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Soil Substrate or Dirted Tank - A How to Guide

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Still can't get over how we have the same name,

Anyway sorry to ask, I can't seem to get hold of westlands aquatic soil,mi can hover obtain a John innes no3, I will defiantly be adding red clay to the bottom any how,

Would the Westland aquatic require mineralising like the John innes would, and would it be worth waiting for a deliver of the westlands, I have bought a 50g witch arrives with stock next Tuesday and want to soil the tank straight away
 
The verve one?

Was just looking at it, did you just put it straight in? No problems?

Cheers
 
I actually put it in to one of those large 'Really Useful' boxes and wetted it up, then left it for two months. This was only because the missus wanted to decorate, and all aquatic activity got put on hold.

It seems fine. The only problems were of my own making-

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, CUT THE FABRIC BARRIER. IT WOULD BE BAD. AND CAUSE LOADS OF HASSLE!!! :banghead:
 
not got the two months to wait

Basically I out a 50g and I'm collecting it next week, it comes with fish blah blah
I wanted to get soil in straight away and then only worry about ammonia cycles onces

Instead of, getting new tank tryna save all tank water, travel, mini cycle new tank, strip down when mud is ready put in and recycle again,

Any suggestions would be grateful
 
Ghosty said:
Still can't get over how we have the same name,

Anyway sorry to ask, I can't seem to get hold of westlands aquatic soil,mi can hover obtain a John innes no3, I will defiantly be adding red clay to the bottom any how,

Would the Westland aquatic require mineralising like the John innes would, and would it be worth waiting for a deliver of the westlands, I have bought a 50g witch arrives with stock next Tuesday and want to soil the tank straight away
Click to expand...

Dude it's all in the tutorial...none of it requires mineralizing first, it can be done in situ, and there is absolutely no need to add clay, if you're going to add anything think about extra peat...
 
I have clearly read the tutorial, however I have come a croppa on a potential flaw for myself personally to follow it to a T, witch is what I had liked to do, I'll post a new thread with my exact question, as its a predicament that may require more specifications from myself

Cheer
 
Does anyone have any links to some good sources of peat? It's either quite tough to source where I am, or I've been looking in the wrong places.
 
I'm in West London. I've been to a few garden centres but haven't found it.
 
Thanks Greenfinger...I can't claim all the credit - I've had the benefit of some great contributions from other members...it's a team effort😉
 
Hi Troi,
Troi said:
Thanks Greenfinger...I can't claim all the credit - I've had the benefit of some great contributions from other members...it's a team effort😉
Click to expand...


Hi Troi, 😀 That's the great thing about Forums info free flow😀 We all share our ups downs and knowledge 😉 If one member does not know others will 😎😎
 
I'm looking to have a largely carpeted tank with moss and some taller plants, would you suggest to choose gravel or sand over the initial fertile substrate?
 
Troi many thanks for such a detailed and clear tutorial. I've watched and read a huge amount re soil/dirt substrate tanks and keep returning to this thread for its clarity and relevance to being UK based.

I will probably be going with the Westland aquatic compost and irish moss peat 50-50 mix you recommend in a 55L cube I picked up secondhand. With my other tanks (a 135 L tall, a 200 L long and a 55 L betta tank) I've been forced to use RO/DI water which I generally remineralise with Seachem's Equilibrium. I say forced because my tap water nitrates are sometimes in excess of 50ppm. Should I think about changing the proportions of peat vs compost to something other than 50-50? Or, given that this tank will be fishless for quite some time, should I just go with my tap water (dechlorinated of course), which will make the initial 50% water changes 3x weekly a hell of a lot easier of course, and then gradually shift over to RO/DI once the plants are more established and I'm preparing to add fish?
cheers
Julian
 
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