aquatic soil.

[rummy nose]

hi everybody,
1st time on the forum & just looking to say hi & get a little info.
i am thinking about setting up a planted tank, just a small 30lt tank as i am interested in keeping some shrimp & im not planning on putting any fish in the tank. i did set up an 80lt planted tank in feb & so far ive managed not to kill any plants (first time i havnt killed them, so im pleased) there not thrieving but there still alive although my algea looks lovely 😀
anyways! i used jbl aqua basis plus in the 80lt app 1.5" deep covered in 1.5" of fine gravel, i was thinking of the same substrate for the 30lt but when i went to the lfs i saw they are now stocking aquatic soil for use in ponds, this i thought may be a cheep alternative as i also would like to set up my spare 60lt tank thats been gathering dust in the store for the past few months & i remembered an article in pfk when there expert on planted tanks used this same soil & described it as a cheep substrate for those setting up on a budget.
i was wondering if anybody out there had ever used this in there tanks before & what you thought of the idea. im setting up on a budget as our 2nd daughter has just hatched & theres now any other mouth to feed, i live in northern ireland & my local shops dont stock a big varity of stuff & dont seem interested in ordering things like good quality substrates, aquascaping tools or even decent plants for that matter. i know i could order things on line but i aint very good with computers & the thoughts of my bank details floating around in cyber space dosnt appeal to me.

any comments are welcome.
thanks steven.

 

[rummy nose]

also just wondering, theres a name keeps poping up hear, George Farmer, is this the same fella that writes for pfk mag???

 

[samc]

george is a founder of the forum and he does quite a few bits for PFK mags 😉

 

[JenCliBee]

Im currently using aquatic pond soil in my 40 ltr tank check out my jounal and you can have a quick sqiz at the results so far 🙂

jen

 

[dsandson]

Hi rummy nose, welcome to ukaps!

i live in northern ireland & my local shops dont stock a big varity of stuff & dont seem interested in ordering things like good quality substrates, aquascaping tools or even decent plants for that matter.

I'm living in Belfast, and yeah, I know what you mean. I have to say my LFS Exotic Aquatics has come a long way since I first went there over a year ago.

As JenCliBee said, yeah its possible to use aquatic pond soil. Just be careful, as if ammonia was used, it could leach into the water for a few weeks. Nothing to worry about, it would just help the filter to mature and maybe need some extra water changes before adding shrimp.

The cheapest thing to cap it would be Argos play sand. Dirt cheap and all it needs is a clean. I've used it in my 60l tank, with a layer of JBL Aquabasis plus underneath. Exotic Aquatics still sell it, and it is regarded quite well on here.

Another cheap option is Akadama. Thats what I've used in my larger rio180. Read about it here http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=741. I got it from a bonsai supplier which attends St Georges Market on a Saturday and Nutts Corner on a Sunday. Just called them up and asked if I could collect it from the market. It was £10 for a 14litre bag, but it may have gone up by now. This is their website http://www.bonsai4uni.co.uk/.

I know you say you dont want to buy online, but living in NI and having such limited options on many things, I've used the internet a lot and never had any issues. Using a credit card too is also helpful as it gives the full protection of the consumer credit act. I've used Aqua Essentials, a forum sponser, quite a few times and I have nothing but praise for them. Whilst not the cheapest, they have a great range and now have a range of aquafluer plants which a reasonably priced - much closer to what our lfs charge and very good quality.

I hope that helps... any questions then fire away!

Dsandson