
Love the videos! Went to the pond to get some old leaves to put in my tank. Tried to collect some duck weed by the reeds and met a 3ft water moccasin 😂. Disclaimer when collecting leaves pay attention to the surrounding wildlife.
I love getting my plants form the wild...the only negative i can come up with is the damselfly larvae that always appear afterwards. They are some interesting predators.
The plants can live out of water for a few days, and this quarantine time can kill any eggs or larvae- When at the pond or stream, rinse off the plants and use your fingers to rub any eggs off the stems and leaves. When you get home dry off the plants and then put each of them into their own plastic bag. The plants can live like this in the plastic bags for a few days, but keep them out of direct sunlight. After at least 3 days (but less than 7 days) take them out of the plastic bags, and add them to your tank. The lack of water will cause the eggs and larvae to die while the plants are quarantining in the bags. Alternatively you could also do a salt or medication dip with the plants instead of the bag method. However, I will caution that these methods do not work for eggs that have been laid inside of the plant's stem - Female dragonfly/ damselfly are able to puncture the walls of the plant stem and lay their eggs inside... When females lay eggs the number can range from as few as 100 eggs, up to 1,500 eggs. Getting a larvae infestation in your tank is no fun 😞
Hi Father, I ask you in march about an old aquarium I have with gravel. This aquarium have 14 yeras old and was inhabited with goldfish. You recommend the same thing like this video: cover with sand. I do it and working wonderful, now have a lot of plants and the goldfish looks very well. Low levels of NO2 and NO3. Thank you very much for yours teachings, greeting from Argentina!
You are truly my favorite person on the internet! Thank you for all your wisdom! I love this idea of just adding sand on top of old substrate! I was wondering do I need to remove the fish while adding the sand, or just cap it carefully around them?
I stumbled across your channel and love your way of keeping fish. I have not had a tank for over 20 years but after seeing your eco-self-sufficient tank method, I decided to get me another one. I will set it up this week and then start the learning curve to creating a self-managing eco system :-)
I've been watching your old videos. I took up your resurrection jar challenge recently. I'm 0 for 2 so far, both came out of huge lakes. Starting a third this morning.
How will this hold up long-term? Will the old gravel substrate cause issues down the road? I have an 8 month old gravel tank (about 2" of gravel) that I've never cleaned. I was thinking of removing half the gravel, adding a thin layer of organic soil from the garden, and then capping with 2-3" of fine sand. Will this work? Thanks FF
If I want to create a hill towards a part of the tank, do I add more sands in that area or do I add more soil and then cover that mound of soil with 2 inches of sand. What is a method to raise the floor of the tank without making a mess? Thanks!
Im glad i saw your video because i just got a 40 gallon one i was thinking how to set it up with real plants or fake but now after i saw your post i will definitely get reals plants
FF, I am not ready to plant just yet, so I filled Dixie cups with aquarium water and put the plants out in the sun. It is about 85 degrees here. Let me know if this will be okay for 4-5 days. The tops are out of the water. Thanks for everything!
Wish I would have seen this last week. Picked up some old tanks that still had gravel in them and dumped it all out. About 30 lbs worth of gravel so I could have room for my soil and sand. Still got 2 - 5 gallons with old gravel that I can try this with. Thanks for widsom! 🎉
I was prepared to dump out the gravel too. Nice to know I can leave the fish in the tank and carfully add the sand. Being it has been three weeks for you, hope everything has turned out as expected on your smallr tanks. Father Fish is a wise man
@sandybrammer6772 it turned out great! So glad I found this tip. Now I have all my tanks with sand in them. The plants are in a little bit of shock and had some melt back but all my vegetation eating fishes are loving it.
Look at no other.. if you want nature you can admire at home, Father Fish has the solution. If you want to waste your time and sacrifice the life of fish, then set up a crap fish tank that will never be balanced to support life.
Stop doing weekly water changes. I used to do weekly changes, and I just changed my water for the first time in 4 weeks. Fish are fine. People worry far too much about nitrate levels in a tank.
Nitrates stunt fish - that’s why water changes are needed - what are your nitrates? I have a dam, I don’t feed my fish do I then say no one needs to feed their fish - context and data is everything.
