How-To: Mineralized Soil Substrate, by Aaron Talbot - Page 13 - APC Library

AaronT · 05-05-2009, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by disvegas

Thanks Ingg for your input. One question for you and Aaron though, is there such as a thing as putting too much substrate? If I filled my tank with 1in to 11/2 in thick of substrate, would that be too much?

Keep it around an inch deep and you'll be just fine.

Knotty Bitz · 05-14-2009, 01:44 PM

Why is it that I started with an entire bag of topsoil, now it seems like I have less than half?

gravy9 · 05-15-2009, 06:31 AM

That's because the organic stuff breaks down into minerals. That said, the soild would be denser that before.

Jane in Upton · 05-17-2009, 09:39 PM

Hi Aaron,

what an Excellent writeup of this methodology, and great How-To instructions!

Since you said "It is still possible to use pressurized CO2 and high lighting with this method of fertilization.", I'm wondering if this would be a good substrate for an "El Natural" or Walstad-type setup? I know its recommended to allow the plain garden soil to be open to the air for a bit before using it in a Walstad-style tank. The reason cited is so that any organic matter in the process of breaking down will off-gas the ammonia before submerging it.

And, this goes in line with the consensus that using a soil layer that is too high in organics causes algae problems. So this method has me very intrigued!

That said, do you know of examples of folks using either natural lighting or moderate lighting and not supplementing CO2 with this substrate? How are their results? Has anyone been using higher light without CO2, and if so, how are those results?

This really interests me because on several of my low-tech tanks, after the initial year or more, I've been able to pump up the light and grow more light-demanding plants. Given this mineralized soil idea, this sort of makes sense to me now. Of course, the growth rate will not be the same as with CO2 added, but if carbon dioxide is the limiting factor, would the plants still get by without water column dosing in this setup.

This is really intriguing. I just KNEW there was a reason I hadn't re-set-up one of my tanks yet. I think I'll give this a try.

Thanks again for a great How-To!
-Jane

AaronT · 05-18-2009, 06:03 AM

Hey Jane,

I'm glad you enjoyed the article. I know of several people who use this method on lower tech tanks and it works wonderfully.

Give it a shot and I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Knotty Bitz · 05-26-2009, 02:36 PM

What should the dimensions for the area of mineralized soil be if my tank is 48 inches by 18 inches?

Jane in Upton · 06-04-2009, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hooha

Aaargh! fyi, if you leave a container of mineralzed soil open, a cat _will_ use it as a litter box!!

Eeeeew! That's NOT a recommended form of fertilizer, it'll cause an ammonia spike for sure, LOL!

Guess he/she thought you were bringing the great outdoors inside, to help them have a more natural experience

Scotty · 06-11-2009, 08:48 AM

What would be a total start to finish time for a 120gal, and how many lbs. should I need??

Thank you

Scott

Sunstar · 06-17-2009, 07:44 PM

I am trying this on a small 1.5 gallon tank. Haven't decided what the cap will be though.

AaronT · 06-18-2009, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skonoski

What would be a total start to finish time for a 120gal, and how many lbs. should I need??

Thank you

Scott

Start to finish time varies. In the summer months it takes about 2-3 weeks to mineralize the soil well.

I would think three 40 lb. bags of soil would be good. You'll want to use about 2-3 pounds of clay with that. I always eyeball the dolomite and potash. I just sprinkle it on until it covers the bottom like in the pictures.