# Westland Aquatic Compost



## Jhncf (5 Aug 2014)

Starting a low tech cube tank, ordered my light unit and i'm wondering if Westland Aquatic Compost would work ok as a substrate? If so, would I just put a layer of this down (not sure on depth) and then cap it with sand? Thanks!


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## BigTom (5 Aug 2014)

Jhncf said:


> Starting a low tech cube tank, ordered my light unit and i'm wondering if Westland Aquatic Compost would work ok as a substrate? If so, would I just put a layer of this down (not sure on depth) and then cap it with sand? Thanks!



Yup, it'll grow plants very well. Just be aware that added limestone will also push up your pH and hardness to some degree, which may be an issue if you were planning on keeping/breeding obligate freshwater fish in said tank.


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## Jhncf (5 Aug 2014)

I was hoping you'd reply! My pH and hardness are low from the tap just now so hopefully it won't be too much of a problem, only looking to keep shrimp and a few smaller fish, not too bothered about breeding though. Is there any preparation needed or just put down a layer of the compost and then a layer of sand? Thank you!


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## BigTom (5 Aug 2014)

Jhncf said:


> I was hoping you'd reply! My pH and hardness are low from the tap just now so hopefully it won't be too much of a problem, only looking to keep shrimp and a few smaller fish, not too bothered about breeding though. Is there any preparation needed or just put down a layer of the compost and then a layer of sand? Thank you!



Sounds fine then. Just stick it in and give it a decent sand cap. I know Westland claim that the soil has already been through it's ammonia leaching phase, but I'd still err on the side of caution and hold off stocking for a couple of weeks until your plants are established and you can see lots of new growth, unless you're using an established filter.


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## Jhncf (5 Aug 2014)

I do have an established filter, not sure if i'll use it though as an internal filter would look pretty ugly.. Thanks for you help Tom, will order some now.


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## dw1305 (5 Aug 2014)

Hi all,





Jhncf said:


> I do have an established filter, not sure if i'll use it though as an internal filter would look pretty ugly..


You can just take the media out of the internal and put it in the new filter.

If I want to seed some larger filter sponges or ceramic media etc and only have a small established filter sponge or small volume of alfagrog etc. available, I just squeeze out the established sponge and then soak the new media in the suspension for ~30 minutes, you can either do this in a shallow tray, or you can put an air stone in with it, but it is important to keep it oxygenated until it goes into the new filter, and that then the seeded filter is turned on straight away.

The nitrifying bacteria are much more resilient and flexible than traditional fish keeping wisdom would have you believe, and will quickly establish colonies, the size of which will be dependent upon the supply of NH4+, NO2- etc. If the nutrient supply diminishes many of the bacteria will become dormant, but they will start dividing again as soon as that supply returns.

cheers Darrel


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## Tim Harrison (5 Aug 2014)

No need to worry too much about it upping pH or hardness - it's mostly peat moss and loam - with a pH of between 6 and 6.5. I've used it for years, and it performs very well.


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## BigTom (5 Aug 2014)

Troi said:


> No need to worry too much about it upping pH or hardness - it's mostly peat moss and loam - with a pH of between 6 and 6.5. I've used it for years, and it performs very well.



Hmm. It gave me pH7.6-7.8 and increased conductivity by nearly 200 microS.

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## Tim Harrison (5 Aug 2014)

Really, that's surprising, a bit like JI No. 3 then? It has a minimal affect my parameters the other way, but then my water is rock hard to start with.


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## BigTom (5 Aug 2014)

Yeah it was a pretty comparable to JI3. Bit less maybe, unfortunately I didn't record exact values. This was with relatively soft Edinburgh water.

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## Jhncf (5 Aug 2014)

Are there any plants that won't grow well in hard water if it raises the pH and hardness?


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## BigTom (5 Aug 2014)

Jhncf said:


> Are there any plants that won't grow well in hard water if it raises the pH and hardness?



Very few. I never had much luck with H. pinattifada in my harder water tank compared to the soft water ones but it could easily have been another factor at play.

Can't think of any others from personal experience.

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## Tim Harrison (5 Aug 2014)

Some but equally there are plenty that thrive in such conditions. IME it doesn't matter that much there are plenty more important parameters to think about like flow, distribution, nutrients and CO2, and of course light...and getting the balance between them all right.


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