@@Aiken47 I don't even bother measuring my nitrates anymore, it's pointless. My tap water contains nitrates so water changes don't make that much of a difference. I currently do water changes around every 6-8 weeks now. Fish are fine.
i made an ecosystem that needs to survive it has shrimp, snails, plankton, freshwater clams, neon tetras , white cloud minnows, guppys, a crab and a lot of a variety of plants along with dead leaves , pine cones and even lava rocks i got from Hawaii i have not added anything new so far ill just save up some money and get more and i have a new tank with plants and stuff in the bottom.
when doing this conversion by simply adding sand on top of existing substrate, is there any advantage in sprinkling some of FF supplements on the old substrate before topping w/ sand?. I suppose you'd have to remove the water first, save it, sprinkle the supplement, then the sand, then put the water back.
I absolutely admire you and your team! What a kind, incredible, wise person you are! You are full of life and God bless you for many years to come!!!! Thank you for everything!!!!
I've decided to do this. I was wondering if it might also be a gpod idea to lay some peat on the old gravel before adding the sand. I've got some organic sphagnum peat that I've washed ready to go. Would it cause any problems to do this.
Just did this with a tank that was not bringing me joy! Many thanks, Father Fish! Would you share your thoughts on what snails are best for freshwater tanks - and that will not become pests...
I have been watching several videos on different types of wood to use. People worry about wood rotting. Is this something we necessarily need to be concerned about? Won't the tank take of that decomposing wood? Absorb the wood adding more nutrients to the substrate?
Hi there, i think i need to add a bit more sand to my aquarium. The "gunk" stays on top of my sand. Would it be benifitial to mix some yellow sand and a bit of mud from my local pond? I dont want to alter the look of my aquarium but i do want al the benefits from the mud.
Rather than mud collect rotting leaves and start with a small amount./ Add small portions once a week. In time it will build into a rich diverse thriving community.
hello father fish if only sand needs to be added to an already existing aquarium and it will provide me all i need and also be as good as the one u show in the video than what is the issue of the soil and the dirt and the mud and the supplement for the soil? isn't there any difference at all?
thank u for the quick response... so what can i do? should i do? in the meantime ... if it will take about a year to achieve a sufficient level of action?
If it is an old tank with good dirt in the gravel it will be much quicker. You can start building a food web right away. Add leaves from a pond or creek, a little at a time and build the food web. That will improve the dirt layer and add microfauna.
@@FatherFish thanks again your channel has had an awakening on me, I have converted to soil and sand with zero plastic plants and my little water critters have never been so happy 😇👍👍👍
I'd like to transform my 75 gallon aquarium into a planted aquascape, but I used to add 5 mls of aquarium salt to every 10 gallons of fresh water I'd add on water changes, plus I'd added more salt to treat sick fish. The only occupants in the tank currently are snails. Will the previous salt cause any specific challenges?
can plants grow in gravel if i cap it with sand without soil? i it even possible ? i have old tank that only has an inch of gravel , no soil or dirt, so how will capping gravel with sand make it suitable for plant?
Father Fish, if I purchase your soil additives what more would I need other than Peat Moss, Cow Manure, and Garden Soil? I plan on getting some mud from a local pond as well. This is for a 55 gal.
I currently have a planted 75 gal tank with gravel, and i'd love to try the sand method. But my gravel is around 2 inches, if i put 2-4 inches of sand on top, then ill have 4-6 inches of substrate, that's a lot lol. Would it be ok for me to take out the gravel till about one inch, and and add the sand on top, and also is it ok to do that with the fish still in the tank?
I didn't know I could do this wrong.. Oh well! 🙄 I used the old filter sand from my landlord's koi pond filter. It looked quite clean... Must have been some chunks of dried waste in there.. My Nitrites went up!!😟 1 ppm or so, said the test strip. Fish look okay.. Moving ahead, buying Plants! 💕😁
@@FatherFish ok.👌 Worried about Nitrite poisoning. I guess you are not too concerned. I got plants, changed water in small increments. And threw in a piece of ammonia absorbing pad and Stability in a bottle, just in case there is more waste converting to Nitrites from ammonia... While the bacteria grow in.. 🌞 I imagine nitrites will drop, soon. 🍻
Have had my tank planted for a couple months on gravel. Getting ready to add some sand shortly. Do you do any type of water test? Or what's your observation for things running smooth?
