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Anyone baked soil for mineralized top soil?

12K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  marcnc 
#1 ·
Anyone baked soil for mineralized top soil? I have read several posts that it can be done, but non that say how many times it needs to be done? Can I do it one time, or do I need to bake it, soak it a few days then bake it again?

Trying to do this out in the back yard several times, with working 12 hours a day, is not going to work out for me.
 
#2 ·
What does it matter how long you are at work? It's pretty easy to just let it sit out in the yard and trying to bake it inside is likely to lead to a mess and I'm not convinced it would work as well as it would kill all of the aerobic bacteria that do the mineralizing.
 
#3 ·
Sadly that six days a week, I go to work in the morning it dark, and when I get home it dark. Between wife/kids when I get home, no time to go work in the yard. It would have to sit outside for entire week, as only real day I have to work on it is Sunday :icon_frow

So as much as I would love to use it, my options are limited.

Thinking if I could find someone that sells, it I might just buy it. I found one place that sells it, just waiting on a price.
 
#4 ·
I dont know about you marc, but I dont have the patients nor time to wait and dry. Thats why I went ahead and bought fluorite and floramax for the substrtates.
 
#5 ·
I dont know about you marc, but I dont have the patients nor time to wait and dry. Thats why I went ahead and bought fluorite and floramax for the substrtates.

Yeah, work just been crazy, and just don't have time to deal with it. By the time I get home it dark, and don't really want to have to bring soil back into house at 9pm. :hihi:

At this point, I am tempted to just order a few more bags of flourite black sand and call it a day. I think I would still put stuff on bottom of tank like you are, but that about it.
 
#7 ·
Your other option is to spend a little time one Sunday afternoon screening some topsoil and put it in without mineralizing it. Basically do everything except the wet / dry cycle. Still add the other ingredients as usual as well. If time really is as tight as you say it is this will help you a lot more than Flourite or some other basically inert substrate as you won't hardly ever have to dose once it's setup.

The sifting will remove any rocks, sticks, leaves, trash (yes, I have found bits of trash). If you plant densely from the beginning you shouldn't have issues and the roots will oxygenate the soil and it will still mineralize over time inside the tank.
 
#12 ·
Your other option is to spend a little time one Sunday afternoon screening some topsoil and put it in without mineralizing it. Basically do everything except the wet / dry cycle. Still add the other ingredients as usual as well. If time really is as tight as you say it is this will help you a lot more than Flourite or some other basically inert substrate as you won't hardly ever have to dose once it's setup.

The sifting will remove any rocks, sticks, leaves, trash (yes, I have found bits of trash). If you plant densely from the beginning you shouldn't have issues and the roots will oxygenate the soil and it will still mineralize over time inside the tank.
This is good info, I will have to keep it in mind. Yeah Sunday about the only day I get to spend with family and try make time for the tank as well. All about balance.
 
#8 ·
I've been reading the back and forth banter about what to do with the dirt in several threads.

NPT/MTS
Mineralized soil is a process that's involves many steps and the end result is a nutrient rich readily available base. NPT or simply dumping the dirt in and capping it are the same processes at work only at different times as the same thing happens. It's just a question of where. Mineralizing the dirt the activity of bacteria breaking down the organic compounds releasing the minerals happens on a tarp in open air. The activity of bacteria breaking down the organic compounds over time creates several changes within the tank that MTS completes first eliminating these shifts from occurring in the aquarium. The conversion of organics and the break down is slowed greatly in the tank because of less available oxygen. The submerged steady state of decay once established in the tank takes about a year to happen. During that time settling or collapse of the organics reduces the thickness of the substrate. This doesn't happen using MTS. The organics have been consumed / converted back to mineral content alone by the bacteria before the dirt ever goes in the tank. Biggest difference between the two, MTS and NPT is where the organics are broken down, in tank or before.

Baking doesn't break it down very well.

Be it MTS or NPT for the cost, ease of upkeep and growth results dirt works used in either form and is my favorite way to play.

I've setup ONE MTS tank and over a DOZEN using the bagged potting mix. ZERO failures of critter deaths. I like that math, and it should tell you my position, I'm grown up and stopped playing in the mud.:hihi:

My oldest potting mix tank is almost 4 yrs. old and still growing plants.
The time spent reading and posting by a couple folks would have seen a tank setup and planted already LMAO.

Same day tank swaps putting fish right back in.
Adding fert layers and clay.
Using it sifted.
Using it right out of the bag using everything smaller than a 2x4.
Sand cap, Flourite original, Eco-Complete, Floramax, Coal slag, pool filter sand. Everyone of the setups grow plants, fish spawn and I'm happy.
 
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#9 ·
I've been reading the back and forth banter about what to do with the dirt in several threads.
:bounce: Just think...without these posts how would you be entertained.

I made this very simple for myself at this point. Found someone online that sells Mineralized Topsoil all ready to go, and going to buy it from them. :red_mouth

On to the next topic.....
 
#10 ·
When you use heat to mineralize the topsoil you don't need the bacteria for that job. You are converting the organic nitrogen to inorganic nitrogen with heat alone. It would certainly be faster than working on the outdoor mineralizing once a week.
 
#11 ·
Agreed. If I were doing this, this is exactly the way I would do it!
 
#15 ·
Well, the Dry start avoids stinky and temp issues.
You can do the MTS method indoors, as long as there is an appropriate location somewhere inside to add water and have it evaporate, this can lead to mold and high humidity. Particularly if you have several tanks and the temp difference outside is more than 30F.
 
#17 ·
Spent all day baking...what you ask? Dirt. :) I bought several cheap baking sheets at wal-mert. It went well, took almost all day, sifted it when I was all done, and added clay. Worst part was having to break it all up after I baked it.

It smelled the house up rather bad. Wife was not pleased, but that life, I could have used her good baking sheets. :)
 
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