|
Soil is not only a decorative element, but also a substrate that is necessary to strengthen plants, the habitat of most bacteria. Thus, the soil is an essential component of such an artificial biogeocenosis, as an aquarium. Soil bacteria, the simplest algae and unicellular living organisms in the ground are closely related to the processes occurring in the aquarium, and have a significant influence on them. Organic and inorganic substances that accumulate in the soil, with the help of soil bacteria, are split with the formation of salts necessary for the normal development of plants. One of the conditions for the normal functioning of soil bacteria is a good circulation of water, from which nutrients and oxygen necessary for the life of bacteria are delivered. Soil must satisfy the requirements of fish and plants. There is an opinion that the soil must necessarily be of a dark color. It is as if light reflects light from the light ground and the soil itself does not heat up due to this. And as is known from practice, plants really love when their roots are warm. The fact that the plants will be cold in a white, yellow, generally bright ground in our opinion is a controversial issue. We are skeptical about this idea, since now in almost every aquarium there are pumps and water mixing almost everywhere has the same temperature. So, what color you like the primer you can safely use in your aquarium. Although white, even yellow - the main designer of your aquarium - you yourself. So let's go further. In addition, the ground should not have sharp edges, which can be injured by fish, and contain nutrients for plants. Those who would like to decorate their aquarium before filling it with water, require good materials. Yes, here comes the first question: before or after filling with water? As experience shows, the sequence of actions should be as follows: the washed ground (sand / gravel) is distributed at the bottom of the tank, and then the lower heating is installed (if it is chosen it). Separately, clean and soak roots and snags: they must completely absorb the water and go to the bottom. Stones are also washed first, and then they begin to lay. Large stones and snags should not stand in the ground (sand / gravel), but on a glass bottom. Many fish like to dig up stones and pieces of wood and arrange for themselves under them shelter: because of this, a whole pyramid of stones can collapse if it is not firmly held in the ground. Before you completely or partially fill the aquarium with water, you need to decide for yourself the question of the back wall. If you intend to decorate it inside the aquarium (and not outside), then it must be done before filling it with water. Soil at the bottom of the aquarium - a factor that should be given special attention. First of all, it is important for plants, as mentioned above, but many fish need it to look for food in it, rummage, dig and spawn. The composition must also be appropriate. It is best to take for the soil river sand with the size of grains of 1.5 mm and gravel with a diameter of 2 to 4 mm. This material is usually sold at any pet store. Smaller sand for the soil is not suitable: the water at the bottom in it usually stagnates. The point is that the aeration of the soil is extremely important for keeping microorganisms in it. As you know, these microscopic living beings provide the decomposition of different substances, and the far-sighted aquarist in his calculations certainly takes into account their living conditions. The material for the soil should be washed as it should to free it from suspensions. In addition, if the soil is sterile, then in the reservoir there will be no caviar of snails, nor any other unknown embryos. To achieve this, it is necessary to pour the soil material into the plastic bucket and fill with water. When stirring, you need to add potassium permanganate (usual from the pharmacy) until the water gets a dark red color. Then you need to mix everything as it should again and leave it for 1-2 days, so that the product has worked. Then the water should be drained and repeatedly "rinse" the mixture, actively stirring it under the stream of water. Attention please . This method is only for those who themselves extract soil from rivers and lakes. If you buy ready-made soil for use, it is enough to simply wash it under a stream of warm water. When the soil is processed or washed, it begins to be poured into the aquarium. Again, there is, as we believe a mistaken opinion, even among experienced aquarists, that the bottom of the aquarium should be placed a different size of soil. This is explained by the fact that the problem of soil souring is ostensibly eliminated in this way. But this again is not so. It's best that all your soil is the same, i.e. Fractions of grains of one or almost the same size. Firstly, your soil will breathe - and this is the main for the right soil. Secondly, you will feel at the first cleaning of such a soil what a pleasure it is to clean. A denser soil promotes the accumulation of organic remains in it and the formation of significant quantities of rotting products, resulting in the formation of hydrogen sulfide harmful