Three inches is too deep. What kind of plants were you trying to grow and can you list your other tank(s) specs?
MGOPM/black diamond
I have tried a couple of MGOPM tanks with a black diamond cap and both were failures. The only thing I can think of is that the soil became compacted in some areas and became anaerobic. I battled diatoms the entire time and a couple of plants did well but most deteriorated over a few months and when I finally tore it down, the roots were black and rotting for the most part. Any ideas on what went wrong? I had 3in. Of potting mix with a 1in. cap of black diamond. I would like to try it again because I see a lot of great results on here but am reluctant.
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Amazon sword and mostly crypts and a couple of onion plants in a standard 75 gallon. I have a single Sun Blaze T5HO light with excellent reflector and no CO2. Both times were in this 75gallon. My crypt balansae and onion plants did very well. The amazon sword, crypt nurii, wendtii, Affinis, pontederlifolia, suffered. I tried Safe-t-sorb with osmocote root tabs after the first failure but growth was slow and I battled BGA constantly.
Try reducing the amount of MGOCPM to no more than two inches. When starting up a dirt tank, you need to plant heavily. I'd also plant some more fast growing plants, maybe add some floaters as well. Frequent water changes during the first few weeks also help.
Excuse my ignorance but I'm new to this. What is MGOCPM?
I'm getting ready to make my 75 gallon a low tech planted and will be using mineralized dirt and black sandblasting sand from Tractor Supply. How deep should each be?
I'm getting ready to make my 75 gallon a low tech planted and will be using mineralized dirt and black sandblasting sand from Tractor Supply. How deep should each be?
MGOCPM = Miracle Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix
2 inches max with the dirt, cap should be an inch to an inch and a half.
2 inches max with the dirt, cap should be an inch to an inch and a half.
I had a lot of bubbles and substrate bulging. It smelt like pond scum and when I broke the tank down, it made the whole house smell horrible. I thought it might have been too deep but wanted to get opinions. I was thinking about trying 1 1/2 inches of MGOPM and 1 1/2 of safe-t-sorb as a cap but am worried the STS may not be heavy enough... thoughts? I really like the natural look of the safe-t-sorb over the black diamond...
I have 5 dirted tanks and always lay down a thin layer of sand directly on the dirt then cap with whatever I want the top to be. The small heavy grains of sand help keep the dirt down. I also wet the dirt and compact it to about an inch for smaller tanks and inch and a half for bigger tanks. Then at least the same thickness of whatever cap.
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This is one of the reasons I dislike MGOPM, it is 100% organic material which means it has a lot more material that can rot.
If you decide to keep using it, I'd suggest 1-1.5" layer and try to buy Malaysian Trumpet Snails they will burrow and keep the soil aerated which will prevent it from rotting and prevent the smell.
If you decide to keep using it, I'd suggest 1-1.5" layer and try to buy Malaysian Trumpet Snails they will burrow and keep the soil aerated which will prevent it from rotting and prevent the smell.
If you like the look of Safe T Sorb (I do as well) you can do as i have done in a few tanks and mix about 1/3 part Safe T Sorb and 2/3 part Black Diamond for your cap or substitute the safe t sorb with something not black and bigger grained than Black Diamond. Looks really nice and keeps everything from showing in the Black Diamond. In my opinion compacted black diamond without something mixed in it just doesn't look nice, it's completely inert and does not do anything to help your plants but absorbing fishy waste for later use for the plants, so i like to mix something in it. When I find the perfect substrate I like, I'll use it with black diamond as a cap. Still experimenting and just got in 2 bags of ActivFlora in Floralite color I am going to try. Also want to try out ActivFlora in the Lakegems color but they were out of stock and I didn't want to wait until it came back in. I am very happy with the color of the Lite, it should look nice mixed with Black Diamond - If i even mix it this time, it's so nice I might just use it this time.
Before you put your miracle grow into your tank make sure you sift out the large pieces of mulch, wood and stuff out of the dirt. You can leave small pieces just get the big pieces out. You can also take it and throw it into a long bucket or tupperware thing outside, wet it, cover it for a week and let it work it's own magic. A week later get it and put it into your tank to start your plants off right. The 2 most successful dirt tanks I have done, I put the dirt in, wet it lightly, let it dry, re-wet it, let it dry about 4 times and then actually started the tank with a cap, etc. Took awhile (2-3 weeks) but it was really worth it with the no worry about the dirt - and the WAY less mess when I moved the plants around because the dirt had already aged a bit and stuck together. Then weekly when you do your water change make sure you stick your finger or a stick into the substrate in lots of spots to ensure you don't have icky gas pockets building in the dirt under the substrate.
