# aquatic soil preparation



## discusdan (27 Apr 2014)

hey all,
 ive just got hold of some of this soil to use under a layer of black Colombo florabase to bulk it out.


http://www.diy.com/nav/garden/garde...e-Aquatic-Compost-20L-10288072?skuId=10718778

just wondering what the best way to prepare it is?

ive heard that soaking it in water for a couple of weeks will remove some of the nitrates and help to reduce water staining.

is this the best course of action?

cheers.


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## Alastair (27 Apr 2014)

Hi 

That particular soil is lower in nitrates than other souls so just put it straight in and cap it, put your hard scape in plant up and fill very slowly and youll be good to go


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## EnderUK (27 Apr 2014)

Stick it in the tank, cap it, plant it heavy, fill up with water halfway, do at least five water changes till water becomes clean. You can now stock it lightly if you want. You will need to do at least a 50% daily water change for the next week reducing this to four the second week then every other day for the next month. If you are lightly stocking I would refill the tank very slowly. If you're not bothered about stocking right away then I would do 100% daily water changes.


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## discusdan (27 Apr 2014)

cheers for the replies chaps, slight issue...

im changing over to a new tank so i have to break the current tank down, set up the new one, replant and stock all in a day.
i have nowhere to hold the plants and fish for any large length of time so its all got to be done swiftly.


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## sciencefiction (27 Apr 2014)

I was reading the comments on the review part of the link you provided at the start and there are complaints that the soil is very light and floats despite being capped so maybe it's a good idea to fully wet the soil first before capping.


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## NC10 (27 Apr 2014)

sciencefiction said:


> I was reading the comments on the review part of the link you provided at the start and there are complaints that the soil is very light and floats despite being capped so maybe it's a good idea to fully wet the soil first before capping.



One of the reasons I opted for the cactus version. I'm sure there was something else that put me that off as well??


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## Tim Harrison (27 Apr 2014)

Not sure I'd cap it with florabase, I use florabase in my high-energy scape and it's a bit floaty-light before it becomes waterlogged (IME it takes a couple of weeks). I think, but I maybe wrong, that you could end up with a muddy puddle especially during aquascaping. If you're going down that route I'd certainly be temped to soak both first and sieve of any floaty bits after its well and truly waterlogged. And I'd also use a soil retainer/gravel tidy to stop the two mixing and to prevent soil disturbance during aquascaping and maintenance, but that's just my preference.


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## sciencefiction (27 Apr 2014)

Troi said:


> If you're going down that route I'd certainly be temped to soak both first and sieve of any floaty bits after its well and truly waterlogged.


Totally agree with Troi. Soils are full of light stuff that floats easy. I soak the soil and take off massive amounts of floating stuff from it. You don't want the easily floating bits in your tank when uprooting/planting. I mineralize mine(though I've done without too), which means you are removing any chemicals and the organic stuff gets converted into usable nutritients. You end up with like half the soil you started with doing this.

This is done by soaking the soil in water for a day or two, bin the water with the floating stuff, then spread it thinly(I used bin bags) and dry it completely. Repeat 4-5 times until you have something that almost looks like a mix of sand and powder. Then sift the soil to remove big bits, glass bits!!, wet it like cake butter and in the tank. Cap it with the substrate of your choice. This prevents any ammonia spikes from the soil so it's the best option if fish are going in immediately.
This also prevents any initial algae issues that may arise and the water is clear almost from first refill, no bolloxing with water changes and cloudy water. I mix clay to about 5-10% of the soil to help with water clarity(provides additional nutritients too for heavy rooters like swords and crypts) but this is not a good idea in a soil containing peat because the iron in the clay can become toxic(at least according to Diana Walstad)



NC10 said:


> One of the reasons I opted for the cactus version. I'm sure there was something else that put me that off as well??


I've been using the B&Q Verve food and vegetable planter capped with sand for a year in a tank, great stuff, really pleased. I also used Homebase topsoil which is equally good. Who needs aquatic soil...


