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How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate Over the years dedicated aquatic plant hobbyists have developed many different methods to maintain vibrant freshwater flora. After having tried almost all of the popular fertilization techniques, I have finally found one that produces consistently healthy aquatic plants. That fertilization method imparts essential nutrients by using mineralized topsoil as a substrate. When I joined the Greater Washington Aquatic Plant Association about four years ago, I attended my first official meeting at the home of Sean Murphy. Sean is a Fisheries Biologist by trade and has been employing mineralized soil in his planted aquariums for nearly two decades now. He developed a “recipe” for the soil substrate during his collegiate studies of wetlands soils. It is his recipe that I have recently begun using with great success. Using topsoil or potting soil as a substrate is not a new idea. Aquarists have been using this method to grow healthy aquatic plants for decades. However, this method does seem to pose some problems, namely algae outbreaks resulting from light intensity that is too strong. This is especially true when you first set up your aquarium with this type of substrate. The algae likely results from the excess nutrients that decomposing organic materials release in the soil. The decomposing organic materials are not bio-available to the aquatic plants. As the tank matures, the algae dissipate slowly as the organics in the soil finish breaking down. Mineralizing the soil beforehand helps to speed the breakdown of organic materials in the soil. In turn the mineralized soil will help shorten the initial algae outbreak period that many aquarists experience when using a soil substrate. Soil mineralization occurs from exposing bacteria, enzymes and other soil microbes to oxygen in a moist environment. The microbes break down the organic materials in the soil into bio-available minerals. As an added bonus these new bio-available forms of nutrients are generally only available to plants and not to algae. There are a few other components to the mineralized soil recipe. Clay provides a source of iron. The clay also serves to bind with the soil as a flocculating agent. When plants are uprooted or disturbed, the added clay will help the soil to settle back to the bottom of the tank. Adding Dolomite to the base of the substrate will provide plants with the necessary calcium and magnesium they need for healthy growth. The calcium and magnesium in the dolomite will also help to keep the soil from becoming too acidic. Lastly, add soluble potash for an initial potassium source. It is still possible to use pressurized CO2 and high lighting with this method of fertilization. I have setup four tanks using this method and all of them have been high-tech setups using CO2 and high lighting. I rarely ever have to dose any supplements save for the occasional dose of potassium. Use caution when dosing and dose very little amounts at a time. I’ve composed a list of materials and step-by-step instructions for those readers who would like to try the mineralized soil substrate method. Materials Needed • Cheap topsoil • Pottery clay • Dolomite • Muriate of potash • Fine gravel or coarse sand • Large container for soaking soil • Screen made from scrap wood and chicken wire • Nylon screening material • Large plastic tarp Step 1 – Purchase and Rinse the Topsoil Open the bag of topsoil and distribute in the container of your choice for soaking purposes. I use large Rubbermaid containers that are readily available from any mega-mart. You will want to use cheap topsoil and not potting soil. Potting soil has additives to avoid such as fertilizers, vermiculite and peat moss. Fill the tub with water so the water level is a few inches above the top of the soil. I like to stir it around a bit to help break up any big clumps and evenly distribute the water. Let this soak for a day or two. Come back and slowly dump the water off of the top. Now add in more water so the soil is well covered. This water changing process helps to “rinse” the soil of any possible fertilizers or other harmful water soluble chemicals. Step 2 – Allow the Topsoil to Dry Pour the excess water out of the container as you did when changing the water. Lay out the large plastic tarp, preferably in direct sunlight. Dump out the muddy soil and spread it relatively thin over the tarp. Allow the soil to dry completely. This can take a day or two and depends greatly on how warm the temperature is where you are drying the soil. This part of the process could be done indoors. Though due to its messy nature, I suggest doing it outdoors if possible. When the soil is completely dry, add it back into the soaking container. The drying process is the part that allows the microbes in the soil to begin mineralizing the nutrients. Exposing it to air oxygenates the soil. Step 3 – Repeat the Rinsing and Drying Cycles Repeat steps 1 and 2 three to four times. Repeating the steps is necessary to further mineralize the soil and remove any lingering fertilizers. The soil mineralizes the most during the time while it is still moist and exposed to air on the large tarp. By soaking it over again we reintroduce the needed moisture for this process to take place. When the soil is near fully mineralized it will have a very grainy texture. Another way to tell that the soil is ready is by smell. There will be virtually no smell coming from the soil once it is mineralized. