# Problem with substrate, please help



## nazer (Jan 14, 2009)

Hi
I Have the problem with my aquarium. It is low-tech, Diana Walstad's method, that is on the of the ground gardens base and few cattle manure, on the top is quartz gravel.
Aquarium started 12 days ago. The problem consists in this that one makes gravel black, the path the bubbles of some gas also, and from sbasis come out from sand... Do I not know to do what, if this normal?, why does one make gravel black?
Aquarium info:
tank size: 80x35x45 cm [126liters]
substrate: garden ground with dried cattle manure, on top quartz gravel
lighting : 5x18W T8 6500 K
filtering: Aquael FZN 3, Eheim pick up 2008
temperature of water: 25*C


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

How deep is the substrate? If it is too deep, it can cause those problems. Also, using soil with manure can cause problems because it has too much nutrient load in it.


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## nazer (Jan 14, 2009)

Substrate is not deep, one centimetre has two maximally, near the front pane covered 5 centimetres of gravel, near the back pane covered about 10 centimetres of gravel. I mixed ground with cattle manure, couse i thinked the ground itself is too barren.
Cattle manure contains:
azote 3.21%
potassium 1.61%
phosphorus 1.59%
magnesium 0,36%
calcium 2,34%
and microelements...
Do you think it has too much nutrient load in it???
Meybe problem is, couse tank is fresh?? or problem is a no air zones in ground??
Maybe I should move the substrate gently?


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Do understand correctly you have about 1-2 cm of soil-manure blend covered by up to 5 cm of gravel? 
If so, remove most of the gravel. Leave just enough to hold the plants down. Maybe 1-2 cm. 
5 cm is too deep, does not permit good water flow through the soil.

The soil-manure blend will go through changes now that it is under water. If the bubbles smell bad that is bad. There is not enough water flow through the substrate. If the bubbles do not smell bad, then just let the tank alone for a while. It often takes a month or more for a soil that has been submerged to settle in. There are a lot of microorganisms growing in that soil. If the water flow is bad there is not much oxygen in the soil, and the wrong sorts of bacteria are growing. This should be fixed.


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