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## EnderUK (28 Apr 2014)

Just do a 1" cap along with having spare sand/grit/gravel to add to the cap if it begins to float. Don't uproot plants but if you really need to do so, drain the tank first. You're going need to fill and drain the tank at least five times any ways.

I replaced the substrate in a weekend. Fish were kept in a 50L plastic storage bucket with the filter running inside it. Didn't really need the filter for a day but it kept it, running plus my heater there was an inline heater attached. If you don't want to bother with the filter (bacteria will be fine it won't all die off), you can starve you're fish for a couple of days before you stick them in the bucket so they produce less waste. People ship fish all around the world taking days to get to their destination, they'll be fine.


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## discusdan (28 Apr 2014)

cheers for all the tips guys.

Think I'll soak the soil as well as the florabase for a few weeks before I set up the new tank.

What do you recommend to use as a substrate divider to stop the two mixing?


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## Tim Harrison (28 Apr 2014)

I use this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Greenhouse-...38&sr=8-1&keywords=gardman+greenhouse+shading...some people also sell it by the metre.


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## EnderUK (28 Apr 2014)

You don't really need anything, you could use the netting they sell in garden centres I guess.


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## sciencefiction (28 Apr 2014)

I am just wondering but why using a separator of any sort?  What if you pull by accident a plant which roots have gone well through the net and pull the entire net? Your tank would be a mess, no?....

Just use a cap that can hold the soil down.  Anything with not too large grains would do, and not too small as very fine sand because the soil needs to "breathe".  I presume the cap should be an inch or two. I use one inch in mine.
 Larger particles naturally stay on top of the finer soil so the soil won't pop up unless it's made of dissolvable particles such as high amount of clay. Even if you put gravel under the soil, one day that gravel will make it's way up on top of it.

 Some mixing between the layers is impossible and even beneficial. Some food and fish poop will go through the top layer down to the soil and re-fertilise it.
 The net won't prevent anything much but will be a nuisance one day more than likely. Well, at least I wouldn't use a separator.


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## discusdan (29 Apr 2014)

cheers for the advice guys.


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## Tim Harrison (1 May 2014)

sciencefiction said:


> I am just wondering but why using a separator of any sort?  What if you pull by accident a plant which roots have gone well through the net and pull the entire net? Your tank would be a mess, no?.....



That could happen I suppose, but it's never happened to me. I've used a "separator" off and on for years and have found that the actual benefits far outweigh the potential hazards. But each to their own

Good circulation through the cap is beneficial but not always necessary for good sustained growth. A guy on another popular planted tank forum, successfully grew plants in what he called "the toxic 10" under a very fine sand cap to deliberately seal off the substrate from the water column...one of the toxic ten was dog s**t  I've also grown, and I'm still growing, plants under a fine sand cap but not in dog poop http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/cryptic-haven-low-energy-update-pics.28695/


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## sciencefiction (1 May 2014)

I haven't used a separator Troy because I figured I am so clumsy and forgetful I'll pull it up by accident 

What are the benefits by the way

As for the fine sand cap, I don't see a reason why it can't be used as a cap. The plant roots produce oxygen and will oxygenate the soil under the cap to prevent it from becoming anoxic. The reason why I would avoid it unless necessary for certain fish is because I am a low tech keeper and the detritus produced by plants, fish, etc...can't fall easily between the sand grains and in a low tech tank this is a negative as it relies on decomposition in the soil to produce CO2. And I also don't use any fertiliser so I rely on that fish food to go in, pass the fish's guts, come out as poop, get shredded by the snails and shrimp, fall in between the grains, produce some CO2 and ferts and grow the plants It's kind of working though

I have a soil tank with 1cm sand as a cap too. It's been doing great and is also a low tech so it can be done. But it's not play sand. I think its a 0.1mm-0.9mm variety size.


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## Tim Harrison (2 May 2014)

The main benefit of a separator for me is that it allows scaping and re-scaping with out disturbing the soil layer and turning the tank in to a muddy puddle. The same goes for maintenance, and it's easier to recycle most of the more expensive capping substrate when the time comes to tear down the tank. I will admit though that uprooting big root feeders like cryps, for instance, needs to be done with care and can be a two handed job...


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