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...p?imageid=5492 Mineralized Topsoil Step 4 (optional) – Sift the Soil to Remove Debris Screening the soil can help to remove any large organic materials that the short mineralization process employed thus far cannot remove. I have setup tanks where I skipped Step 4 and others where I used it. I have found that adding this step to the process helps to further eliminate algae issues after a tank is newly setup. You can use a wooden frame with chicken wire stapled to four sides. Then place nylon screening material overtop. Place a few handfuls of soil on top and gently push the soil across the surface of the screen. Make sure to put a container underneath to catch the sifted soil. Below is a picture of the sticks, leaves and stones that can be removed during this step. The resulting sifted soil will feel like airy sand. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...p?imageid=5494 Screening Setup Step 5 – Add the Clay Now that you have a mineralized soil to use as the substrate, you will want to add in the aforementioned clay. Estimate how much clay you will need so that the resulting mixture of soil and clay is about 5% to 10% clay. If you prefer measurements I use about ¼ of a pound of clay per square foot of tank bottom. To add the clay you soak it in a container of water to help emulsify it and make it easier to incorporate into the soil. A second option to add clay is to dry the clay in the open air and then crush it into a powder and add it to the soil. In either case you will want to eventually add enough water to the mixture to form a nice runny mud. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...p?imageid=5495 Mineralized Soil Mud with Clay Added Step 6 (optional) – Create an Aesthetic Border Now comes the fun part of setting up the aquarium. Add the gravel of your choice just along the front and side edges of the aquarium bottom. Wet it just enough that it holds a slope and press it up against the sides. Doing this step ensures that we will not see the different layers of substrate when viewing the tank from the front and sides. In this instance I have chosen to use 3M Colorquartz T-Grade Black Sand as a substrate top layer. I prefer this coarse sand for many reasons. It is very dense and holds a slope for a long period of time. The finer granules also allow for easy planting. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...p?imageid=5493 Sand Border Step 7 – Add the Dolomite and Muriate of Potash Sprinkle a light dusting of both the dolomite and muriate of potash on the bottom glass of the tank. The bottom of the glass should still be somewhat visible. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...p?imageid=5491 Sprinkling of Dolomite and Potash Step 8 – Add the Mineralized Mud Fill in the borders you’ve created with the runny mud mixture of mineralized soil and clay. This layer should be anywhere from ½” to 1” deep. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...p?imageid=5496 Mineralized Mud Added Step 9 – Top With Gravel Cover the mud with more of the same border gravel from step 6. If you skipped step 6 then simply cover over the mud with the gravel of your choice. Cover the mud by about 1” in the front to 2” in the back of the tank to create a nice sloping substrate effect. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...p?imageid=5490 Gravel Top Layer Added Step 10 - Slowly Fill the Aquarium and Begin Planting Begin planting and filling the aquarium as you would any other planted aquarium. Use caution when filling the tank with water. Go slowly to avoid disturbing the substrate and uncovering the soil. The End Product I hope this has inspired you to try something new. I know I had wanted to try mineralized soil for some time after seeing Sean’s beautiful aquariums. I finally got up the courage to set up a small 20 gallon tank last year and now I’m hooked. With a little patience and trial and error, I think you’ll be pleased with the results. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...p?imageid=5502 My ADA 90-P aquarium with a mineralized soil substrate http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...p?imageid=5504 My AGA 75 gallon aquarium with a mineralized soil substrate |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot this method has worked quite well with my nano tanks as well. Thanks Aaron! |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot I'm glad it's working out well for you. It's exciting to see so many new people giving it a try. :D |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot interesting writeup Aaron. a few questions if I may; what do you see as the principal benefit of this method when compared to using an already nutrient enriched substrate like Aquasoil, or Tropica's new line of fertilizer enriched substrates? secondly, have you found that stirring, or agitating the substrate is particularly hazardous in comparison to disturbing a non enriched substrate? if so, what steps do you take to prevent substrate disturbance? lastly... who still uses the term "muriate"? :rolleyes: that is so old school. like, back in the old gravimetric world of chemistry, prior to the invention of the "mole". anyway, thanks for taking the time to write this up. Ive seen it mentioned many times before, never actually understood what was required to complete the process. |