to living organisms. Well about this you already know from the section: Water in the aquarium . Practical advice: Fractions of grains of sand must be the same size. This can be achieved by sifting the soil through a sieve, with holes of a certain diameter. It should also be taken into account that red and yellow sand contains iron oxides harmful to plants and fish. In the case of using pebbles, it may be difficult to draw garbage from the bottom of the hose, since small pebbles can hammer it. To avoid this, the hose should have a diameter larger than the diameter of the pebble, or be transparent so that it can be seen that there has been a jam. Prevent congestion by using a siphon with a funnel that is not clogged with pebbles. About the siphon, in the section: Aquarium inventory , you have read everything and already own this information. For bottom fish, as well as for those who, in fright or danger, as well as in search of food, burrow into the ground, the bottom should be covered with sand that does not contain fragments with sharp edges. For large fish that dig in the ground, the bottom of the aquarium can be covered with large pebbles or overlaid with small boulders. Practical advice: Do not use as a primer often offered to beginner expanded clay. Firstly, it is very light, so there will be problems with planting plants in such a soil. Secondly your fish will play with your soil in water polo. Thirdly, expanded clay is very porous and absorbs all the filth and pollution, which then rot in it. And this you need? The aquarium can be kept completely without any soil. In this case, to maintain biological balance plants are planted in pots. However, there are species of fish that actively excavate the soil, preparing in advance for their offspring reliable protection. This factor is well manifested in African cichlids. Having deprived such fish of a ground, you break from an inhabitancy. Ground in the aquarium should recreate the type of natural reservoir. Therefore, before acquiring any soil, think about what fish you want to keep, read in the literature about their lifestyle and habitats, what landscape surrounds them in nature and in particular what kind of soil covers the bottom of their habitats. This is very important if you want your fish to feel in your aquarium, like at home. And also it is necessary to know what kind of soil in its chemical composition is suitable for a particular type of fish. To God forbid, it turned out that with the content of discus you poured into the bottom of the aquarium a soil containing pure limestone, marble, dolomite or coral sand. For this, once again, it is necessary to know the conditions of the maintenance of a particular type of fish, which you want to contain.
|
|
Gravel with a diameter of 2-4 mm Especially often As a primer at the bottom of the aquarium. |
Marsh plants, like this echinodorus, only completely fall into water from time to time and therefore need nutrients at the bottom (in the ground). |
Many aquarists mix the bottom layer of sand with clay so that some nutrients can be obtained through the roots of the plant. Yes, of course, the soil and placed in the aquarium primarily for plants; But only a few of them know how to get basic nutrition through the roots. Most of them take nutrients in a dissolved form directly from the water. In addition, plants living under water are provided with pores distributed throughout the surface of the leaf. For such species of bog plants, such as cryptocorins, such pores are not the only means of gas exchange. Plants that live mainly above water but are able to live in water also have stomata through which carbon dioxide enters. Passing from the aquatic to the air (or vice versa), these plants discard old leaves to adapt to the conditions of the changed environment with new leaves. To similar plants, the bottom soil serves only to strengthen the roots. Sandy soil at the bottom of our aquariums is almost impossible to completely aerify. After a very short time, it becomes sticky and clogs up with particles of dirt. That is why for the soil the mixture of gravel mentioned above (diameter 2 - 4 mm) with coarse-grained sand (1.5 mm) is most suitable. In order to make up for the possible shortage of the necessary substances in the water, after certain periods of time it should be supplied with fertilizers. These fertilizers are released as a liquid. They are sold in pet stores; In the water they must be added according to the instructions. Many fish and plants require exceptionally soft water. For their sake, they will have to remove from the ground all the elements that increase its rigidity (shells of snails, shells, their debris): they contain lime, and lime even in small amounts affects the properties of water.
|
|
Comments
Commenting on, remember that the content and tone of your message can hurt the feelings of real people, show respect and tolerance to your interlocutors even if you do not share their opinion, your behavior in the conditions of freedom of expression and anonymity provided by the Internet, changes Not only virtual, but also the real world. All comments are hidden from the index, spam is controlled.