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Soil Substrate or Dirted Tank - A How to Guide

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
It can take a while to cycle fully. But mine usually take a week or two before they are cycled enough to safely and slowly introduce critters. The full info is there in the article.
 
This article is super informative thank you! However i feel a little confused on the soil/substrate side of this. And those who’ve seen me post over the last few days know im totally in over my head so far!

I just wanted to check a couple things in relation to this.
  • i can technically use a aquatic soil from like a garden center providing there are no dangerous added ingredients?
  • is it possible to buy a soil substrate online that would do the job perfectly rather than buying a aquatic soil? If so what brands are normally recommmended?
  • is it essential to have multiple layers in the substrate? Could i use just a soil and then some gravel on top in areas for aesthetic purposes? Or do i need that top layer to help the plants stay in place but also help with the clean up of sediment that’s fallen to the bottom.. i.e any uneaten food?
 
Megann194 said:
i can technically use a aquatic soil from like a garden center providing there are no dangerous added ingredients?
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Yes, aquatic compost, the type typically used in ponds is fine.

Megann194 said:
is it possible to buy a soil substrate online that would do the job perfectly rather than buying a aquatic soil? If so what brands are normally recommmended?
Click to expand...
Yes, you can use John Innes type compost. Or you can use something like Tropica AS an all in one solution.

Megann194 said:
is it essential to have multiple layers in the substrate? Could i use just a soil and then some gravel on top in areas for aesthetic purposes? Or do i need that top layer to help the plants stay in place but also help with the clean up of sediment that’s fallen to the bottom.. i.e any uneaten food?
Click to expand...

If you use compost you’ll need to cap it with sand or gravel, otherwise you’ll end up with a muddy puddle.

Alternatively, Gucci substrates like Tropica AS above are an all in one solution that don’t need capping. They just cost considerably more.
 
Yes, aquatic compost, the type typically used in ponds is fine.


Yes, you can use John Innes type compost. Or you can use something like Tropica AS an all in one solution.



If you use compost you’ll need to cap it with sand or gravel, otherwise you’ll end up with a muddy puddle.

Alternatively, Gucci substrates like Tropica AS above are an all in one solution that don’t need capping. They just cost considerably more.
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Thank you, I’ve been looking at the Tropica AS and happy to go with that if it’ll do the job, as long as I don’t need to add anything else to it..
 
If you want an all in one planting medium then Tropica Aquarium Soil (little brown balls) will do perfectly well.
The Tropica Substrate is a fine powder designed to be used in a thin layer & capped with a thicker layer of either sand or gravel.
I use sand because I think it looks more natural & I keep pygmy corys. I started a tank & ran it for a few years then ended up changing the substrate for sand & soil powder because l just don't like the uniform brown of the aquarium soil!
 
Or you could use plain play sand. It’s dirt cheap and a perfectly good planting medium. However, it’s inert so you’ll also have to water column dose fertz, and/or use root tabs. But dosing fertz is recommended anyway. Sand will inevitably gain some additional fertility over time as mulm accumulates around plant roots etc and becomes mixed in with it. .
 
colley614@ said:
I really love the idea of using organic dirt in an Aquascape. I like to think organic substrates promote things like mycelium which, in theory, would have a positive impact on plant nutritional uptake.
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Absolutely right. Ultimately it's microbial communities that keep our planted tanks healthy and stable.
 
@colley614@ I’ve had several scapes that started out as Walstad type tanks with filtration. Back in the day they stayed that way without fertz dosing. More recently though, I’ve usually started to dose fertz at around 6 months. Either way, they all remained soil substrate, and low-energy, no injected CO2, bar one.
 
@Guest that's really interesting you say that, I've had 2 set ups over the last 5 years that I have considered to be 'Walstad.' The first of which, I was really successful at growing and propagating rare algae, but not so good with plants. The second seemed to start off well, but seemed to taper off with regards to plant health after about 6 months (crypts melted, stems lost loads of leaves). I've decided that either I can't get the Walstad Method to work long term or it doesn't work. This led me to start 50% weekly water changes and start dosing TNC Complete about 2 weeks ago, and I've noticed a response from the plants already.

The thing is, I do like the idea of using dirt as a substrate capped with whatever I think would be visually appealing. I'm currently at the point that I feel dirt offers benefits such as bacteria and Mycorrhiza already in the substrate. However, I have been considering the problem of it compacting over time and have been toying with the idea of adding a fired clay or something to offer the roots a little more structure. It also plays on my mind that there could be gas pockets which would inhibit root growth.

Anyway, the logic behind me trying the Walstad Method was I wanted to learn a regime to keeping plants healthy and growing long term. I've seen the terms Low and High tech and my thought process was that I'd like to learn to drive with a naturally aspirated engine before considering jumping into a fully modified turbo charged sports aquarium that grows a ton of bin garnish.

Anyway, that's were I'm up to. I'm currently debating pulling apart the Rio 180 Walstad tank or carrying on with the 50% weekly water changes and dosing TNC Complete and seeing the results (It gives me a chance to learn). Because, apparently, all Walstad tank are dirted tanks, but not all dirted tanks are Walstad tanks.
 
@colley614@ Soil has many advantages, but it’s not worth rigidly sticking to any one methodology if it’s not working. All tanks are different and often require different approaches to grow healthy plants. Hence the hybrid method.

Soil can loose its structure and become compacted when used as sediment. What tends to happen is the organic matter decomposes and leaves the silt and clay behind. You can mitigate by adding more peat and grit.

Done well, with or without CO2, soil tanks can yield spectacular results. This is my favourite

My garden 250l - M.Pluta

This is my first post on this forum so Hi all. About me: Personally my adventure with aquarium start about 6 yeres ago with 54l where was few land plant which I bought in aquarium store :], after this time I learn more and still learning, firstli reading nation forum and next foregien especialy...
www.ukaps.org www.ukaps.org
 
@Guest that is a beautiful aquarium! I totally agree and plan to keep evolving my methodology until I find the right methods that work for me.

when you say peat and grit would the Irish Moss Peat I have suffice? Also, what grit should I be considering? Is there a thread I could read on this topic for more information?
 
@colley614@ Irish moss peat is fine. I still have a big bag from years ago when peat was still deemed okay to use in horticulture. Any horticultural grit or fine gravel will do. A good mix is 1:1 peat and aquatic compost. Just add several handfuls of grit till the structure feels a little more open. Use your judgment, there are no hard and fast rules. But this usually suffices to keep the structure open even after 6 months and beyond.

There is some info in the tutorial at the beginning of this thread. Maybe also try the the Barr Report referenced at the end of the tutorial. Diana Walstad has written several articles that are accessible through the internet they might offer more insight too.
 
@Guest Thanks for your input. I have loads of Irish moss peat and half a bag of miracle gro. I also have moler clay, akadama and fine lava rock knocking around. I think, for my next iteration, I will try a 50/50 mix of peat and miracle gro and put some moler clay through it to add structure and start from there.

I don't think I'm ready to bin my current set up. It's an eye saw at the moment, but since changing things up, the tips of the plants are looking much healthier and I'd like to view the progress over the next month or so and see the results. At least then, I've had some success that I can apply to my next set up.
 
Hi @Guest,

what's your opinion? How come more people don't use a soil substrate? And how come I can't seem to be many good examples of planted aquascapes using soil?
 
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