Hey, everyone. I have been reading a lot about using soil on this site as a substrate. I wanted to know what you all thought of my plan for my plants.
I have organic Miracle Gro gardening soil from Home Depot. I thought I would put an inch of this down at the bottom and then mix it with Laterite clay. Then fill the top with just basic epoxy coated gravel.
I am on a budget as far as my setup goes but I have some experience with growing medium to low light plants.
Would any of you discourage what I am doing?
Thing is I have about 75lb of epoxy colored gravel that has been dried and already used. I cannot return it. I would hate to just throw it away. The nice thing about it is that it is a brown color which will look nice (in my opinion) with the brown soil.
did you search... I know I have read a thread about someone else using Miracle Gro, check it out and see if you can see if they had any issues with it...
Really? Dang...I am trying to do right by my tanks but I wish there were a way to have access to complete information to get this going. This is taking too much time and I do not feel like I am moving forward with my tanks.
I thought I did my research but apparently there must be issues. I think I will just do regular epoxy gravel with some laterite mixed in. I know this works because I have done it before.
Also known as the walstad method, a search here or on google will provide plenty of hits. Diana walstad uses this method in her book, "ecology of a planted aquarium." My understanding is that the organic matter in the soil will break down slowly over time, releasing beneficial carbon for a low tech tank, and provide your plants with nutrients. I also know that people have had problems with this method leading to algal blooms, etc. so many people mineralize regular topsoil instead. Read the sticky about it in the substrate forum here. I would suggest picking up walstads book on the subject, used copies can be found on ebay, amazon etc. There is also an entire forum over on APC dedicated to the natural tank method.
If you are on a budget, it is hard to beat using "mineralized topsoil", http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/substrate/72382-mineralized-top-soil-substrate.html which can be dirt you dig from your back yard, from a nearby forested area, from a river bank, etc. You need to cover that with a deep layer of pool filter sand, which is very cheap, but comes in 40 pound bags, or with Flourite, which isn't cheap, but one bag is enough. You should end up with 1/2 inch to 1 inch of the MTS, with about 1 1/2 inches of PFS on top. I'm setting up a 12 gallon tank right now, using that substrate. I got my topsoil from a planted area behind my condo building. The soil was covered with green moss/algae, so I know it is fertile. I will use crushed coral, which I have enough of, and some "no salt" salt substitute, which is potassium chloride, at the bottom of the substrate, plus some hydroton, which is pellets of baked clay in the same layer. I may add a very small amount of Osmocote in that layer. This substrate will end up costing $0, since I had everything on hand.
I live in an apartment several stories off the ground with no yard or porch. I cannot do this type of stuff. I have no space to lay out soil and wet it and dry it. I live in a studio apartment.
It can certainly be frustrating finding all the info, deciding what to do, picking through the different opinions, etc. Best thing to do is read up on the walstad method, many people have success with it, and decide if it's for you or not. Worst case scenario, you have more knowledge than you did before hand, and it's always better to know what you're getting into. Good luck whatever you decide to do.
umm,, my thought is that my schooling in horticulture tells me any fertz made for outside are DEFINTILY way to strong for inside an aquarium!!! i've read some aquaruim fertz, the say like .05,0,0 which is a nitrogen . and theres no such thing as a osmocote that isn't ssomething like 10+,10+,10+ ,
my reading tells me, that with "fish" and nitrogen producing individuals in the tank, you shouldn't have to introduce any fertz, just the minors only, boron, zinc , etc...
That is only the case with low light tanks. Once you get into medium to high light, the fish poop doesn't supply enough for the plants. And, they need NPK just as terrestrial plants do. Terrestrial fertilizers usually have a lot of urea and/or ammonia compounds in them, which are not good for fish, unless they can be isolated under the substrate. (They, meaning the fertilizer, not the fish :icon_cool)
Laterite + Gravel should work well and won't cause any of the problems you could potentially encounter with soils. BTW, Diana Walstad uses Miracle Grow Organic Substrate, at least she mentions she had 'good luck with it' in the book, but she seems to mostly favor mineralized topsoil (I actually own the book for some reason).
I used a 1 inch layer of Scott's Topsoil (straight out of the bag), topped by 2-4 inches of Caribsea Floramax substrate (like Eco Complete, but larger). This is in a 40 tall with low-medium light, no co2, light ferts. It's been running about two and a half months with no issues. No muddy water. No green water. And the only issue I had with algae was when my filter quit while I was on vacation and the tank sat stagnant for several days. It cleared up nicely once I fixed the filter (new impeller seal).
I was thinking of doing this. Did you you have to rinse the Floramax? Amazed that you didn't have algae from the beginning. For according to Tom Barr you rid of ammonia by damping the dirt and letting dry out.
1inch is alot. .5inch is usually more then enough unless your planting heavily. Dont for get a sand cap to prevent too much leaching at one time. Some peat is also good to mix into keep it a nice consistency
For my substrate I am doing 3/4 inches of laterite topped with an inch and a half of Turface MVP. I've set it up in a test tank and it looks pretty good.
I'm new at this and was advised by my LFS to use Flourite as Substrate, Period. Nothing else. I used 2 20 pound bags ($40.00) in my 30g and will be planting low light plants very soon. What's the feedback on this??? Am I correct in what I was advised by the very knowledgible people at my Local Fish Store?
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
The Planted Tank Forum
3.5M posts
130.6K members
Since 2002
A forum community dedicated to Aquatic tank owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about flora, fauna, health, housing, filters, care, classifieds, and more!