[hristoz]

Hi, all !!!

First let me introduce myself: i am a newly registered to the forum and got instantly hooked on the 'El Natural' concept. Thanks for all the info and special thanks to Miss Walstad for the enormous work so far !!!

On the question: i chose to gather some common field soil for my substrate. I chose a field, started digging but i noticed a lot of minuscule roots i just cannot get rid of. I am intending to bake the soil in order to sterilize it and i guess all the stuff in there will die including those tiny roots.
My question is: aint those roots a possible cause for future decomposition processes which will trigger an algae revolution ?

Also, from what i get of reading most of dwalstad's initial anti-algae solutions, i need more plants...but how many is enough ? My tank is 230 l, low-light.

I am not even sure whether i am asking the right questions, that is how new i am to all this stuff. Feel free to answer whatever you feel or know is right...i guess i'm going to mess it all up anyway

 

[mommyeireanne]

Welcome! I think you'll be ok with the soil as long as it doesn't have pesticides or fertilizers on it. You can't get everything out, and there will be some organics to decompose and feed the roots. Any soil will go crazy at first when it's submerged. In about a month or so, it'll settle in. I plant 3+ plants every 15cm. Some bigger, some smaller. But take a look at other people's pictures to see what 'heavily planted' looks like. Just talked about this today as I did a new tank and the consensus was that it's better to over plant in the beginning to get on top of that initial ammonia release from the soil, before it causes algae. Don't forget the true floaters that reach the air, like duckweed, water lettuce, etc and make sure you have plenty of fast growers. Let us know how it goes. Have fun!

 

[flagg]

Hi hristoz, welcome!

I wouldn't worry about baking your soil, as you'll loose a lot of beneficial bacteria that way. I agree w/ mommyeireanne that you should look at pics of other people's tanks to get an idea of how many plants to include. I would go with as many plants as you can afford and as many different plants as you can get . Some will die off others will survive and prosper.

-ricardo

 

[dwalstad]

Hi, all !!!
Also, from what i get of reading most of dwalstad's initial anti-algae solutions, i need more plants...but how many is enough ? My tank is 230 l, low-light.
QUOTE]

Low light? Remember that you have to have enough light to get good plant growth-- no matter what soil you use. Then, if you don't have good plant growth, you probably will have algae problems.