[Harry Muscle]

I'm gonna be setting up a 55G tank following Tom Barr's advice as found here: http://www.barrreport.com/articles/433-non-co2-methods.html . However, I'm a little confused on how much leonardite (ie: Diamond Black from General Hydroponics) I should be using. In post #14 (http://www.barrreport.com/articles/433-non-co2-methods-2.html#post2548) he mentions to use about 3/4" of leonardite, however, in post #52 (http://www.barrreport.com/articles/433-non-co2-methods-6.html#post12563) he mentions to use less than 1/2" ... that's almost half the amount recommended in the other post.

So I'm wondering, should I get about 6 pounds of Diamond Black (ie: around 3/8" coverage on a 55G 12"X48" tank) or 12 pounds of it (ie: around 3/4" coverage)?

Thanks for any recommendations,
Harry

 

[milesm]

another member said they used db, but said that peat would have been just as good, for far less. do a search.

 

[Harry Muscle]

What's db? Does it stand for something?

Thanks,
Harry

 

[aquanut415]

I

So I'm wondering, should I get about 6 pounds of Diamond Black (ie: around 3/8" coverage on a 55G 12"X48" tank) or 12 pounds of it (ie: around 3/4" coverage)?

Thanks for any recommendations,
Harry

yeah, don't use any. if you have some money to spend on a substrate, try aquasoil with powersand.

db = diamond black

 

[ianiwane]

I agree with Andrew. There is no sense in doing Diamond black. Diamond black is really expensive. It would probably be cheaper to do everything in aquasoil.

 

[Harry Muscle]

The thing that drew me to Diamond Black is the fact that it's supposed to be not messy .. unlike normal peat which can get messy if distrurbed. How is aquasoil for that? Also I should mention that I'm only looking for an additive since I've already purchased all the flourite that I need for the tank.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[bharada]

I used Diamond Black in my 120 tank setup and am probably the member that milesm is refering to. If I remember correctly I used six of the 1.5 lb containers, at about $6 per container. This gave me about a 3/8" base (covering the center area of the tank bottom) over which I poured in approximately 75# of gray Turface Pro League. If I were to do it again I would've just used peat and mulm.

The amount of peat moss you'd use in a typical 55g setup is pretty miniscule...maybe 1 cup of it, lightly dusted over the bottom of the tank. Unless you really scrimp on the Flourite it would be hard for it to cause a mess. Within a few months it'll all be broken down and become part of the mulm.

 

[aquanut415]

if you already have a substrate, why not try powersand underneath it?

 

[Harry Muscle]

I did a quick search on this forum to figure out what powersand is and I came up with this link: http://www.adgshop.com/Power_Sand_s/22.htm . If that's the going price then I think Diamond Black would actually be cheaper or about the same price.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far,
Harry

 

[aquanut415]

i dont really mean to suggest you NEED either.

it sounded to me like you wanted to try something in the way of substrate additives. if thats the case, try something manifactured for the planted tank, like powersand.

 

[Harry Muscle]

I was thinking of using a substrate additive, mainly because it's suggested by Tom Barr in the article quoted in my first post. There seem to be a handfull of different approaches to low tech planted fish tanks and the one Tom talks about makes sense to me and seems quite simple and outlined nicely ... not much guessing and fidling or reading tons of posts to get an idea of what needs to be done ... the only part he didn't specify too well was the amount of Diamond Black (or leonardite) needed ... hence my question

Thanks for all the comments,
Harry

 

[aquanut415]

the only part he didn't specify too well was the amount of Diamond Black (or leonardite) needed ... hence my question
Harry

well you see, thats exactly my point. DB isn't made for the planted tank, so who really knows how much to use? TB might have setup tanks with it in the past with good success, but how much did he use? could he have used more? mayble less would have been better? trying to determine the exact amount to use for optimal resulsts is really an exercise in futility when you consider what it really is..

 

[milesm]

I was thinking of using a substrate additive, mainly because it's suggested by Tom Barr in the article quoted in my first post. There seem to be a handfull of different approaches to low tech planted fish tanks and the one Tom talks about makes sense to me and seems quite simple and outlined nicely ... not much guessing and fidling or reading tons of posts to get an idea of what needs to be done ... the only part he didn't specify too well was the amount of Diamond Black (or leonardite) needed ... hence my question

Thanks for all the comments,
Harry

harry, just ask tom on his website. he's usually quite helpful.

 

[Harry Muscle]

Thanks for the suggestion. I did a quick search on this forum and realized that he's got an account here, so I just sent him a PM. If he doesn't respond I'll register an account on www.barrreport.com and ask him there.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[aman74]

Using Aquasoil doesn't negate the benefit of adding the carbon source that the leonardite or peat will provide.

I too, would like to know how much is recommended if you find out.

 

[Harry Muscle]

I asked Tom if 3 pounds would do for a 55G tank and he said sure ... he wasn't very specific so I'm guessing there's a very wide range on what's OK. My 3 pounds will be about a 1:20 ratio with the flourite ... I've seen that ratio mentioned elsewhere to do with leonardite so I'm thinking that's the best recommendation I'm gonna get.

Harry