im new to your page and i love it so far. so i put my tank together not really knowing much and only using petcos advice which i know isnt to great. i got the crushed coral stuff thats supposed to look like sand. and i watched a lot of people saying dont go to thick with the substrate because gasses get caught in it and when released it could harm the fish. any ways i want to make my tank come to life! i currently have a few types of loaches, some angel fish, cory cats, some glow fish ( my light is on a timer so it switches to the blue light for a couple hours at about 5 pm for the glow fish) i want real plants to survive. they always die and i think its from not having the proper substrate. i have a creek behind the house so if u think it is safe for my fish ill go get a bucket and shovel. also can i pour the substrate from the creek right in with my fish present or do i need to take them out for a while?
Good morning Father Fish. If I already have a few plants in my current substrate, do I just put sand around the bottom of them? Or do I need to pull them up before I put in the sand?
@@FatherFish Thank you very much. I already have my sand and have been holding off on just pouring in the sand and nobody ever answered me before. My plants were the one thing that I was unsure of. Well there was a couple of other things until I watched this guy do it. But he had cichlids and NO plants. LMBO.
@@FatherFish I meant, if I want to use my old tank without cleaning it out and not eliminating the gravel… ( which fish died in it from a contagious disease) Is there going to be a problem ?
If you haven't wayched many videos, the idea is to leave the substrate alone. Let the mulm break down and work it's way into the substrate. Have a ton of plants and I mean truly pack out your aquarium. Plants are your natural filter. The mulm in the tank is the fertilizer for your plants. You should strive for an ecosystem and an in nature, there are no 'water changes' per say. When you gravel vac, you are removing the benefits that your substrate provides. Now if you have bare gravel, you basically have an open sewer for your fish. I was guilty of this with my first aquarium after some poor advice. I no longer do this. I did not remove that gravel, I just added a two to three inch sand cap and my water no longer stinks, cleared up in cloudiness, and the plants are thriving using the mulm that had built up in the gravel. I highly recommend you give this a try. You will see all life in the tank flourish.
@FatherFish you mention on the vid not to touch the substrate. What should I do if I have 4 inches substrate already in a Marineland 75 gal. tank? Should I take some out to cap 2 inches of sand?
What will happen if i dont have any rooted plants in the substrate? i want to know then what will happen to all the nutrients building up in a deep substrate but there is no plants to suck them up TIA
if my tank is super dirty because I had a lot of fry in it and wasn't able to clean it for awhile. Can I put the sand over the top of that gravel and fish poop or does it need to be several years old? I have one tank I did like you say to do and its wonderful and I would love to change the rest of my tanks over.
STEM PLANTS BUNDLE SALE - Over 75 plants - 15 Species for $59! Limited Time OFFER so HURRY!
father-fish-aquarium.myshopify.com/
For Special Soil Supplements, Plants, FIsh & Merch in your country:
fatherfish.fish/
You're an angel, I can see the love you have on fish and explaining the methods that have passed their test successfully.
Long live, and healthy, I love you dear father fish!
I cannot listen to any other fish videos on TH-cam now that I’m an FF fan.
Glad to make it into a video! It has been an awesome journey so far. Nature has this figured out for us already, and I appreciate your ability to communicate that.
Will continue to give updates, I've already put more plants in my tank!
This is an 8 mon old video that I ran across & noticed how enthusiastic you sounded. It's contagious! Thx. 😊
Always!
We love you father fish...thank you
So true
I just turned my boring bare bottom tank into a Father Fish Method tank last month and so far its working out. Congrats on growing your channel. I think people want to turn away from unnatural tanks and start a natural slice of nature in their tanks.
Your my favourite you tuber which has changed my opinion on the whole way you setup an aquarium and really is the onlyway i just changed my big 6 foot tank into a sand substrate
Thank you Pops. We love you!
