[johnwesley0]

So they do not die due to ammonium/nitrite toxicity? I guess a high fish load will increase ammonia/ammonium/nitrite levels in the tank dependent upon the amount of fish and how much you feed them. To then be sure your tank can handle that amount of ammonia/ammonium/nitrite it is ok to have a back up system (filter with beneficial bacteria) in case your plants and your tank can not handle the ammonia/ammonium/nitrite levels.

First of all, it is difficult to imagine a higher critical mass of ammonia/ammonium/nitrite than you've already experienced from dumping a bag full of terrestrial soil into your tank and exposing it to water. The fact that all your parameters are headed in the right direction is a huge testament to your healthy plant growth. If you're really worried about bio-load, the solution is to continue what you've been doing which is adding more plants. Hoping that you have enough beneficial bacteria to absorb fish poop is like hoping you have enough ants at a picnic. Just eat the food.

Second of all, as @dwalstad has posted several times, your unusually high nitrite levels were likely not the result of nitrification (beneficial bacteria) but were probably the result of nitrate respiration, a process that was set in motion while the soil was exposed to air.

Third and lastly, be careful what you wish for. The less able your plants are to compete with the beneficial bacteria already in your tank for food, the more you will periodically have to change the water as nitrification levels rise. Plant uptake of ammonia/ammonium results in plant protein. Bacteria just produce a different form of nitrogen.

From one thing to another, I now have bubbles in the soil of both tanks. I did try to sm,ell while I poke the bottom layer, could not smell sulfide/anything. What does that imply? What should the poking be good for, is it necessary?

It's probably too early to expect toxic gases to form in your soil. I would consider poking around now rather than later as a preventative measure.

 

[johnwesley0]

A final question, have your tank ever smelled a faint of manure? Will this smell go away after some time or will it only become stronger.......?

Does this involve an actual tank that you have or are you just bumping your thread?

 

[johnwesley0]

I have three tanks, one with just gravel and some commercial fertilizer in the bottom layer (ANF ABF, see link above, tank 3) and two with dirt soil and gravel (walstad type of bottom layer). So, two cubic tanks (31L, 30x30x35), and one rectangular type of tank (37,5L) with measurements 25x50x30cm (WxLxH). The 37,5L tank (tank 3) show signs of poor plant growth in the form of pale leaf color on the plants (see pictures above). So, I thought maybe I should do a make over and make a dirt tank of that one too. The two cubic tanks were installed for about three weeks ago, while tank 3 is one week older.

Well, in answer to your question, No. I would not use pure animal manure as a substrate.

 

[johnwesley0]

A final question, have your tank ever smelled a faint of manure? Will this smell go away after some time or will it only become stronger.......?

Does this involve an actual tank that you have or are you just bumping your thread?

Since it smells of manure in tank 2, I was wondering if that smell usually gets stronger or weaker with time.

That is what I was asking. I'm surprised that a very small amount of chicken manure would still smell after all the water changes you've performed. I have not had that problem with the houseplant mixes I've used.

 

[johnwesley0]

Sounds to me as if you have a bunch of "solutions" in search of a problem. Your plants look beautiful.

 

[johnwesley0]

Gravel size - by itself - has very little to do with creating anaerobic conditions. Anerobic pockets in fish tanks are usually the result of the soil being compacted or weighed down by perhaps too much gravel. A rock, or maybe just the way the soil was packaged before use are other likely contributors. I believe @dwalstad has suggested a relationship between gravel size and healthy root growth in plants.

 

[johnwesley0]

Plant roots provide natural irrigation underneath the soil also. Anaerobic pockets are relatively easy to diagnose and resolve.

 

[johnwesley0]

In My Opinion (IMO), floaters tend to grow by multiplying separate plants. Once they've run out of room at the surface of the tank and are actually touching each other, they don't get any bigger they just age in place and any excess ammonium/ammonia is taken up by bacteria. That's why your nitrate levels are so much higher than the other nitrogen levels.