Path: utzoo!hoptoad!amdahl!ames!hc!lll-winken!gryphon!richard From: richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) Newsgroups: alt.aquaria Subject: Re: Tank Size Summary: oobla dee, oobla dah Keywords: Layered Fish Message-ID: <2199@gryphon.CTS.COM> Date: 20 Jan 88 04:02:17 GMT References: <5927@sol.ARPA> <348@galaxy> <2924@steeleye.rutgers.edu> Reply-To: richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) Organization: Trailing Edge Technology, Redondo Beach, CA Lines: 56 Expires: In article <2924@steeleye.rutgers.edu> hammy@steeleye.rutgers.edu (hammy) writes: >Hi. I currently have a standard 30 gallon long tank. Previously >I had a 30 gallon high, (2 feet wide, 2 high, 1 deep). I changed >to the longer tank last time I moved (since the fish were going to >be disturbed anyway...), largely because of the problems I had >with the high tank. > >It's been pointed out several times on this newsgroup about the >importance of surface area for oxygenation: well, high tanks just >don't have that surface area. Well, they have surface are. Just not as much of it :-) >The water tends to stagnate unless >you have a really powerful air pump and plenty of circulation. >I couldn't get plants to grow, although algae loved it. The only >fish I found that used that blank space in the middle of the >tank that you spoke about were angelfish. Hmm. My experiences counter this. My best tank for plants is a 35 hex tank with NO filter or aeration, about 8 platies, 5 LARGE Aponogeton sp., 1 VERY LARGE Java Fern, and a whole mess of Java moss. The lights are fairly strong though. No, I cant explain it. Convection currents ? Active fish ?? >In general, I'd advise against the high tank. If you decide to >try it, get a filtration system that really moves the water around, >moving it from top to bottom (or v.v.), and get an air pump at least >twice the recomended power. Plants you might have some luck with >are *Hygrophila Difformis*, *Ceratophyllum Demersum*, or *Cabomba >spp.*. Make sure they are really well anchored. The nice thing about >these plants is that they all grow fairly long, and can help to fill >up that space in the middle of the tank. Fish like to have some >cover, and this might help to bring them up from the bottom of the >tank. Oh, I dunno. Hex tanks are OK as long as you understand the drawbacks. As for plants. Anything will grow if its close enough to the light. The Java moss in mine wasnt doing real good, so I stuck it onto a piece of driftwood halfway up the tank. Scientific names 101: The genus name (ie. Caratophyllum) is capitalized, but the species name (demersum) is not. Unless it is a proper name: It's Lamprologus lelupei But it's Lamprologus Brichardi (after Pierre Brichard) -- "...and the morning sun has yet to ride my hood ornament" richard@gryphon.CTS.COM {ihnp4!scgvaxd!cadovax, philabs!cadovax, codas!ddsw1} gryphon!richard