OMG! I love this idea! Nothing goes to waste either. Thank you for the tip!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, my tank is amazing, two weeks in 😎Congrats on the 40,000 subs🎉 All the best from Ireland 🇮🇪
I just did this last week. It needed restructuring.I made a couple of trips to my local river system for mud and sand. Found recent flood debris along the banks for my botanicals. Two types of marginal plants and about 40 gallons of crisp clear river water. I saved the mulm and old water when I broke the old set up down and used it when layering in the substrate. I add organic potting soil and organic ferts to this before capping off with the sand. Added the river plants, Java ferns from my old set up and more plants from online. I sprouted bonsai lotus seeds in the substrate, they have little lilypads for surface cover. Ty for your guidance.
Oh what, no cigarette butts? I wish I'd seen this sooner 😂🤣😂, that had me crying. 👍❤️
I'm not bored with my tank but I am wanting to do exactly what you've described to make my aquarium natural, thanks as always.👍❤️🇬🇧
I have noticed LOTS of planted aquariums popping up in the local pet stores here! You're on 🔥
i love my aquarium since i followd your advice and so do my fish
Father fish. I just wanted to let you know I've been following you and watching your videos for only a few weeks but it has changed everything for me I'm so grateful thank you so much. I wish i could show you how well my tank is doing it's better than its been ever and I'm so proud of it. I've set everything up your way and it's amazing it really is. Thanks so much your litteraly my fish keeping hero. Hope you have a great day
You can share your tank with pics and vids here: discord.gg/G4fkAE6qNw
That is what you inspire me to do! I all ready start it a week ago. I bought my tank used 20+ years ago and there is same gravel still in it and i did not know what to do with it, it was not pretty sight anymore. Then i found these your videos and tank look better now. Even in one week. Many thanks for you.😃👍
he says put sand over pure gravel and it will grow plants!
how is that possible ? there is no soil!
hey father fish
another great great video
very informative and helpful!!!
i guess the next step would be to ask you if u could make a vid explaining how to add sand to an already established tank...
thank you for everything
I am loving seeing all that micro-fauna spring up in my tank. It's only 3-4 months old but it makes me (and the shrimp and snails) happy to see those microorganisms dancing about on the leaves, rocks, and even side of the tank. No need for a magnetic scrubber, snails love these. My anacharis is growing like crazy and I'm already giving some trimmings to a coworker haha! 😊
Wow! This is what I have been doing the last couple of days. Father fish, thanks for confirming what I’ve learned from your videos. My fishes are healthiest because of your videos.
Video so true wonderful
Thanks FF. This was a question I asked recently on the Discord server. I am glad you clarified this method for converting older gravel tanks!
Always love the new creative topics you talk about in the hobby, Great to relax and learn to them. 👍
Thank you Mr. fish ,this is exactly what I am planning to do with my tank !
I love this video. This is what I was thinking.
Great ideas thank you Father Fish. Next stop for me is a local riverbank.
An adventure! Wonderful!
I like the fact that you didn't advice people to get rid of their undergravel filters in case they are using them 😁
Just pull out the tube and cap with sand.
Awesome inspiring video 😊 thanks 👍
Thank you father fish much much love to you.
Congratulations on 40k subs! Glad your channel is growing you give the best information and it's cheap easy and kinda common sense . We've all been brain washed by the community too buy chemicals and high priced items when all we need is outside our doors. Appreciate all you do sir.
Thank you Jay.
Glad I found your channel
Congrats on 40 thousand subs
Good advice thanks
I'm in love with this idea. Thank you so much!! 💓
The pet stores have told me to use and do all your don'ts, and my fish keep dying off breaks my heart. I've watched a few handfuls of ur videos last night today. I'm going to make my tank eco-friendly. Wish me luck lol
Im planning a full reconstruction on my naturalistic 30 gal of nearly 2 years. It has sand and plants and i havent added new fish for about a year but it recently developed algae that clouds the glass and the plants arent really growing despite fertilizer. I may consider adding nerites or otos, but first Ill try your method and keep what I already have. Ill deep clean the glass, add soil, squeeze the filter gunk into it, add back the original sand plus any additional that may be needed and reintroduce the plants and fish. I don't know when Ill have time to visit a pond but it's on my list now. In the reptile hobby we have "bioactive" enclosures that are self cleaning by the same principles of adding plants and critters to an enclosure to break down and recycle waste. I want to do the same for my tank, especially since I dont really have time for regular water changes which us why I added plants to begin with. This is exciting and I dont need to buy anything to get started :)
Awesome video Father Fish! Congrats on breaking 40k subs too!
