gf225

I will be performing a complete strip down later this year and plan on switching from my present Dennerle Deponit/black quartz/heater cable substrate to ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia.

I understand that good results can be acheived by using the ADA stuff alone but have heard references to adding mulm too.

What exactly is mulm? Is it the decomposing matter that is present in abundance in a mature substrate?

How does one go about adding the mulm to the new substrate?

What does the mulm acheive?

I assume that using the heater cable will be a waste of time and money? I bought it when my only planted knowledge was through the reading of Dennerle/Dupla principles - before I discovered forums like this!

While I'm on the substrate issue - what's the general opinion on Malaysian Trumpet snails, friend or foe?

Thanks in advance.

Zapins

Mulm is basically what you described. Its fish poop and other wastes that seem to accumulate in older tanks (or overstocked ones).

Mulm helps get the biological filter started by introducing bacteria to the tank/filter. It also provides some small amount of nutrients to the tank.

You can use the heating cable, it wont do any harm to your tank. Though im not sure that it will improve anything either other then not having a heater in the tank

Finally, MTS' in my opinion are annoying, but they don’t harm anything and indeed seem to help turning over the soil much like earth worms. So basically they are a good thing to have as they don’t really come up out of the substrate all that often. However, once you introduce them into your tank you will be stuck with them fooooreeevaaaa

Hmm... ADA soil. Never tried that stuff out. Fluorite is my fave.

jsenske

You are both right about the mulm. Tom Barr should be replying any second now regarding mulm-use specifics as he is the undisputed master of all things mulm-y. While not a method I personally use, it makes total sense.

Those snails won't hurt, but man can they get out of control quick! Not something I would ever consider actually adding to a tank, though they have a way of showing up anyway. Use your best judgement on that one. Aesthetics are king with me, so I don't like things that might upset the appearance of a tank, which too many snails can sometmes do.

gf225

Thanks guys. Hopefully Tom can share his knowledge too .

plantbrain

Mulmology: the science of making aquatic plant dirt

New tanks don't have enough, old tanks have too much.
Solutions?

Add a little mulm to any new tank's gravel and filter.
Old tanks more than 1 year or so old(I do this every 6-12 months)
Vacuum the gravel in 1/2 sections each week and fluff up the gravel after uprooting.

Too much mulm, substrate can go sour=> too much organic matter + clogged flow in/out= more reducing power= nasty chemicals and O2 robbing sediments.

You seek a balance.

Go with the ADA soil.
You'll like it.

Any substrate will clog up over time.
Simply turn it over once in awhile and it will improve things.
Soem tanks do not require this, but would still do better to ahve it done(It'll never hurt a tank)

Regards,
Tom Barr

gf225

Thanks Tom.

Is a heater cable useless then, do they not do anything to prevent this clogging?

jsenske

Tom? Your heating cable thoughts once more for the record?

I used them back in the day and did not see much difference, but it could be one of those "subtle" things that don't have effects one can see and/or measure-- but rather something that might have mild benefits over a long period of time. Never been too sure about them, and don't use them now because 1. they are a pain in the rear to install and 2. I don't like the cable running up and out of the tank.

plantbrain

Hi Jeff,
I can give you the entire history of those damn forsaken things.
Maybe when we see eachother at the AGA event etc this Fall.

Anything that is so subtle you can only see it over a long time frame means the effect is so subtle it could be due to any number of premutations that a hobbyist, research scientist, boozo the clown might do. Even tremp differences due to summer heat can increase the MEt rate of the plant growth rates etc.

If you cannot see a difference relatively fast, there is often not one present.
So if it's so darn subtle, why even bother?
A water change, trim, adding a few shrimp etc will have more impact.

I don't like more stuff to plug in, hate cables/wires.

Claus from Tropica and I had a long talk about them years ago, I guess it was 1997 or so. He only knew of one study they did with them and the optimal exchange rate was less than the cables, basically simple diffusion that we all now use and rely on is best.

That was for 2-3mm sand.
Over time, the mulm will clog those pore spaces and you need to keep them open for the best results.

Cables will not export that mulm, so other than a heater, they are of no use.
George Booth and I haggled over this one for some time. But today there are few cable supporters with good reason, they were very costly back then, they are cheaper now but the very arguements that supported the sale of the $$$$ ones back then, are missing in the cheapy versions today.

So there is even less reason as far as the cables themselves to buy them, even if they are cheaper, the effect would be even less pronounced.

They use to sell them 1986-2000 for anywhere from 300-600$ per tank.
I had 3 for clients and had one for my tank.
I sold them all about 1999 or so.


Regards,
Tom Barr

brad

Tom, you think the difference between an aged inert substrate and Aquasoil will be lees subtle? A worthwhile move?

plantbrain

Definitely.
If not....see what I say about cables.......I used plain sand, I was highly successful with it, Flourite did better, but sand is still able to produce awesome results.

But the difference between sand and flourite is pretty good, then the same difference between ADA and flourite is also pretty good.

If you have been able to do well with sand etc, then trying this will make that even easier and you'll get better growth.


Regards,
Tom Barr