[hoppycalif]

Dolomite is used as a source of magnesium in the substrate - the calcium is just icing on that cake. You don't necessarily need it, because you can get magnesium other ways, in the water. Your hard water may or may not have lots of magnesium. Your water quality report doesn't say how much of either calcium or magnesium the water has, but the combination seem to range from 10-15 dGH.

 

[CricketMclean]

Dolomite is used as a source of magnesium in the substrate - the calcium is just icing on that cake. You don't necessarily need it, because you can get magnesium other ways, in the water. Your hard water may or may not have lots of magnesium. Your water quality report doesn't say how much of either calcium or magnesium the water has, but the combination seem to range from 10-15 dGH.

Yeah it's tough to get really useful information. Especially from me lol. This is what I know about my water.
Kh 161
Calcium was 80 to 100 (couldn't really tell for sure after the 4th drop)
Phosphates .25
These were the tests included in my hand kit. I don't have one for General hardness

I download this from the city. Is any of that helpful?

Oh I also have this.
Mg. 25.67
Ca. 72.17
Na. 107.40
K. 4.34

 

[hoppycalif]

I would conclude from that information that you probably don't need to be concerrned about extra magnesium. Your tap water should have plenty.

 

[CricketMclean]

I would conclude from that information that you probably don't need to be concerrned about extra magnesium. Your tap water should have plenty.

Good news thank you!

 

[azappetti]

Is it possible to make a granular mineralized soil substrate (3 to 5 mm), such as commercial, that does not dissolve in water?
regards

 

[BoneyTee]

I am trying to do this process for my 75 gallon planted aquarium. I am having trouble tracking down the Dolomite. It seems like most substrates are either crushed coral or aragonite now. Does anyone know if aragonite would work instead or if i have some other option to supplement the dolomite?

 

[hoppycalif]

Amazon has dolomite: https://www.amazon.com/Dolomite-Lim...&qid=1509547421&sr=8-4&keywords=dolomite+lime and I suspect Ebay also does.

 

[BoneyTee]

I saw that but I thought I read somewhere that Dolomitic Lime and Dolomite that used to be commonly used as a saltwater substrate are not the same thing and the lime is corosive. I did find aquarium substrate dolomite on ebay, but she shipping was twice the price of the gravel since it would come from over seas.

 

[hoppycalif]

Dolomite is a rock that contains both magnesium carbonate and calcium carbonate. As rocks it can have a widely varying percentage of magnesium carbonate. When it is ground up and sold for agricultural use it is sometimes called dolomitic lime - which means it contains a significant proportion of magnesium and not just a trace of it. Lime is not a specific material, but a mix of calcium compounds, but we also use that term for calcium oxide, which is corrosive. Dolomitic lime is just about any calcium and magnesium containing rock that you want to call it. (All of this is just my opinion, based on a lot of reading over several years. You know, rocks are very rarely anything close to a pure chemical compound, and dolomite is commonly what one group of rocks is called.)

 

[BoneyTee]

Hmm ok, the reason I was sticking away from the agricultural dolomite was because I thought it wasn't safe in an aquatic setting. I live in a region with very hard water, so I may not need it anyhow. The aquifers here are silurian dolomite.

 

[hoppycalif]

With your water I wouldn't bother adding dolomite in any form. The only unique thing it adds is magnesium, and you already have enough magnesium.

We are engaging in agriculture with our planted aquariums. We are trying to get good, healthy growth of our aquatic plants. Therefore, agricultural chemicals are very appropriate for our use.

 

[BoneyTee]

Sounds good. Thanks for the advice!

 

[ZacInVan]

I'm currently mineralizing soil for a new 50g tank, really looking forward to seeing how it works out.

Incidentally, I added a step to the process, I'm hopeful it'll pay off. I ran the soil through an old blender (while in a slurry). 😬 After the second time drying it out, I strained it through a fairly fine colander, to remove larger pieces of wood--I was dismayed at how many small bits of wood I could still see in the soil. I figured these little bits would take some time to break down sufficiently through decomposition, so I decided to help it along mechanically. 😉 While I could have found a finer screen to sift the soil, I figured that would also be removing a lot of potential mineral content, and I happened to have the old blended kicking around gathering dust so...