Thank you Harry.
Thank you father fish 🐟
Wonderful as always.
Thank you Father Fish :)
Wonderful !
True
@@jamesjamesnet James is a cracking name and really is worth saying twice 🤭🤗
Father Fish, you are something else! This was amazing, definitely gonna do this, thanks again.
[thank, you father fish for you're video]👍
Love the videos! Went to the pond to get some old leaves to put in my tank. Tried to collect some duck weed by the reeds and met a 3ft water moccasin 😂. Disclaimer when collecting leaves pay attention to the surrounding wildlife.
sounds cool tho
I love getting my plants form the wild...the only negative i can come up with is the damselfly larvae that always appear afterwards. They are some interesting predators.
The plants can live out of water for a few days, and this quarantine time can kill any eggs or larvae- When at the pond or stream, rinse off the plants and use your fingers to rub any eggs off the stems and leaves. When you get home dry off the plants and then put each of them into their own plastic bag. The plants can live like this in the plastic bags for a few days, but keep them out of direct sunlight. After at least 3 days (but less than 7 days) take them out of the plastic bags, and add them to your tank. The lack of water will cause the eggs and larvae to die while the plants are quarantining in the bags. Alternatively you could also do a salt or medication dip with the plants instead of the bag method.
However, I will caution that these methods do not work for eggs that have been laid inside of the plant's stem - Female dragonfly/ damselfly are able to puncture the walls of the plant stem and lay their eggs inside... When females lay eggs the number can range from as few as 100 eggs, up to 1,500 eggs. Getting a larvae infestation in your tank is no fun 😞
@@472BB Thank you! I've really wanted to do something like this, but hesitant cause I'm worried about picking up the wrong things from my waterways.
Hi Father, I ask you in march about an old aquarium I have with gravel. This aquarium have 14 yeras old and was inhabited with goldfish. You recommend the same thing like this video: cover with sand. I do it and working wonderful, now have a lot of plants and the goldfish looks very well. Low levels of NO2 and NO3. Thank you very much for yours teachings, greeting from Argentina!
hey hey hey!
did u just cap pure gravel with sand?
how does it grow plants ? there is no soil but gravels only!
Great stuff Father Fish.
Complimenti per tutto quello che ci trasmetti con i tuoi argomenti sarei felice trovare i sottotitoli, saluti dall' Italia...
You are truly my favorite person on the internet! Thank you for all your wisdom! I love this idea of just adding sand on top of old substrate! I was wondering do I need to remove the fish while adding the sand, or just cap it carefully around them?
They will not be harmed by sand falling on them.
I stumbled across your channel and love your way of keeping fish. I have not had a tank for over 20 years but after seeing your eco-self-sufficient tank method, I decided to get me another one. I will set it up this week and then start the learning curve to creating a self-managing eco system :-)
Welcome aboard!
How large did you get
I've been watching your old videos. I took up your resurrection jar challenge recently. I'm 0 for 2 so far, both came out of huge lakes. Starting a third this morning.
Keep them coming FF always great to learn more about keeping a healthy aquarium.
after watching this ive just done this to my 18 year old neglected aquauim ,thanks
Thanks great information
Another great video
How will this hold up long-term? Will the old gravel substrate cause issues down the road?
I have an 8 month old gravel tank (about 2" of gravel) that I've never cleaned. I was thinking of removing half the gravel, adding a thin layer of organic soil from the garden, and then capping with 2-3" of fine sand. Will this work? Thanks FF
Yes. That will be good.
Great info, thanks.
Play sand at hardware store works after washing it
If I want to create a hill towards a part of the tank, do I add more sands in that area or do I add more soil and then cover that mound of soil with 2 inches of sand. What is a method to raise the floor of the tank without making a mess? Thanks!
tricky at best. More sand.
Im glad i saw your video because i just got a 40 gallon one i was thinking how to set it up with real plants or fake but now after i saw your post i will definitely get reals plants
I sell plants here: father-fish-aquarium.myshopify.com/
You are amazing! 🎉❤
FF,
I am not ready to plant just yet, so I filled Dixie cups with aquarium water and put the plants out in the sun. It is about 85 degrees here.
