# A few soil tank questions



## plantnoob (1 Dec 2014)

Right so having slept on it ive decided that im going to just go gor it and do a soil substrate tank . The playsand will be coming out , soil going in and a little bit of the sand back in as a cap.  with the slower growth in low techs i was going to use liquid carbon to boost growth . But does it really make that much difference in terms of growth speed? I ask because i quite fancy some valis but apparantly liquid carbon melts it.  also i read in trois great tutorial that soil will provide carbon through decomposition so would liquid carbon even be worth bothring with ?


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## Edvet (1 Dec 2014)

In a low light/low energy tank you don't need to add carbon. It can come from the soil and from fish waste. Look at the last pic in my white cube journal, never added any carbon, just a bit of ferts.


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## plantnoob (1 Dec 2014)

So valis and carbon from the soil it is then


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## stu_ (1 Dec 2014)

For the record, regular size dose of EasyCarbo never caused my Vallis to melt.


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## plantnoob (1 Dec 2014)

right wobble over plans back on track .  20L bag of aqua soil ( aquatic compost not ada) ordered from ebay . as soon as that arrives il get the tank drained , playsand out , soil in and cap with sand .  going to have another read through the soil tank tutorial laternthis evening , but if i plant densley from the get go can i still plant whilst the soil is leeching ammonia oif i keep an eye on levels and be ready with water changes as required? not because il have fish , i wont , its just the whole light +ammonia =algae equation that troubles me


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## Tim Harrison (1 Dec 2014)

If your lighting levels  - intensity and duration - are appropriate it should be fine...


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## plantnoob (1 Dec 2014)

intensity wise its a fluval roma 240 and i will be using the standard lights , being 2x40w t8 no reflectors  . duration wise im thinking 6 hours fir the 1st 2 weeks , 7 hours week 3 and then 8 hours from week 4 onwards .


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## Pinkmummy79 (1 Dec 2014)

Sounds sensible, it's a similar size box of water to mine, I've a fixed hood and changed the tubes to 2 x 21watt but they're t5's and am on 6 hrs still just starting my 3rd week.
Just do your water changes and grab some floaters and you should be fine


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## plantnoob (2 Dec 2014)

Will i need to be doing daily water changes to start with ?


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## ian_m (2 Dec 2014)

The chart below from http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105774 is a rough handy guide to light level.






So with you 2 x T8 and tank depth about 20" you are low light, so nothing to be careful of.



plantnoob said:


> Will i need to be doing daily water changes to start with ?


Must do if you have fish, else leave water as is, the nitrifying bacteria will feed on the ammonia and in say 6-8 weeks, perfect for fish. Just don't over do the lighting period during that time.


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## plantnoob (2 Dec 2014)

Nope no fish yet . Filters will be seeded with mature media too which should help too .


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## Tim Harrison (2 Dec 2014)

The mineralising process will take about 2 months to complete. However, this is different to tank cycling, which should take a week or so with mature filter media.


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## plantnoob (2 Dec 2014)

no fish will be added until im getting zero for both ammonia and nitrite . a plus side of this waiting period is that plants will have a chance get well rooted . at what reading of ammonia would you reccomend a waterchange when its just plants ?


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## Tim Harrison (2 Dec 2014)

Water changes don't seem to be that crucial in a low-energy tank if it's just plants you have to worry about. The build up of a surface biofilm usually prompts me to change the water, if for no other reason than it looks unsightly and may reduce surface gas exchange.


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## plantnoob (2 Dec 2014)

so i can soil it , plant it and just keep testing until the ammonia and nitrite says i can add fish ? hell im liking this low tech approach already and i havent even started yet !  1 more question for now , re lighting . the tubes on this tank are pretty old and crappy looking , covered in a crusty white deposit and blackened inside at the ends so im going to replace with new ones . no increased wattage or anything just replace like for like . where do you stand on reflectors for a low light tank like this ,, yes or no ?


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## Tim Harrison (3 Dec 2014)

Yep, that's about the size of it...
It's up to you whether you use reflectors or not. Best to just suck it and see...If the lighting is too intense and you start to get algae you can always remove them, or if you prefer vice-versa...remove them to start with and see how your plants do.
So much of running a successful tank is experimenting with its parameters until you strike a happy balance...it gets easier with experience...well, at least some of the time


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## ian_m (3 Dec 2014)

You might be able to rotate the reflectors on the tubes, deflecting light away from the tank, a handy way of lowering light levels when starting your tank up. When I moved my Vision 180 to high tech (ferts and CO2) , with T8 tubes, I rotated the reflectors round to keep light levels low for first couple of months. Worked fine, no algae at all.


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## plantnoob (3 Dec 2014)

Theres no reflectors on the tank i was just debating wether or not to buy some. I think i might just leave it for the 1st few weeks and see how things develop


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