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Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Have you had any experience using calcium montmorillonite clay instead of "pottery" clay? |
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Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Is there something special about pottery clay such as higher iron content? |
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Yes, the higher iron content is the reason I chose the red clay that I used. |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot The montmorillonite is supposedly very good for fish and plants. Maybe I'll try both. |
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Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Aaron, could you give a general ballpark in terms of total overall cost? (Not per tank-wise, but with the materials you presented) Are there any irregularities with the cycling process, or will planting the tank densely take care of most issues? Have you noticed any effects on water parameters, or the general well-being of fish/shrimp/plants that are known to prefer softer water? Finally, using the materials you presented, what's your estimate in terms of volume (in liters)? |
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Topsoil: $2.00 / bag Potash: $8.00 / bag Clay: $15.00 / 13 lb. block (You can also use Laterite) Dolomite $12.00 / bag Top Layer $ ??? It depends on which one you choose. The three additives are pretty much lifetime supplies so just figure on $2.00 / bag for topsoil from there on out. Quote:
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Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Thanks for taking the time to respond to all the questions Aaron For the volume question, I was asking for an estimate on the volume of the muddy mixture that you could potentially put together. Looks like it's a weird question though, because you end up putting topsoil on it anyway. |
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The materials will last you for a LOT of tanks if that's what you are asking. As far as how much soil to prepare when making the muddy mixture I simply estimated the volume of mud to make about a 3/4" layer in the tank I'm setting up and then figure how high to fill the mixing vessel accordingly. Does that make more sense? |
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I had roughly 90 pounds of it (about 2 1/2 bags of topsoil in the beginning) when we set up my 180g. This is the raw mineralized soil, no additives yet. Your main limitation is being able to add the clay into the mix effectively, I think. That 90 pounds was about the limit of what I can envision myself mixing at once, meaning mixing the dry prepared soil to the water/clay slurry. After that, you'd be talking concrete mixers to be able to mix it all up well, hehe. Aaron, that is a really cheap price on muriate of potash! It cost me $22 for a 50 pound bag. Did find good clay sources a lot less than that, though, found some pottery supply houses - except, of course, smallest blocks I found were 25 pounds. |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot The potash I got was not nearly a 50 lb. bag of it. You truly have a lifetime's supply. :D One other way to mix the clay is to set out the clay that you'd like to use and flatten it out a bit. Once it's dried out crush it into a powder and mix it into the soil. I believe you can also buy it in the powder form from pottery supply stores. |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Has anyone used a non-inert substrate to cap off the mineralized soil? For example, let's say you use AquaSoil, or Eco-Complete, or Fluorite as the substrate cap. Would this lead to never-ending algae woes? |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot It shouldn't pose a problem. I have my 75 gallon tank setup with Flourite Dark as a substrate cap and another with Soil Master Select as a substrate cap. |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot looks great i have a 50 gl tank just getting things for it, how much clay to mix with the soil, thanks |
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Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Thanks for posting. I want to try this with my next tank. I am using aquasoil now and already like it more then eco complete. |
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Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot AaronT Im trying to do this again after my last fiasco i think im closer but: i have gotten some type of white type of fungus? growing on the dirt during the drying phase. Also i have gone three times drying and the soil feels......like fiber, is this the grainy texture? Or by grainy did you mean more like sand? I am started one more dunk in the water the smell is almost gone:D. no picture of fungus because i clean it off but is this fungus going to cause problems? http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...8rg8r/soil.jpg On a side note if you remember i told you how bad it went last time and how the trees dumped pine nuts and cotton wood seeds in the dirt, well i dumper that mix and just let it sit, now their are like three trees that are growing out of it, 1 pine and 2 cotton woods LOL. the seeds never take off in the garden around here but seem to like the partly mineralized soil. http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...8rg8r/tree.jpg |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Shouldn't feel like fiber. Grainy as in sandy, is