Mineralized Top Soil Substrate Kits *Price range on page 3*

[lauraleellbp]

If it turns out the topsoil I have now doesn't work out I might just be your first customer since I can't seem to find anything else locally...

[Torpedobarb]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

If it turns out the topsoil I have now doesn't work out I might just be your first customer since I can't seem to find anything else locally...

no problem.. I will take care of you.. you know that!

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by Torpedobarb

I don't think I would want to get into the cap part of it. I think that if I were to ask 40.00 plus shipping would be fair for say a 75 gallon tank. shipping would be according to how much is needed for your size tank. I am not trying to turn a profit here.. I think that mineralized topsoil substrate is the way to go.. especially since you don't have to dose the tank. Makes it alot easier when you go on vacation. you don't have to have anyone come over and take care of the tank!

Whether or not you have to dose the tank shouldn't enter into this. It is helpful to dose fertilizers in any tank that has enough light and CO2 for the plants to grow fast. The nutrients in the substrate help a great deal in preventing any shortage of nitrates especially. But, all plants can use water column nutrients and all will use them if they are available. Plants just seem to do best when they have both substrate and water column nutrients.

Even ADA Aquasoil users have to dose some water column fertilizers, if they follow ADA recommendations.

[joejoe123]

I have a 20h tank and Id love to be you 2nd customer please. Id love to try this option for a substate but im just to lazy to make it plus I dont have the time.

Joey

[Torpedobarb]

Hoppy... this is exactly why I wanted to switch to it. The plants may use the additional nutrients.. but from what I have understood from anyone else who has done this.. they don't NEED them. I look at all the pics of AaronT's tanks and looking4roselines tank and they do not dose anything... their tanks look amazing.


Joe.. I will put you in as #2

[gmccreedy]

This is an excellent idea. I was waiting for someone to jump on this. Good luck with it.

[ingg]

It is helpful to dose fertilizers in any tank that has enough light and CO2 for the plants to grow fast.

Be very, very, very careful with this and mineralized soil. I won't say it can't work, but I'll say it is very difficult to make it work.

It is awfully easy to create algae explosions dosing a mineralized tank, and awfully hard to actually get anything good out of it. This is the feedback I got from multiple folks running the system in my club, some of whom have been running it over a decade. It is also my experience, as I tried it a bit anyhow.

My 180g has been running almost a year. I dose traces of potassium - and I mean traces, .2 ppm weekly - and that is it.

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by ingg

Be very, very, very careful with this and mineralized soil. I won't say it can't work, but I'll say it is very difficult to make it work.

It is awfully easy to create algae explosions dosing a mineralized tank, and awfully hard to actually get anything good out of it. This is the feedback I got from multiple folks running the system in my club, some of whom have been running it over a decade. It is also my experience, as I tried it a bit anyhow.

My 180g has been running almost a year. I dose traces of potassium - and I mean traces, .2 ppm weekly - and that is it.

I just spent 1.5 hours reading the thread on mineralized top soil. I'm ready to concede that it is a method for doing without any fertilizing at all. I currently use almost the same substrate, using river silt instead of regular top soil, but I also fertilize per EI. I have had mixed results, as far as algae goes. I'm about ready to set up a ten gallon tank again, so I will try this, with no fertilizing at all, perhaps just Excel for carbon, and see how it goes algae-wise. I already agree that a rich subsoil underlayer with inert top layer can give fantastic plant growth, because I had that in spades. But, going "cold turkey" on abstaining from fertilizing will be a new experience.

[Torpedobarb]

I will make sure that their are disclaimers that cannot hold myself of the forum responsible for any issues that come from this..

Algae blooms can happen.. I found that sifting the mineralized soil multiple times to get rid of any left over materials helps considerably. I sifted mine through a doubled up screen about 4 times.. so there was nothing in there except the soil. I will do this prior to shipping it out. I have to work out the details still.. but I will protect myself and the forum by making sure planted tankers know the potential problems that can occur.

[lauraleellbp]

Hoppy, have you read through ingg's journal over on APC? IMHO that's a pretty worthwhile read, too.

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Hoppy, have you read through ingg's journal over on APC? IMHO that's a pretty worthwhile read, too.

No, I haven't read that. Do you have a link so I can find it?

[lauraleellbp]

Took me a while to find it, since they consolidated the Large Tank forum a while back... http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...80g-start.html

Ingg are you journaling this tank anywhere else? You haven't updated it since June! LOL

(Am I hijacking your thread, Ken? )

[SCMurphy]

I sell packages of the clay, dolomite and potash to my club members for $5.00, the package is good for a 30 gallon tank. I let them mineralize their own soil.

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Took me a while to find it, since they consolidated the Large Tank forum a while back... http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...80g-start.html

Ingg are you journaling this tank anywhere else? You haven't updated it since June! LOL

(Am I hijacking your thread, Ken? )

Very interesting journal, and I am still a bit confused, but a lot less than I was. I would say the mineralized substrate is good with high as well as low light, since I consider that Ingg has high light on that big tank, using T5HO lights and almost 2 watts per gallon. He also has pressurized CO2 and good water circulation, which I think are also essential for a high light aquarium. So, I'm left believing that the substrate is providing almost all of the needed nutrients, other than carbon. Good news!

[Torpedobarb]

No hijacking! the other thread was basically to get input on how much would be a fair price for the kits for different size tanks! but oh well.. I will have to come up with prices that make it worth while to me. not to make a ton off of it.. just to cover my time basically. I am looking forward to other people getting this going!