Let me know if this will be okay for 4-5 days. The tops are out of the water. Thanks for everything!
should be fine
@@FatherFish Thanks my friend for everything!
Wish I would have seen this last week. Picked up some old tanks that still had gravel in them and dumped it all out. About 30 lbs worth of gravel so I could have room for my soil and sand. Still got 2 - 5 gallons with old gravel that I can try this with. Thanks for widsom! 🎉
I was prepared to dump out the gravel too. Nice to know I can leave the fish in the tank and carfully add the sand. Being it has been three weeks for you, hope everything has turned out as expected on your smallr tanks. Father Fish is a wise man
@sandybrammer6772 it turned out great! So glad I found this tip. Now I have all my tanks with sand in them. The plants are in a little bit of shock and had some melt back but all my vegetation eating fishes are loving it.
@@sandybrammer6772 whats the benefit of capping pure gravel with sand?its doesnt have soil and wont grow plants ...would it?
Old already in the thank gravel. No need to dump it out
I have never heard you talk about water temperature you do of course still use a heater, correct
I try to keep my tanks in the high70's and low 80's
I have yet to do a water or filter change. Set up for years. Plants are growing out of the top of the filter.
Look at no other.. if you want nature you can admire at home, Father Fish has the solution.
If you want to waste your time and sacrifice the life of fish, then set up a crap fish tank that will never be balanced to support life.
Hey! Father Fish 🙏❤️
Hey Sghetti!
Stop doing weekly water changes. I used to do weekly changes, and I just changed my water for the first time in 4 weeks. Fish are fine. People worry far too much about nitrate levels in a tank.
Haven't changed the water in 6 months..
Nitrates stunt fish - that’s why water changes are needed - what are your nitrates?
I have a dam, I don’t feed my fish do I then say no one needs to feed their fish - context and data is everything.
@@Aiken47 I don't even bother measuring my nitrates anymore, it's pointless. My tap water contains nitrates so water changes don't make that much of a difference. I currently do water changes around every 6-8 weeks now. Fish are fine.
@@MCorriganI would figure out why there are nitrates in your tap water.
I bet if you let it sit the nitrates will leave.
i made an ecosystem that needs to survive it has shrimp, snails, plankton, freshwater clams, neon tetras , white cloud minnows, guppys, a crab and a lot of a variety of plants along with dead leaves , pine cones and even lava rocks i got from Hawaii i have not added anything new so far ill just save up some money and get more and i have a new tank with plants and stuff in the bottom.
Hi Father Fish, can I add the sand with my fish in the aquarium or do I need to remove them? Thank you for your help
Add 1/2" every 3 days. Leave the fish in.
Thank you very much. As soon as possible will do
when doing this conversion by simply adding sand on top of existing substrate, is there any advantage in sprinkling some of FF supplements on the old substrate before topping w/ sand?. I suppose you'd have to remove the water first, save it, sprinkle the supplement, then the sand, then put the water back.
I absolutely admire you and your team! What a kind, incredible, wise person you are! You are full of life and God bless you for many years to come!!!! Thank you for everything!!!!
I've decided to do this. I was wondering if it might also be a gpod idea to lay some peat on the old gravel before adding the sand. I've got some organic sphagnum peat that I've washed ready to go. Would it cause any problems to do this.
Keeping it under the sand might be an issue. Drain the tank to the gravel level before starting
Just did this with a tank that was not bringing me joy! Many thanks, Father Fish! Would you share your thoughts on what snails are best for freshwater tanks - and that will not become pests...
I have a gravel substrate with a bunch of live plants. Do I remove the plants and then put the sand in before replanting?
no. Add 1/2" sand every few days and tug the plants a bit to keep their crowns at level.
I have been watching several videos on different types of wood to use. People worry about wood rotting. Is this something we necessarily need to be concerned about? Won't the tank take of that decomposing wood? Absorb the wood adding more nutrients to the substrate?
Soft wood rots quickly. Hard
wood rots slowly.
Hi there, i think i need to add a bit more sand to my aquarium. The "gunk" stays on top of my sand. Would it be benifitial to mix some yellow sand and a bit of mud from my local pond? I dont want to alter the look of my aquarium but i do want al the benefits from the mud.