exactly correct. Are you possibly using organic soil, potting soil, something like that? Fibrous is not what I think of when thinking of cheap topsoil, and cheap topsoil is what you should be mineralizing - the absolute cheapest bag you can find, the $1.50 kind of bag. I've never seen any molding, but white mold makes sense with every high fiber content mix, it'd be the wood. Feeling like fiber sounds like there is an awfully high wood chip/pulp content in the topsoil you are using, which is why I ask what the beginning product was. I sift the soil at the end, and remove all the little wood chips and such - what I end up with after sifting feels like ashes almost, super fine, dust. |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Mold suggests to me that there are still organics in the soil. Ingg is right that it should feel sandy, not fibrous. Fibrous probably means there are lots of leaves and possible peat in the mixture. Try sifting it to see how it comes out. |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot does this mean i have to start over again? can i screen the wood out? This stuff was .75cents a bag i figured that was the "cheap" top soil as it cant get much cheaper. if this stuff is trash im grabbing the shovel and headed to the forest out back and getting that soil after all the next step in cheap top soil is free top soil lol. and i can screen it before i start AGAIN. http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...l8rg8r/bag.jpg http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...8rg8r/bag2.jpg edit:OMG THIS STUFF DOESNT HAVE ANY SOIL IN IT DOES IT?????????? HAVE I BEEN PLAYING IN MANURE MUD AND WOOD? FOR NO REASON ???????AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH :clock::clock::clock::clock::clock::clock: The ingreadeints list just hit me no wonder this "TOP SOIL" is so cheap....... thiers no top soil in it. just poop and wood. so gross. |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Yup, that's what's known as a soilless mix. It's added to the dirt from your yard or wherever to add organic materials. You need the dirt part. ;) Do you have a yard or know someone with a yard that will let you dig a little bit of dirt out? |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot theirs a forest behind my place. So sad! I will go get the shovel. I try to look at the brighter side of things but all i see today is a wet pile of woody pooh. LOL |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot I'm sorry oregon aqua, but your last two posts seriously made me laugh sooo hard. Especially the edit to your Ingredients post That sucks man. The mineralized soil sounds really promising, but if I found out that the soil I was wetting and drying for the past week and a half was actually not soil.. I'd be pretty discouraged Good luck!!! |
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Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot I am going to have to take a stab at this soon.. like I said in the other thread.. I am totally inspired to do this. great article Aaron |
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Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot hey Aaron... can you give me a link to where you got your clay and potash? the others I can find locally. I started the mineralizing process of the soil. I have 2 bags of soil soaking for the second time in 2 separate containers. I mixed the soil up well breaking up all of the large balls of dirt prior to adding the water. I mixed it up good when I added the water as to make it all saturated. for my 75 gallon.. how many lbs of top soil should I need? TIA Ken |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot I'm having trouble finding dolomite. Is this a necessary ingredient, is there a substitute? I've tried several aquatic/marine stores/websites and can't find it. |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Aaron is away on vacation, but I can try to help you guys out in the meantime until he gets back :) If you can find crushed coral, you can crush it more and use that as the source of Calcium carbonate (i.e. dolomite). Aaron found all his stuff locally iirc, but he may have links for possible places when he gets back. For a 75 gallon tank, mineralizing a 40lb bag of topsoil would be a good start. |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot I have started to mineralize 2 40lb bags as of now. I will have to get some of the crushed coral as well. thanks for the help! |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Hey folks. I'm back from the beach. Send me a PM and I can help you out with the materials to get you started. I've still got a pretty good supply. |
Re: How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot Aaron, What do you see as the difference between your process and just using topsoil dug up from the yard? the rain wets the soil and the sun dries it repeatedly. Just curious I have always used topsoil in my tanks for the last 20 years but this process sounds interesting and I'm going to try it soon. Also on the need for added K, What about finding a source of potash still in a large chunk, place it in the tank and let it slowly dissolve? It may take a few tries to get the right amount. I have always shrived to have tanks that do not need to be messed with on a regular basis, That's why I have never dosed ferts in a tank, I know I will skip them and the tank will crash. Brian |
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