Patchy

I've got a set up very similar to this tank, however the substrate is alot simpler. 1-1.5 inch Laterite (dug from Werribee, an outer Melbourne suburb) With a good layer of mulm (fish only tank for about a year) and peat underneath. All capped off with 1inch 2-3mm inert gravel.

The tank has 2.5wpg t5 lighting and CO2 at 1bps (not sure of actualy ppm but will find out soon). This tank is mainly stocked with swords and they go nuts. This is the tank quite a while back about a month after set up


This is when it really started to grow



And now the swords are all trying to grow emersed. I will try get pics later.

The only water collumn ferts are NFS Cichlid formula, NLS TheraA and other treats. I feed very generously with an auto timer (5 times a day). I did put root tabs under each sword (Seachem Florish Tabs) but that was during tank set up and i havent bothered replacing them in about a year now.
Strange thing is i didnt get much of an algae bloom during tank set up (filters were fully cycled). I did get some green beard algae but that went away pretty quickly, then i went though a slow and long (2 month) BBA cycle. After that i only get spot algae when i am really lazy and let phosphates creep up to 3ppm. However your higher light might be diciding difference.

AaronT

That's some very healthy growth you've got going there. Dosing phosphates still has occured to me and I may give that a try. Also, down the road the potassium does get limited and needs to be dosed. The idea behind the soil base is mostly to eliminate the need for nitrogen and trace dosing in the long-term.

DataGuru

ROFLMAO
I don't get the impression from what I've read, that people were using soil as a substrate in aquaria back then. My impression is that it is a fairly recent thing that soil is catching on as a substrate.

You're posting in the e-natural forum where we use soil without doing much at all to it. LOL Maybe let it air out overnite. other than that, and adding crushed minerals, we don't do much of anything to it.

I have 8 soil based tanks now and all are happy and low maintence.. Just gotta top them off and pull/prune plants every couple of weeks. Don't hafta dink with ferts or CO2. everyone's happy.

bpimm

AaronT,

It would be an interesting test to set up an identical tank to what you just set up, only use the soil as is without mineralization and leave out the clay. then compare the results of both tanks over time. It would have to be done in the same location using the same materials and water. I'll keep it in mind as a future test when I have the space and time to do it. then we could see what the long term effects would be. maybe even add in a strict El natural tank to the mix also.

I have a strict El natural I just set up to compare to my existing tank that has a soil substrate with 2.5 WPG and pressure CO2, but they weren't set up at the same time.

AaronT

I'm setting up my 75 gallon tank tomorrow using the same method I did with this tank.

I'm using this method because I've seen SCMurphy use it in several tanks with great success. All of his tanks seem to go through this initial bloom just as mine has so I'm not terribly worried. Also, this tank will be running UV sterilization as it is in the living room and I can't afford a green water period this time.

I'll also be using milder lighting as well so we'll see if those two things make a difference.

Tony65

DataGuru,

I can confirm what swannee54 is getting at with the references to the 1950's - this is what attracted me to El Natural to start with (btw, just so we're clear, I'm a 60's child! )

When I was investigating setting up my first tank back in 1981 I found a (US produced) pamphlet from my grandparents dated from the 1950's advocating the use of garden soil. This was the thing to do in fishkeeping from that time, and up to almost a century before. It must've worked then too, otherwise people would have given up aquaria long before power filters and CO2 injectors appeared on the scene.

I'll try and find the pamphlet again (I think it's in my parents attic somewhere).

Tracking down historical fishkeeping literature can prove very interesting indeed.

bpimm

Once again with the advent of technology what worked for years is forgotten for a time.

If you do find the pamphlet please scan it and post it, that will be some interesting reading.

onemyndseye

Hasnt the Dutch also using the same basic principals for many years now?

-Justin
One Mynds Eye

bpimm

Thats where I got the idea 15 years ago when I started with soil.

Tony65

I'll see what I can do. I'm assuming it's in the attic somewhere; I haven't seen it for well over half my lifetime though!