baos

Ok, I've setup a 90g El natural aquarium.

But first I should let you know I had a fire at my place and lost 90% of my fish. Everything salvageable got compressed into a 10g tank which is stacks of plant, corydoras sterbai, and some baby bristlenose plecos. They also got to swim with some drywall and whatnot. Other than that everything seems healthy. they survived days of neglect where people told me my fish were dead and when I was allowed in on a 1/2 hour visit I found two small tanks alive and took what I could.

I used black dirt from the local store which contains organic matter and no labeled nutrients. I mixed the dirt with some fine silica sand and Caribbean live sand (caribsea aragonite) As recommended by my fish store which doesn't carry crushed coral lately. I have 5 tetras (one died) that have been in the 90g aquarium for a few days. Two baby bristlenose plecos for 2 days. And the corydoras sterbai just aren't getting along with the tank. Two have had trouble swimming or staying right side up. Two others did better but after a day showed similar problems. One died possibly from not being able to swim to the top for oxygen. a trip back to the 10g tank seems to cure them. Oh and my substrate bubbles once in a while. But 5 tetras have had no issues from the first day.

If I need to do a complete teardown of the tank and use different soil, let me know. I used a specific sand to cover the substrate which was screened to be about 1-2mm in size and seems to allow decent water movement through. It's about 1.5" of black dirt and 1" of sand. The soil has also made the water a bit cloudy but seems to be clearing up in recent days with some water changes.

DataGuru

How long ago was the fire?
Have you tested your water?

baos

Water tested fine. They've been cramped in the 10g for about 3 weeks. The 90 npt is a few days old. I had another corydoras death in the 10g. coulda been one I transferred back.

baos

heres my theory but I no longer have an issue. My walstad tank was producing a lot of co2(bubbling a lot). I only filled the tank 2/3 of the way because at that height I'm barely meeting 2wpg. I think the surface of the water for my surface breathers was mostly co2. There is no bad smell. I added an air bubbler to the powerhead and have had no problems since.

baos

I spoke too soon. The original cory I placed to test it after the first 3 deaths is still alive. however a bn pleco and one corydora are still just hanging in. I did a 95% water change. There is a strong wood odor from above the tank. I believe the soil I'm using has a lot of wood matter. Could the water be too strong in tannins?

dwalstad

Perhaps, but my money is on wood oils, especially if there's a wood odor. (Tannins generally aren't toxic to fish, nor do they have odor.) I had a couple fish deaths in my 50 gal that I think were due to wood oils (e.g., pine tar and cedar oils). I think that some soils are not composted long enough before they're offered for sale. Composting takes time.

I would be prepared for temporary problems with this soil. Plan to do water changes frequently or on an add-needed basis. I would definitely keep charcoal in the filter.

I'm glad that you are being so vigilant with your fish. Sounds like you all have been through a lot.

baos

Thanks Diana. The wood smell is gone. There have been no deaths I can relate to tank problems.. tank mate problems another story. But those tetras were just testers anyway. I now have 4x 52w 48" t5ho. and some hob filters that were salvaged from my old place.

baos

It's a full blown tank now, cichlids and all. With charcoal filtration from hob filters. I am considering upgrading to an eheim 2217 with the charcoal pad(for 90g). Will that be sufficient to get rid of the wood oil? And approximately how long will these oils last, or could they be gone now?