endgin33

Diana,
That was cool. Thanks for taking the time.

AaronT

It probably wouldn't help much at this point. If you haven't sifted the soil that goes a long way to getting rid of bits of leaves, rocks and twigs that don't help things down the line.

darryn

Sorry, I don't understand.
Are you saying that they is no use in doing more repetitions of the cycle?
Not sure what you mean "that goes a long way to getting rid of bits of leaves, rocks and twigs that don't help things down the line".

Could you please clarify?
TIA

croccodillo

Hello all,

I just read the wjhole thread, cause I'm in the process to setup a new small (35L) planted aquarium and wanted to try something different, something more natural, so I searched for topsoil and finished here.
Thank you for the big help you are giving me understanding how to do this task.

Just a stupid question: as fas as I understood, the mineralization process can exist if the microbes and bacteria are exposed to O2, or, in another words, to the air.
What if we leave the topsoil submerged in the water, and instead pump air into the container, with some air pump and, let's say, few airstones?
This should add a lot of oxigen to the water, and also "stir" continuously the soil until mineralized.
What do you think?
This way we could leave the soil into the water for as long as two-three weeks, and simply dry it at the end.

I've used this method in the past with hydroponic cultivation, to keep the root of the plants (roots completely submerged in the water) well oxigenated and prevent them to rot; it worked amazingly well, my cultivations were amazing, the roots was breaking down nutrients with an amazing rate, the growth was unbelievable.

Ciao,
Giovanni

AaronT

Yes, there's not much use in continuing the repetitions. Once it's mineralized it's good to go and 4-5 cycles is usually more than enough.

I always let my soil dry completely after the last cycle and screen it to remove any sticks, stones and other organic materials that cause algae problems down the road. Not to mention that the sticks and such will float around in the tank every time you uproot something.

AaronT

That does work in theory, but it's far less effective and would take longer than 2-3 weeks. The amount of oxygen that's exposed to the bacteria in the soil by drying it in the open air is far greater.

croccodillo

I know, but here in Bergamo (italy) now we are in the middle of the winter, the outdoor temperature oscillates around 0°C (32°F), so doing the mineralization outside is impossible.
More over, I'm not allowed by my wife to play with mud inside the house, so mineralization inside is also impossible...
The idea was to set up a bucket into the garage and let it run until ready; I really need few liters (I want to try this method in a 35L (9 US GAL), so something about 4 liter (1 US GAL) should be enough.

What if I do the process as decribed in the thred but leaving the soil into the bucket? Being a little quantity should work.

Ciao,
Giovanni

AaronT

Why not let it dry in the garage? True, it takes longer in the winter time, but still not as long as the method you propose.

xpistalpetex

hey aaron would it be possible to use potassium sulfate instead of potassium chloride ?

Canyouhearthem