Would Appreciate Comments And/Or Suggestions

[jones57742]

Folks: Four Items

One - MLBs
MLB = Malaysian Live Bearer snails AKA Malaysian Trumpet Snails
These little devils are 1st class (as opposed to the typical snails received with plants).
Not only will they help with algae control on the tank walls as well as surfaces of rocks and wood but they are also good bottom cleaners.
Why am I so enamored with them?
MLBs will also burrow several inches into the substrate and clean it as well.
Bottom vacuuming for a planted aquarium is a real pain and I have been concerned about detritus contiguous to plants in the substrate.
I have observed these wonderful little creatures several inches into my substrate cleaning up.

Two - Dry Ferts
I have been experimenting with varying concentrations of dry ferts the last several weeks and two combinations of concentrations of these dry ferts have very positively affected my plants' health and growth.
Please ref Nutrients at the following site for basic information
http://www.rexgrigg.com/index.html

Three - Air Bubbles and Plant Growth
I recently planted several spiral Vallisnaria.
Obviously all melted down but the ones which I planted very near air diffusion bars have really grown and the others died.
The plant which is closest to an air bar and which through several leaves the air bubbles rise has experienced the most growth.

Four - Biological Filtration
Rarely seen on the Forum is "That is too much filtration for your tank".
What I believe is actually being said is "The flow in the tank due to the capacity of the pump in that filter will be too great".
Commonly seen on the Forum is "There is no such thing as too much filtration".
IMHO the latter assertion is absolutely correct.
In my filtration process which is wet/dry the biological filtration is a ton of bio balls, ceramic toroids, ceramic cylinders and sintered glass, ie although my tank is 110G biological filtration sufficient to support like a 500G tank is present.

Please note that due to the MLBs and the quantity of biological filtration media over feeding which is not significant is not a problem.

TR

[Obsidian]

How about a question?
Oooo I just asked one!

How do you think the MLB's would be in a non planted tank? I recently lost my Oto cats and will not be replacing them. I am now considering snails instead. I would love one that can get into the substrate as well, but it is gravel, not sand.

[Ichthius]

I've had MTS in aquariums with gravel. They seem to burrow just as much as they do in my tanks with sand.

[Buggy]

I have HUNDREDS of MTS's in all of my tanks both sand and gravel. They do help with detritus clean up but they also contribute their own waste as well so it's like two steps forward and one step back. They don't help much with cleaning green algea in my tanks. They do however help keep the sand shifting to prevent gas pockets.

[Manwithnofish]

Oh, I just cancelled a bid on ebay to purchase 25 (w/free shipping) because someone told me that they are simply marvelous, but the population very rapidly gets out of control. His statement was that 90% of his substrate was the snails. I got cold feet on that testimony.

As for the Over Filtration part, I'm having that very same discussion on another forum today. What seems to coming from it is, that maybe we should distinguish between filtration and water circulation (filters being use to circulate water but not filter it meaning changing it's chemistry). That perhaps what we put in the filters is more important than the number of filters or the flow rates, etc. It's a very interesting thread. I'm gonna use the Diana word here, but I injected that Diana Walstad (in her book) indicates that in a planted aquarium, perhaps you could be filtering nutrients that the plants either need or could benefit from. She does state as her point of view that you can "over filter" in some cases.

[jones57742]

Originally Posted by Obsidian

How do you think the MLB's would be in a non planted tank?

Obs:

I have two very small tanks which have floating plants but which have bare bottoms.

The MLBs are a first class cleanup crew for these tanks.

Originally Posted by Obsidian

I would love one that can get into the substrate as well, but it is gravel, not sand.

Obs:

The MLBs must somehow get through approximately 1" of uniformly graded aggregate before they get into the laterite.

TR