Dustin's Blog — Planted tank
Choosing Aquarium Substrates 101
Posted by Augusta Hosmer on
Read Time: 5 minutes Dustin's called this the most overlooked part of your aquarium, and it's the truth. Substrates are often the heart of healthy (or unhealthy) fish tank biology. So, in every sense of the phrase, let's dig in. First Off: Do You Even Need Substrate in Your Aquarium? Depends on the rest of your setup and what your goals are. The benefits of aquarium substrate are looks, increased surface area for beneficial bacteria and fungi, more options for plants and animals, and an easier time growing live plants. That said, you can also grow bacteria on other surfaces...
- Tags: Akadama, aquarium, aquarium dirt, aquarium fish tip. Fishtank tips, Aquarium Sand, Aquarium Substrate, Aquarium Tip and Tricks, Aquascaping, blog, Clay, Crushed Coral, dirt aquarium, dirt in aquarium, Dirt in fishtank, dirt in the planted aquarium, Dirt VS Gravel, Dustinsfishtanks, fish tank, gravel aquarium, Hardscape, Laterite, No substrate, planted Aquarium substrate, Planted tank, Planted Tank Substrate, Roots, Soil as substrate, using dirt aquarium
Nano Tank? NaNo Problem.
Posted by Augusta Hosmer on
Read Time: 5 minutes Advice for Keeping Small/Nano Aquariums Nano tank in the cover photo scaped by Christian E. Velez. What is a nano tank/How big is a nano tank? Nano aquariums are exactly what they sound like: a growing field of near-atomic-sized fish robots that could be used to advance human evolution via shape-shifting and reinforced suits of flying armor. ...nah. It's just a small aquarium. That's basically it. As for how many gallons they have to have to qualify as a nano tank, depends who you're talking to. Some hobbyists say anything less than 20 gallons counts, though I've...
- Tags: aquarium, Aquarium Fish Species, aquarium fish tip. Fishtank tips, Aquarium Plants For Kids, Aquarium Tip and Tricks, Betta Fish, Bettas, blog, Dustinsfishtanks, fish tank, Foreground Plants, Nano Tanks, Planted tank, Plants, Shrimp, Small Aquariums, Snails
Drift Away: Aquarium Driftwood Questions Answered
Posted by Augusta Hosmer on
Read Time: 5 minutes Driftwood is a staple in the fish tank hobby for a reason. It's gorgeous, it's natural, you never see the same branch twice...you can't go wrong with it. Here are answers to the top questions about adding driftwood to your setup. You know you want to. Here's a cool use of driftwood in a Dustin's Fishtanks customer tank! Number 1 Series of Questions: Will Aquarium Driftwood Float? How Do I Get Driftwood to Sink in My Fish Tank? How Long Does Driftwood Take to Sink? How Do I Get It to Sink Faster? We get it....
- Tags: aquarium, aquarium fish tip. Fishtank tips, Aquarium Tip and Tricks, Aquascaping, blog, Cholla, Driftwood, Dustinsfishtanks, fish tank, Hardscape, Malaysian Driftwood, Manzanita, Mopani, Planted tank, Plants on Driftwood, Spider Wood
How to Become a Cryptkeeper
Posted by Augusta Hosmer on
Guide to Cryptocoryne Aquarium Plants Read Time: 4.5 minutes Tales from the Crypts: History of Cryptocoryne These are some of the coolest, hardiest aquarium plants alive. The name "Cryptocoryne" is Greek, from 'crypto' (hidden) and koryne (club). They're also called water trumpets because of the shape of their stems' flower clusters (inflorescence). Cryptocoryne plants (or just "crypts") were first described as a species in 1779, then as a genus in 1828 by botanists Anders Jahan Retzius and Friedrich Ernst Ludwig von Fischer respectively. So they've been in the hobby a while. Expeditions to find new crypt and other aquatic plant species are still...
- Tags: aquarium, aquarium fish tip. Fishtank tips, Aquarium Plant Species, Aquarium Tip and Tricks, Beginner Tank, Cryptocoryne, Crypts, Dustinsfishtanks, Freshwater Planted Aquarium, Low Light Aquarium Plants, Planted tank, The Planted Tank
Fungus in Your Fish Tank? Could Be a Good Thing.
Posted by Augusta Hosmer on
Read Time: 4 minutes Okay, sure, the title sounds kinda clickbait-ish. Most people hear "fungus" and think either "athlete's foot" or "mushroom," but what if we told you fungi might help you grow aquarium plants? Mycorrhizae: Pretty Fly for Fungi Land plants have a well-documented symbiotic (mutually helpful) relationship between their roots and a huge range of fungal species naturally found in soil called mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae actually translates from Greek to "fungal root." The fungi infects the plant's roots, obtains "food" (carbohydrates) from the plant and, in return, increases the plant's root absorption and nutrient uptake by increasing root surface...
- Tags: aquarium, aquarium fish tip. Fishtank tips, aquarium plants biology, Aquarium Science, Aquarium Substrate, Aquarium Tip and Tricks, Biotope, Dustinsfishtanks, fish tank, Mycorrhizae, planted Aquarium substrate, Planted tank, pond tips, pond tricks, Roots, Soil as substrate, The Planted Tank