Rather than mud collect rotting leaves and start with a small amount./ Add small portions once a week. In time it will build into a rich diverse thriving community.
I'm from South Africa, just letting you know how far the reach is of your channel
Thank you Tyrone. We received a signal once from the moon. Dunno if that was a fish keeper.
And Tyrone is in Ireland 🇮🇪😂
@@EireFirst2024 yeah I searched it up, it's of irish origin
So i have a large tabk with severums that eat plants, and geos that dig up plants I was currious on how you'd set up a tank for said fish?
Join us on Father Fish Shoal to learn how to do that.
discord.gg/u3gFSDwu
hello father fish
if only sand needs to be added to an already existing aquarium and it will provide me all i need and also be as good as the one u show in the video than what is the issue of the soil and the dirt and the mud and the supplement for the soil?
isn't there any difference at all?
The difference is about a year of buildup in the sand base to reach a level of soil material sufficient to break down waste and feed plants.
thank u for the quick response...
so what can i do?
should i do?
in the meantime ...
if it will take about a year to achieve a sufficient level of action?
If it is an old tank with good dirt in the gravel it will be much quicker. You can start building a food web right away. Add leaves from a pond or creek, a little at a time and build the food web. That will improve the dirt layer and add microfauna.
thank u much
Thanks for another great video Father Fish.
Are Maple and Eucalyptus leaves ok?
Cheers,
David from Downunder 👍👍
Yes. Look for our module on leaves this summer.
@@FatherFish thanks again your channel has had an awakening on me, I have converted to soil and sand with zero plastic plants and my little water critters have never been so happy 😇👍👍👍
I'd like to transform my 75 gallon aquarium into a planted aquascape, but I used to add 5 mls of aquarium salt to every 10 gallons of fresh water I'd add on water changes, plus I'd added more salt to treat sick fish. The only occupants in the tank currently are snails. Will the previous salt cause any specific challenges?
probably will be ok. Try some plants and see how they do. You can always dilute the salt solution.
@@FatherFish Thanks for replying so fast! Someone told me salt never goes away!
I have a 20 long that I am going try that on.
Hi Father fish your videos are great. Could you tell how to apply these techniques for a saltwater aquarium as well?
Yes. I will
can plants grow in gravel if i cap it with sand without soil?
i it even possible ?
i have old tank that only has an inch of gravel , no soil or dirt, so how will capping gravel with sand make it suitable for plant?
Father Fish, what's the best sand to use for an established tank with gravel?
pool filter, but any will do
Thank you Father Fish! You're the best teacher!😊
Hi, will this tank system work for gold fish or just tropical fish?
Works for anything
Father Fish, if I purchase your soil additives what more would I need other than Peat Moss, Cow Manure, and Garden Soil? I plan on getting some mud from a local pond as well. This is for a 55 gal.
50 lbs of sand
@@FatherFish Okay thanks. I will be ordering soon!
I currently have a planted 75 gal tank with gravel, and i'd love to try the sand method. But my gravel is around 2 inches, if i put 2-4 inches of sand on top, then ill have 4-6 inches of substrate, that's a lot lol. Would it be ok for me to take out the gravel till about one inch, and and add the sand on top, and also is it ok to do that with the fish still in the tank?
yes
Thank you, and what about the hard scapes. Should I take those out when I add the sand, or leave em in, and let them get buried in the sand somewhat?
Father Fish, I live very close to the Banana River in Florida. The water is brackish. Can I get plants and wet leaves from it and put it in my tank?
probably will not work
OK thanks
I didn't know I could do this wrong.. Oh well! 🙄
I used the old filter sand from my landlord's koi pond filter.
It looked quite clean... Must have been some chunks of dried waste in there.. My Nitrites went up!!😟
1 ppm or so, said the test strip.
Fish look okay.. Moving ahead, buying Plants! 💕😁
You did something right, not wrong. Nitrates will feed you plants. Get them in there right away.
