Back in 2011, DogFish set up a tank with dog poop in the substrate. Then in 2014 he deleted everything he wrote in the whole thread. Does anyone remember details from that tank? Was the poop fresh or composted? How did it go? What problems did he have? Was there a break-in period or an algae explosion in the beginning? I saw someone mentioned he added ferts - which ones? Was it a low or high light tank? Did he add CO2 or excel? I saw shrimp mentioned; did he add any other inverts, including worms or scuds? Why was it ended?

It's a shame because it was a really valuable experiment and it's still referenced on the forum, but I never read through it while it was around. Can anyone fill in the gaps? Has anyone else tried something similar?

Bumping because I'm planning on redoing some substrate and still curious about this.

Usually, the feces of omnivores, like dogs or humans, isn’t used as fertilizer. If you’ve ever seen a yard where dogs have pooped in one area a lot, unless their owner cleans it up in a timely manner, it will burn the lawn with some of it’s acids from the animal proteins. Treated sewage can then be composted and used as fertilizer. Was the experiment supposed to be with different types of bio-matter as the bottom layer of substrate? Any idea why he used dig poop?

I realize it’s been a while since you asked your question, and a long while since the experiment was begun, and that the posts have disappeared, but I ran across this and was curious.

The experimenter probably died from any number of parasites that can be found in such waste. There are many types of worms and bacteria in dogs and they are easily spread to humans. Ever have E. Coli?