If you do it right, after 6 months or so you shouldn't have any nasty sulfur smell coming from the substrate, like rotten eggs, it should just smell fish tanky.
Also since you have already tried this several times and wanted to try something different than Miracle grow - several online retailers that sell plants and /or ferts also sell Mineralized Top Soil, which may give you better results in the long run.
Before you put your miracle grow into your tank make sure you sift out the large pieces of mulch, wood and stuff out of the dirt. You can leave small pieces just get the big pieces out. You can also take it and throw it into a long bucket or tupperware thing outside, wet it, cover it for a week and let it work it's own magic. A week later get it and put it into your tank to start your plants off right. The 2 most successful dirt tanks I have done, I put the dirt in, wet it lightly, let it dry, re-wet it, let it dry about 4 times and then actually started the tank with a cap, etc. Took awhile (2-3 weeks) but it was really worth it with the no worry about the dirt - and the WAY less mess when I moved the plants around because the dirt had already aged a bit and stuck together. Then weekly when you do your water change make sure you stick your finger or a stick into the substrate in lots of spots to ensure you don't have icky gas pockets building in the dirt under the substrate.
If you do it right, after 6 months or so you shouldn't have any nasty sulfur smell coming from the substrate, like rotten eggs, it should just smell fish tanky.
Also since you have already tried this several times and wanted to try something different than Miracle grow - several online retailers that sell plants and /or ferts also sell Mineralized Top Soil, which may give you better results in the long run.
Hello,
I am new to the hobby and I am going to use soil and black diamond sand as well. However, the soil needs to be mineralized before being use. I am currently soaking my dirt and I will begin wet/dry cycles pretty soon, I will stop the cycles once the dirt doesn't smell anymore. Then I am going to screen the dirt and finally I going to mix it with natural clay. The process takes time and at one point I wanted to set up my tank within a month but I am going to be patient and take my time. I hope to have good results. The link below will provide you more information about the use of soil in the planted tank.😁
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/84918-suitable-soils-walstad-method.html
I am new to the hobby and I am going to use soil and black diamond sand as well. However, the soil needs to be mineralized before being use. I am currently soaking my dirt and I will begin wet/dry cycles pretty soon, I will stop the cycles once the dirt doesn't smell anymore. Then I am going to screen the dirt and finally I going to mix it with natural clay. The process takes time and at one point I wanted to set up my tank within a month but I am going to be patient and take my time. I hope to have good results. The link below will provide you more information about the use of soil in the planted tank.😁
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/84918-suitable-soils-walstad-method.html
+1 to sifting. The quality of MGOCPM varies from bag to bag. Some bags will have more twigs and sticks while others will have more fines. The most recent bag I used had some pieces of gravel mixed in. The wet-dry cycles actually help to mineralize the organics so you get less rotting organics in the substrate. You can deal with substrate gas buildup in a smaller tank by using a bamboo skewer or chopstick. Decaying organics do release CO2 though, so it can be beneficial to have some in your dirt to a certain degree.Before you put your miracle grow into your tank make sure you sift out the large pieces of mulch, wood and stuff out of the dirt. You can leave small pieces just get the big pieces out. You can also take it and throw it into a long bucket or tupperware thing outside, wet it, cover it for a week and let it work it's own magic. A week later get it and put it into your tank to start your plants off right. The 2 most successful dirt tanks I have done, I put the dirt in, wet it lightly, let it dry, re-wet it, let it dry about 4 times and then actually started the tank with a cap, etc. Took awhile (2-3 weeks) but it was really worth it with the no worry about the dirt - and the WAY less mess when I moved the plants around because the dirt had already aged a bit and stuck together. Then weekly when you do your water change make sure you stick your finger or a stick into the substrate in lots of spots to ensure you don't have icky gas pockets building in the dirt under the substrate.
Another thing that helps reduces the production of hydrogen sulfide gas are healthy plant roots. Oxygen inhibits the anaerobic bacteria that produce hydrogen sulfide gas. If your plants are growing well, they will root into the substrate and oxygenate it.If you do it right, after 6 months or so you shouldn't have any nasty sulfur smell coming from the substrate, like rotten eggs, it should just smell fish tanky.
Sifting.. I believe everything that would get sifted out would be either a rock or a stick. A stick big enough to get sifted out would float. So just put the dirt in a bucket, let it sit for a week or seven, or five minutes. Anything that is still floating (about half the volume of the bag) gets scooped off and repurposed. Then tilt the container and overfill it so the tiny pieces that float will be washed off the top too.
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