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Originally Posted by jibbittyflibbitt
matpat,
i am going to be moving my 75 gallon in about a month.. i am probably going to chuck the current substrate in favor of the charcol soilmaster select.. i would like to follow a similar process.
do you still think 1 50lb bag was enough for you?
where can i get some dry peat? any particular style/type or brand name i should look for?
thanks
jibbittyflibbitt
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I do still think 50lbs was plenty for a 75g tank. The tank is sloped from about 2 1/2" in the front to about 3 1/2" in the back so I guesstimate a 3" depth overall. You may want more if you plan on using swords or crypts since they typically have a large root system. So far the C. retrospiralis, C. wendtii, and C. lutea are doing fine in the 3" depth I have.
I got my dry peat at WalMart. Any Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss will work as long as it doesn't have additives. Definately stay away from the miracle grow brand as it comes pre-fertilized. I bought a 8 dry quart bag of Schultz Canadium Sphagnum Peat Moss over a year ago. It goes a long way!
Since then I have set up two 75g tanks, two 55g tanks, and one 50g tank (48Lx18D footprint) with a dusting of peat as in the photo. I have also set up two 10g tanks with an inch of pre-soaked peat and many emmersed pots. I have also given some away to some SWOAPE members and I still have about half of the bag left.
I like the Soilmaster Select enough that I am contemplating removing the Eco Complete from one of my 75g tanks and replacing it with Soilmaster. It is a bit "lighter" than the "newer" Eco but I have the old Eco (much larger grain size) in that tank. I really think the smaller grain size of the Soilmaster Select helps hold down the plants better.