# is there such a thing?



## plantnoob (29 Nov 2014)

as a cheap aquatic compost that doesnt need mineralising and doesn leech ammonia in the early stages of use ? something i can cap with playsand .  i was looking at using just playsand and root tabs , but worry that it will compact too much at the required depth.


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## plantnoob (29 Nov 2014)

tank plan is ive just picked up a 2nd hand roma 240 . looking at using the standard t8 lighting and trying out a low light setup using liquid carbon and an all in 1 liquid fert . simpke plants such as aponogetons , swords , anubias java fern etc maybe some moss but with chrimbo on the horizon i need to keep ir cheap as poss


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## Jose (29 Nov 2014)

as a cheap aquatic compost that doesnt need mineralising and doesn leech ammonia in the early stages of use ? something i can cap with playsand . i was looking at using just playsand and root tabs , but worry that it will compact too much at the required depth.

I dont think there is. What fert are you dosing?. Does it have NPK ? You can also have a inert substrate and dose the water column. This is what ive always done with great success. You shoul be fine with what you are planning as long as the fert has NPK and micros.


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## plantnoob (29 Nov 2014)

i was planning on using neutro co2 and either neutro t or neutro+ from aqua essentials .


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## Jose (29 Nov 2014)

Neutro t is only micros. So I would go for neutro+ and search for the doses.


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## Andy D (29 Nov 2014)

Use pond soil.

You will need Neutro + with Neutro CO2.


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## Jose (29 Nov 2014)

http://www.sudeepmandal.com/hobbies/planted-aquarium/low-tech-planted-tank-guide/#dosingfertilizer

have a read on this and look for the lnk on excel tanks.

pond soil will leach ammonia im pretty sure.


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## plantnoob (29 Nov 2014)

the AE website says 5ml per 50L daily for neutro+  . does the pond soil leech ammonia?


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## plantnoob (29 Nov 2014)

thanks for the link jose .


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## Jose (29 Nov 2014)

Every thing that has NPK will leach ammonia except for KNO3 salt or a fert made from it.

here is the link for liquid carbon enriched tanks.

http://www.sudeepmandal.com/hobbies/planted-aquarium/guide-low-tech-excel-planted-tank/


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## plantnoob (29 Nov 2014)

ok i see. typicly how long does this leeching last for ?


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## Jose (29 Nov 2014)

I believe a few weeks. Maybe 4 or so, someone correct me here. Im no expert on substrates since I only dose the water column.


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## plantnoob (29 Nov 2014)

how about just playsand and root tabs? would this compact too much and lead to failiure?


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## Jose (29 Nov 2014)

You will probably need ferts in the water in the first weeks so that your plants dont suffer and die. I dont think there is a way around this. Ferts are very important and problems come when you dont have enough. I think roottabs isnt normally enough specially at the start when there is no nitrates or phosphates in the water.


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## plantnoob (29 Nov 2014)

plan is daily dosing with neutro co2 and neutro+  with root tabs under the swords etc as well . where im at right now is ive got the tank , lights , filtration etc . just need substrate , plants , ferts et  .


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## Jose (29 Nov 2014)

Yes then that looks fine. Neutro+ supposedly will provide micros and macros. And neutro co2 will supply the co2. By the way I dont have experience with neutro + and I would better recommend buying dry salts but its all up to you.


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## plantnoob (29 Nov 2014)

i lack the knowledge to use dry salts and mix up my own . the neutro+ supposedly contains micro and macro , and aqua essentials is a site i trust . ive seen aquariumplantfood do a complete liquid fert too which may be worth lookung at


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## Jose (30 Nov 2014)

Sure it should work fine then.


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## plantnoob (30 Nov 2014)

ordered some substrate capsules from aquarium plant food , tomorrow il pick up a couple of bags of sand , then once the timer plug ive ordered on fleabay turns up il be ordering plants


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## Jose (30 Nov 2014)

Cool Mate. You can make a thread if you are for it and we can help you out in your mission.


