# Compost and capping some advice please



## keepoffthegrass (12 Mar 2012)

Hi All,

What a great forum , there is so much to read on her its unbelievable.

My Tropical tank is well overdue a re-vamp and i really want to get the plants growing this time.

Following this article


http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=18943

I think i am decided on the John Innes number 3 and pool filter sand capping method.

1) will it be safe to remove the fish ( rainbows ) in to a temp holding tank , re-scape the main tank and then return the fish ? Or will it cause an ammonia spike ?

2) is the pool filter sand safe for my loaches ? Or will it damage their barbels ?

Many thanks


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## foxfish (12 Mar 2012)

What type of substrate do you have in your tank at the moment?
I would mix quite a bit of your existing substrate (if it is gravel) into the soil so that you keep some of the helpful bacteria.
You dont have to use pool filter sand as there are similar sands available like lime free coarse sand, play sand & lots of other sands from your locale garden centre.


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## Antipofish (12 Mar 2012)

You will probably get a spike, yes.  how big depends on the volume of your water, how much compost you use, and how well your filter can cope with it.  You could consider using zeolite or some such product, maybe Purigen, to help control that though.  Seachem Prime is also supposed to neutralise ammonia (please any of you science guys correct me if i am wrong in this, but it my belief to be correct).  

ALSO, you are not limited to pool filter sand or playsand (which I personally think is too fine and from my reading, has a tendency to get wafted around the tank sometimes depending on your maintenance habits).  UNIPAC do some lovely aquarium sands.  I have Samoa in my tank which I know a few others on here like.  There is also Maui and a few others worth considering.  They are more expensive than pool sand or play sand, but IMHO look a lot better.  For what its worth, if you are at all a perfectionist, then get what you like the most at the start.  Don't just get the cheapest to save a few bob on substrate.  It is a very important part of the scape and will become your friend or nemesis depending on choice   (Don't get me started on cat litter, LOL)


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## keepoffthegrass (12 Mar 2012)

Thanks for the replies guys,
Its a 190L corner tank i have at the moment , i did have black gravel in there but i have removed nearly all of it in preparation. What is left i will leave in.
My tank is quite well filtered , i have a rena XP3 which is rated more than the volume of my tank.

Im not too worried about the cost of the sand , you are right  , you can't skimp on these things and compared to a tank full of one of the Gucchi substrates it should be miles cheaper anyway.

I already use Prime to condition my tap water for the water changes, so i could put a drop in  , but i don't want to kill off the filter bacteria.

I will have a look at the unipac sand too


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## BigTom (13 Mar 2012)

JI number 3 (and most of the other JI mixes) contains lime or chalk, which will raise your water pH and hardness considerably. Unless you're planning on keeping hardwater fish, I would go with JI cutting compost, which is supposedly free of lime and added fertlisers - http://theseedsite.co.uk/innes.html

Whatever you buy, I would take the time to test it for a few days to see what effect it has on water chemisty.

And yeah, expect it to leech ammonia for at least a couple of weeks.


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## Antipofish (13 Mar 2012)

For what its worth, you can buy specific "Aquatic potting compost".  Would this be any better ?  I have also seen that people use the AMIRACLE organic potting compost.


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