Now my question, I've read/skimmed this entire thread but didn't find an answer:

Can anyone provide any input into quantity of Dolomite and Potassium Chloride I'll need for a 48" x 16" footprint?

I'm looking at ordering them on Amazon (Canada) as supplements (for human consumption), will 16oz of Dolomite Powder & 8oz of Potassium Chloride Powder be sufficient?

 

[hoppycalif]

I suggest that you try to find dolomite in a fine gravel form instead of a powder. https://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Garden...UTF8&qid=1510852696&sr=1-10&keywords=dolomite The goal should be to get something that only slowly dissolves in the water. I'm not convinced that potassium chloride is of much benefit here, but if you want to use some, you can use https://www.walmart.com/ip/NoSalt-O...35&wl11=local&wl12=37233033&wl13=5192&veh=sem because it is mostly potassium chloride. Just sprinkle a little on the bottom glass of the tank under the substrate - not a layer, but a dusting of it.

 

[ZacInVan]

I suggest that you try to find dolomite in a fine gravel form instead of a powder. https://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Garden...UTF8&qid=1510852696&sr=1-10&keywords=dolomite The goal should be to get something that only slowly dissolves in the water. I'm not convinced that potassium chloride is of much benefit here, but if you want to use some, you can use https://www.walmart.com/ip/NoSalt-O...35&wl11=local&wl12=37233033&wl13=5192&veh=sem because it is mostly potassium chloride. Just sprinkle a little on the bottom glass of the tank under the substrate - not a layer, but a dusting of it.

Thanks for dolomite link, I appreciate it. I was dismayed that the powder was the only thing I could find on Amazon.ca, never occurred to me to look on Amazon.com for one that would deliver to me in Canada. 😏

Can you clarify what you mean you mean by "not convinced that potassium chloride is of much benefit here"? Muriate of Potash = KCl = Potassium Chloride, no..?

I understand the usage of both, but short of "sprinkling" the bottom of my tank with some other material and then vacuuming it out, I wasn't sure how to estimate how much I'll need to order of both and was hoping someone might give me a guess for my 16" x 48" footprint.

 

[hoppycalif]

We dose KNO3 or K2SO4 for potassium, so I don't see a benefit of using KCl in the substrate. That's what I meant. It isn't necessary to try to provide all of the nutrients the plants need with the substrate. Plants also get nutrients through their leaves. You can grow aquatic plants with a inert substrate, like ordinary pool filter sand, as long as you fertilize the water. It is nice to give the plants the option of feeding through their roots or their leaves, but not essential to do so.

Also, KCl dissolves easily in water, so when we add it to the substrate it will soon be distributed throughout the tank water and the substrate, so why bother with adding it to the substrate?

 

[Letsfish]

My son in law is going to give me a 75g tank that he no longer uses.The largest tank I have is 55g so it is a step up for me.I probably won`t get it set up until late spring.So in the meantime, I will build a stand and gather all the ingredients for the mineral base substrate.I am looking forward to doing this.The tank even comes with an Eheim canister filter. This thread is a very informative and easy to digest even for a newbie like me. Thanks!!

 

[DutchMuch]

I have a question, and i come from a short background of dirting tanks... i did it a completely different way, and it worked great.

my question was if i follow this method, since i have HARD water do i need to add clay? we have high mg content.

 

[DutchMuch]

I have a question, and i come from a short background of dirting tanks... i did it a completely different way, and it worked great.

my question was if i follow this method, since i have HARD water do i need to add clay? we have high mg content.

I ended up adding clay and it made my plants HELLA red, so that's nice!

 

[hoppycalif]

I think the clay is there mostly to hold the nutrient ions for the roots to get to them easier. I don't think the iron in clay is accessible to the roots until bacterial activity make it accessible. But, I'm far from an expert in soils. Chelated iron is immediately usable by the plants.