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## plantnoob (30 Nov 2014)

yeah i will no doubt need help along the way going on last times efforts mate . 30 kg of sand being washed and added today .  this is the 1 side of the hobby where success eludes me . hopefully this time the fact that im going low light wilk help that change


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## Jose (30 Nov 2014)

Yeap low light and not using soil that leaches ammnonia certainly makes it easier imo. Its very hard to go wrong with low light an liquid carbon.


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## plantnoob (30 Nov 2014)

ive also deliberately chosen easy plants too . nothing that needs too much care


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## Jose (30 Nov 2014)

You are on the right track, but youll need some patience. This is why its important to pack it from the beginning because plant growth is exponential. When I dose enough I dont even get any die back from most plants. So you want to plant your tank in the bginning too look just how you want it. This way you dont have to wait for things to fill in getting anxious in the process.


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## plantnoob (30 Nov 2014)

1 of the reasons i chose aqua essentials . from what i remember not only is the quality spot on , but you got a good ammount in each pot so plenty of plant massmfor your money


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## Pinkmummy79 (30 Nov 2014)

Just a thought, if you got a couple of bags of topsoil you could mineralise it in the oven, i finished mine off this way and its quick ish☺
No ammonia for me and 2 weeks in. I just bought 2 cheap value baking trays from argooos and went for it.  It's the heat that mineralises the soil. You'll need to soak it maybe overnight first and drain off any scum but it's an option i wouldn't write off.
Clive☺
[[


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## plantnoob (30 Nov 2014)

2 bags of sand already washed and added . i did read on here somewhere about mineralising the soil in the oven . now the missus has put up with a lot with me and my tanks over the years , but dirt in the oven? testicles and blunt knife spring to mind !!


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## tim (30 Nov 2014)

plantnoob said:


> 2 bags of sand already washed and added . i did read on here somewhere about mineralising the soil in the oven . now the missus has put up with a lot with me and my tanks over the years , but dirt in the oven? testicles and blunt knife spring to mind !!


Lol, dry starting the tank will have the same effect of mineralising the soil usually around 4-6 weeks is enough and it increases plant mass which is a bonus.


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## plantnoob (1 Dec 2014)

but with the plants having acces to unlimited co2 during that period wouldnt you get a lot of die off when you flood it and suddenly starve them of it ?  im actually giving serious thought to just biting the bullet , getting some aquatic compost , draining the tank down putting it in , capping it with a thinner layer of sand than ive got now and then putting the plants on hold for a little while whilst i go through a period of frequent water changes etc until all settles down.  after all with my previous planted tank efforts failing so badly do i REALLY feel comfortable trusting the make or break last ditch effort to a 3 inch thick layer of argos playsand ?  better to do it right from the start than put the easiest option in there and rush to get planted . i get the feeling that if i wait and do it properly that both my plants and my sanity will thank me in the long run when the end result is a lush healthy tank and not another dissapoitment that means this time i forget about planted tanks for good .


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## Jose (1 Dec 2014)

plantnoob said:


> but with the plants having acces to unlimited co2 during that period wouldnt you get a lot of die off when you flood it and suddenly starve them of it ?


They shouldnt melt if they are supplied with enough nutrients and because they are easy plants.



plantnoob said:


> im actually giving serious thought to just biting the bullet , getting some aquatic compost , draining the tank down putting it in , capping it with a thinner layer of sand than ive got now and then putting the plants on hold for a little while whilst i go through a period of frequent water changes etc until all settles down. after all with my previous planted tank efforts failing so badly do i REALLY feel comfortable trusting the make or break last ditch effort to a 3 inch thick layer of argos playsand ? better to do it right from the start than put the easiest option in there and rush to get planted . i get the feeling that if i wait and do it properly that both my plants and my sanity will thank me in the long run when the end result is a lush healthy tank and not another dissapoitment that means this time i forget about planted tanks for good .



A lush planted tank can be made with or without a fertile substrate. This isnt going to determine your success, although a nutrient rich soil can only help, specially if you are bad with dosing. By the way no substrate isnt necessarily the easiest way.

I agree with you in taking your time to understand things, there is no rush.


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## plantnoob (1 Dec 2014)

Probably just a wobble because of how badly the last effort ended! Just want to make sure i get it right this time


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