Palmfiber Peat soaked in Chemicult as a substrate.

The bubbles are just air trapped in the PFP layer.. Don't think its possible to press down so much as not to contain air. Mine let loose loads of bubble, and specifically in places where I know I did not press it down very much..

 

thanks zoom i shoulda thought to post it here in the 1st place. well took a wiff at the bubbles today and really couldnt smell anything, they came up while i was doing a water change so i could get really close to the water surface. anyway just to be on the safe side i did a massive water change and an all round scrub of the glass, for the algae, and rinsed my wood off as well. everyone seems to be A ok and whats nice is im sitting at my desk for once studying so can keep a close eye on things while my betta keeps an eye on me hehe. i have noticed on the desk side of the tank which doesnt get much natural light, that there appears to be some sort of light brownish stuff forming where the gravel meets the peat, is this suppose to happen? some sort of fungi maybe? would also like to get profs input on this. oh nearly forgot to add, gideon this tanks been running for about 4 months so im not sure it's still possible for trapped air to still be surfacing? and if it is would it be safe after so long being trapped beneath the substrate?

 

hmm, yes, if running for so long it might be something else. but still, plant roots breaking an air pocket? some pressure changes because of water changes, working on tank etc? I'm not sure.

 

@Dirk Bellstedt :

I can't recall if this specific query has been dealt with, but it's possibly a solution to some "problems" I've experienced with PFP.

Recently I uprooted all my plants because I'm relocating. I know that at least once every 4-6 months people like to rescape their tanks, which is often done by leaving the fish in the tank, and only moving the "hardware" and plants. When I uprooted all my plants, I have a huge amount of PFP which was released into the water... obviously!

Some people are also starting to express concerns about fish that dig and could be releasing PFP into the water column too.

If one was to put PFP first, then a shade cloth over this, and then cap this, would this not make a viable option to prevent the PFP entering the water column? The shade cloth would obviously have to be something like a 40% as this will have larger gaps. The plants would then be planted in the 3-4cm of gravel above the shade cloth, and you would obviously have to wait a few weeks for the roots to grow through the shade cloth before they gain the benefit of the Chemicult in the PFP?

I realize that there is the issue of chemicals in the shadecloth, and I am not sure of how fast the shadecloth would break down in the water. But would this be a viable option?

Regards

 

The First thing that springs to mind is that the roots would be so intertangled, with the net, recaping would be even messier that way.

 

@Zoom - I think this is a problem with any special substrate that needs to be capped. Most substrate suppliers recommend that you do not remove plants - but rather trim them and let the roots decompose in the substrate.

Later Ferdie

 

hehe, thinking on your feet hey! I never thought of that. First thing that sprung to my mind, was that it is a good idea. Shows you, think! So what if you make it a 100% shade cloth. Will the nutrients get through, but not the roots?

 

Hi Ashley,

I have just got home after a long day, I have many lectures and commitments at the moment and folks must please be patient with replies.

When you start off with new PFP, you prepare your solution of Chemicult and then let the PFP soak it up so that it contains the fertilizer. If you reuse your PFP, you would have to take it out of the aquarium and you would actually have to dry it to get new Chemicult back. If you actually look at the price of PFP, then I would say that I would not bother, I would simply use a new brick and start again. I also agree that the shade net is going to be a problem. I now have a large number of crypts growing in PFP and if I look at the roots they produce in the PFP, then I think that if these roots were to grow through the shade net then you would never be able to get them out of the shade net without cutting of the roots. You actually do not want to cut off the roots, so I do not think that this is a good idea.

As an aside I can now say to you that the roots of the crypts as they develop in the PFP are the best I have ever seen crypt roots develop and I have never had better crypt growth than the growth on the PFP.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

I would assume that to remove the plants you would need to cut the roots at the point where they go into the shadecloth, and just leave the roots there and transplant.

I have to agree with Dirk on the costing of PFP compared to reusing it. I am by no means planning on reusing my pfp, will simply wash this away in the garden and reuse the gravel. I already have a block waiting to be prepped. Was just thinking of how we go about rescaping when we don't want to completely redo the substrate, but only move a few plants around.

When I pulled my crypts out, I discovered that I actually have about 20 more crypts than what I originally started out with. I got 40 crypts from a forum member, gave 20 to my sis, and kept 20. I now pulled out about 30 of them. The crypts roots were also deep in the PFP, and one of the roots spanned across the entire tank. That's 1.2m stretch of a root!!!

 

Hey guys. Excellent post! I have read through the entire post with interest. I'm starting out on a 2nd hand tank.

1. The tank is dry now for about 2 days, so I assume all good bacteria is dead now. Do I need to start to cycle as with a new tank?
2. I'm going to use the PFP method with chemicult. What plants are suitable and not suitable for this?

 

1) yes
2) true aquatic plants do better than non-aquatic plants in an aquarium, irrespective of PFP being used. For specifics look for the beginners plant guide on the forum. Even with PFP you would still need to do water column fertilizers. Maybe PM Prof - he has some local made stuff that is specific for ZA water - not sure if he has something for Mossel Bay's water.

see http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/s...for-easy-growers&p=59052&viewfull=1#post59052

Later F

 

If your gravel was kept wet during your tank repair then they will still be there.

This method is suitable for all plants, no exceptions.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Thanks prof! Do I add my plants before or during the cycle or after the tank has established itself?

 

It would actually be best if you planted your plants after putting in the PFP and capping with the gravel, even before you added water. THen you can control the roots and cover the PFP nicely without getting it into the aquarium water. The plants are not affected by the cycling of the tank, only the fishes so you can plant immediately.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Thanks again for the quick responce and advise... Now I need to find the PFP and some good plants and get my tank started...

 

Morning Prof,

Wanted to find out if Starke Ayres 3:1:6 (46) Plant Food will also work for the pfp method.

It comes in the same container as the attached picture.

Thanx
Q

 

Be patient, prof is out of country at the moment...

 

@Gert Combrink, you don't know if the container is the same stuff?

 

Hi Guys,

A brief reply from Germany where I wil be visiting discus and altums angel folks later today....

You cannot use the 3:1:6 chemicult as it does not contain trace elements and the NPK ratio is wrong.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Hi all

Many people have been complaining about stained water. I was wondering about this when suddenly I remembered some information I read on ADA Aqua Soil. In their literature they state that AS will leach humic acids if you do water changes with hard water (high kh, ph). It does not say anything about gh. So perhaps the guys with PFP issues may be in the same boat?

http://www.aquajournal.net/na/notes/001/index.html

Perhaps @Dirk Bellstedt can provide a more scientific explanation, as these ADA guys never do...it's always this hogwash fairy tale nature harmony BS...