# Pumice...



## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Has anyone here used a potting soil containing pumice? Did you have problems or have to sift it out?


----------



## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Maybe the pumice is in powder form if no one has had a problem... I'll just assume that.


----------



## littleguy (Jan 6, 2005)

Are you sure it's not perlite? Looks very similar, little whitish gray balls a few mm in diameter. Perlite is not a problem in tanks, other than it can be an annoyance when it floats to the water surface, etc.


----------



## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

The ingredients say pumice, not perlite. I haven't bought it yet, so I can't really say. I was just curious before I spent the money.


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

If the soil contains pumice then you are lucky. It's somewhat hard to find pumice by itself.

Pumice does 2 beneficial things for a planted tank:
- Prevents compaction of the clay/muddy layers
- Provides surface area for substrate dwelling bacteria

So you definitely do *not* want to remove it from the substrate.

Some pumice particles may contain trapped air and may float. Just scoop them out of the tank.

--Nikolay


----------



## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Thats excellent news... I'll post the brand and ingredients after I look at it again.


----------



## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

OK This is what I found, tell me what you think:

Turf King Potting Soil: Aged Douglas Fir Bark, Peat Moss, Pumice, Genuine Compost

Sounds about right to me. Maybe just add some dolomite pellets to add some buffering power and I'm ready to go.


----------



## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

I believe ADA's power sand uses pumice as the small stones that are mixed with the "soil" to keep water circulation on the bottom, and prevent compacting as well.


----------



## dymndgyrl (Jan 22, 2007)

You should try to get a look at the stuff out of the bag (look for one with a ripped corner), If it's mostly bark and peat, I wouldn't get it. And if the compost portion is, say, composted steer manure, it will, overall, be too rich and too acidic.


----------



## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

And from what other people have said, compost tends to make the water cloudy.


----------



## dirtmonkey (Mar 12, 2007)

I'm using one with pumice, I specifically looked for that when I couldn't find much I liked that didn't have perlite. I know the general advice is to go with the really cheap heavy stuff, but here in the PNW that usually means mostly only partly decomposed conifer chips and bark, and I don't trust it much. Pumice floats much less than perlite, will stay down when it's waterlogged, and is a local (around here), natural stone that's just crushed and sold.

None of mine from the "Cocoblend" ever worked up from under the gravel.

Vincent


----------



## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Why don't you trust decomposed conifer chips and bark?

Plus I thought wetting agent was a problem. Cocoblend has it.


----------



## Blacksunshine (Aug 11, 2006)

I use volcanic pumace as a bio media in a couple of my filters. Its very similar to the eheim substrate pro.


----------



## aquabillpers (Apr 13, 2006)

If you get a top soil with compost you should soak it for a few weeks, to let the organics oxidize and the other "gunk" come to the top and be discarded.

Bill


----------



## dirtmonkey (Mar 12, 2007)

> Why don't you trust decomposed conifer chips and bark?


I would trust totally decomposed conifers more, it's the 'partly' that concerns me. In a closed system without carbon filtering, there's a chance that the undecomposed volatile compounds (things like phytotoxic terpenes, turpentine from pine, and other stuff I don't remember details on) could build up and cause problems. Plus, if there were any other chemicals sprayed before the stuff was piled up to compost, it wouldn't have had a chance to completely break down.



> Plus I thought wetting agent was a problem. Cocoblend has it.


Cocoblend has what they call a "Non chemical, organic wetting agent made from coconut oil". There are several things that could be, but the most effecient, cost-effective, and easiest to call "non-chemical" and "organic" would be sodium or potassium salts of the fatty acids in coconut oil. In other words, coconut oil soap. The tiny amounts needed would be mostly rinsed out in the first soakings, and the rest quickly eaten up by bacteria and fungi in natural systems.

I've used it without the soaking and rinsing, in tanks including fish and shrimp, without problems.

Don't worry, I'm not ignorantly tossing completely unknown stuff in under my prized plants and animals (at least as far as I can find out about it)  I also only wash up with my own homemade coconut & olive chemical free soaps before getting into aquariums, because any potential traces left will break down harmlessly in living water, and not leave any other chemical nasties behind. I also use it on land plants, harmlessly.

Vincent


----------



## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Great info, you are very knowledgeable. Its nice to know they use non-chemical organic wetting agent, seems as though companies are finally coming around.  

I'm in portland as well, where do you get your soap? I use a soap from trader joes that doesn't have much in it, unless I've been digging in my quarantine tank. 

I think that my soil is now pretty much decomposed, been letting it sit for a while now. Atleast all the larger pieces are now on the top and will float when I first put the water in so I can remove them easily.


----------



## dirtmonkey (Mar 12, 2007)

Well... I know a little bit about a lot of things... enough to be dangerous LOL! I just try not to comment too much on things I don't feel I know enough about. I hope nothing I say comes across as "This Is The Only Right Way" because I'm very aware that I'm only talking about my own experiences.

I'm sure your soil is fine too. It seems like few people have serious problems no matter what they use, as long as it's soaked out and aged. Sometimes I just worry about the little things  But being able to put "Natural" and "Organic" on a label is bonus selling points everywhere now, especially out here on the Left Coast, so even CEOs who wouldn't otherwise care are making some effort in that direction.

I make the soap myself, that way I can be certain that it only has organic oils, and no trace of colorants, fragrances or preservatives. Even the natural essential oils and preservatives worry me a little, just because I don't know their effect on fish or invertebrates... if the tanks were plants-only, I wouldn't worry so much. Unfortunately, soap labeling laws are pretty loose- ingredients don't have to be listed, it's voluntary. And they can be sold as 100% natural or organic by much looser standards than food can, because they are an external, rinse-off product. For us, anyway. Once it's in the tank, well Madge, they're soaking in it.

I am getting Diana Walstad's book soon, the more I read comments about it here the more I think I would agree with her methods, and she's put a lot more real research into it than I have, so I'm sure to learn a lot too.

Vincent


----------