@@FatherFish ok.👌
Worried about Nitrite poisoning. I guess you are not too concerned. I got plants, changed water in small increments. And threw in a piece of ammonia absorbing pad and Stability in a bottle, just in case there is more waste converting to Nitrites from ammonia... While the bacteria grow in.. 🌞
I imagine nitrites will drop, soon. 🍻
Have had my tank planted for a couple months on gravel. Getting ready to add some sand shortly. Do you do any type of water test? Or what's your observation for things running smooth?
I did add a 9lb bag of fluval stratum substrate under the gravel.
My tests are all about observing the plants and the fish.
But you're an expert. I'm a nervous nelly novice.
@@FatherFish
im new to your page and i love it so far. so i put my tank together not really knowing much and only using petcos advice which i know isnt to great. i got the crushed coral stuff thats supposed to look like sand. and i watched a lot of people saying dont go to thick with the substrate because gasses get caught in it and when released it could harm the fish. any ways i want to make my tank come to life! i currently have a few types of loaches, some angel fish, cory cats, some glow fish ( my light is on a timer so it switches to the blue light for a couple hours at about 5 pm for the glow fish) i want real plants to survive. they always die and i think its from not having the proper substrate. i have a creek behind the house so if u think it is safe for my fish ill go get a bucket and shovel. also can i pour the substrate from the creek right in with my fish present or do i need to take them out for a while?
local creek water will be excellent
@@FatherFish can i put the substrate from the creek in while my fish are in there? or will it cloud it to much?
There are some really good videos on how to do this, but he replied to another comment saying to add 1/2 an inch of new sand every three days.
@@Spunky7819Hove-bi4eg thank you! do i need to take fish out?
@@kws74 yeah its better
Good morning Father Fish. If I already have a few plants in my current substrate, do I just put sand around the bottom of them? Or do I need to pull them up before I put in the sand?
let them be and pour sand around them
@@FatherFish Thank you very much. I already have my sand and have been holding off on just pouring in the sand and nobody ever answered me before. My plants were the one thing that I was unsure of. Well there was a couple of other things until I watched this guy do it. But he had cichlids and NO plants. LMBO.
Like this idea, but what if fish died from a contagious disease in this tank ?
like what?
@@FatherFish I meant, if I want to use my old tank without cleaning it out and not eliminating the gravel… ( which fish died in it from a contagious disease) Is there going to be a problem ?
Mulm just sits on top of the sand as far as I've seen. Never seen it "precipitate" down. Even just sits on top of tiny gravel, no matter the depth.
add an inch of sand and see what it does.
Thanks father fish ! May I ask when you do water change do you gravel vac or just leave them alone?
The fact that you ask means you have not watched any of my videos. The answers are all there.
If you haven't wayched many videos, the idea is to leave the substrate alone. Let the mulm break down and work it's way into the substrate. Have a ton of plants and I mean truly pack out your aquarium. Plants are your natural filter. The mulm in the tank is the fertilizer for your plants. You should strive for an ecosystem and an in nature, there are no 'water changes' per say. When you gravel vac, you are removing the benefits that your substrate provides. Now if you have bare gravel, you basically have an open sewer for your fish. I was guilty of this with my first aquarium after some poor advice. I no longer do this. I did not remove that gravel, I just added a two to three inch sand cap and my water no longer stinks, cleared up in cloudiness, and the plants are thriving using the mulm that had built up in the gravel. I highly recommend you give this a try. You will see all life in the tank flourish.
@@jodip719 thank you so much !
@@dennislu4008 you are very welcome!
@FatherFish you mention on the vid not to touch the substrate. What should I do if I have 4 inches substrate already in a Marineland 75 gal. tank? Should I take some out to cap 2 inches of sand?
Reduce the water level to the substrate and remove some of the material before capping with sand.
Is it safe to take any living plant from a pond/stream and grow in my aquarium? Thank you Father Fish 🐠🐟
yes
@@FatherFish Well that sums that up haha ... Thank you 😊
What will happen if i dont have any rooted plants in the substrate?
i want to know then what will happen to all the nutrients building up in a deep substrate but there is no plants to suck them up
TIA
if my tank is super dirty because I had a lot of fry in it and wasn't able to clean it for awhile. Can I put the sand over the top of that gravel and fish poop or does it need to be several years old? I have one tank I did like you say to do and its wonderful and I would love to change the rest of my tanks over.
Yes you can cap gravel with sand