Re-using substrate

[Jakes]

Hi all,

I set my tank up un December last year but had to leave home for a few month leaving the wife to look after the set-up, she continued dosing ferts and feeding the fish as per my instructions

Well I am back and it looks like this now:

I have ordered some plants from AquaEssentials which will be arriving on Friday, the tank was set-up using Colombo Flora Base as a substrate. I was planning on just re-using the substrate and continue dosing the ferts.

Is that a bad idea?

Regards
Jakes


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[Tim Harrison]

No not at all...it should be fine to reuse the substrate, especially if you continue water column dosing. If you're worried about nutrient deficiency in the soil you could chuck some osmocote in there as well.

I think Tom Barr has mentioned before that plants remove N selectively so it'll still be ok in P and K. If however, you've been dosing fertz it'll be fine...Basically Gucci soils like FLora Base are composed of clay which has a high CEC so it will probably have a stored buffer of N anyway, and your plants will have been, and will continue, to get much of the N they need from further water column dosing.

 

[Jakes]

Thanks for the info very helpful indeed!


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