# mineralization in an oven?



## john.shephard26 (Mar 8, 2011)

Hi its winter and its cold moist and what not but my planted tank wont wait for hotter days.I have Florabela pot soil and I want to prepare it faster.I want to know is it ok if i do it in a oven set to 122F (50 C) and how many times should I repeat the procedure?


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## Tugg (Jul 28, 2013)

I remember reading somewhere that smell is a concern. I wonder how this would work on a propane grill using aluminum foil to cover the grill grate. I have two grills and would love to be able to cook up a batch quickly


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Ideally, the mineralization process keeps the organic matter in the soil in a most, oxygen-rich condition where maximum decomposition takes place. If you keep it too warm, you may inhibit the beneficial bacteria. You are not trying to dry the soil as quickly as possible, rather you are trying to keep it warm, moist, and exposed to air.

It's hard to set an oven for low temperatures--think of ambient temperatures on a nice summer day. If you could keep it at 90F, that would be good.


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## john.shephard26 (Mar 8, 2011)

Maybe I could keep the oven doors slightly open thus keeping lower temperature for the bacteria but I don't know how to oxygenate it' maybe use a fan?!
Anyway what are your estimates, how long should I do this before its done(I know that it should be with gray color and no smell).Is it just me or...I get the feeling that I'm consulting with Martha Stewart about a recipe?! : )


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

You don't need a fan or anything like that. Just expose the moist soil to air. The air in the oven is enough.

Martha would be bossy, and tell you that only bottled air imported from the tops of tropical mountains would give good results, LOL.


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

This bring back some old old memories for me. The individual that first introduced me to aquariums almost 60 years ago. He never used to buy substrates or gravel but made his own.

Yes he would have a semi compost pile with loads of pigeon manure in it. And he used to run to the beach to get a pail of beach sand from Lake Michigan. Then he would take his blend and back it in the oven to kill any bacteria, fungus etc in his mixture till it was completely dry. From there he would screen it through a fine screen he made from the material they use for screen doors.

This was the base he used for substrate on all his tanks. With added beach sand on top of it that he also baked. I remember it because if he did it in the summer with the windows open everyone in the neighborhood knew he was baking dirt again. 

To this day I wonder if he was creating more problems with the baking process than he was eliminating.


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

I wonder whether the pigeon's poo would carry the virus of bird flu. I remember a neighbour had to get rid of all of his pigeons due to the flu when I was a kid


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## john.shephard26 (Mar 8, 2011)

I like Martha she has a nice Chow chow!I wonder why did she chose to breed a dog that use to be a delicacy?!!!
Seriously though wont 122F kill all the beneficial bacterias in the oven?
If so would that mean that I would have to wait for the bacteria to repopulate again or that soil is bad?
After I dry it the first time how long should I wait to start the process again?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Your idea of lowering the temperature in the oven is good--I'd aim for 80-90F. You may be able to find another spot with similar temperature, check the top of your refrigerator.

As soon as it is mostly dry, soak the soil and start again.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

If you killed the bacteria by overheating, I would repopulate it by adding fresh, healthy compost. The 'almost done' material that is still a bit warm from the compost pile, but is so fine you cannot tell what it was. 

Fine- so it won't add big chunks of OM to the tank. 
Warm from composting, showing high bacterial activity. 

Perhaps as little as 10% compost, though up to 25% should not hurt. 

Depends on how hot the oven is, and how cool it can be set, but you might turn on the oven to get it warm, but then turn it off before adding the soil. Or leave the door open a bit and aim a fan in there. Very small fan, just enough to keep it a bit cooler. 

Other options:
Top of the refrigerator. 
Near a heater with a constant pilot. 
Top of a water heater. (cannot fit much- lots of plumbing up there). 

You are not really looking to bake it, just keep it a bit warmer for more active bacteria.


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## john.shephard26 (Mar 8, 2011)

Argh!!! Yesterday I've tried to worm it in the oven but it took 4-5 hours to dry up and it was HOT I've probably killed all the bacteria.
I have another idea we have these room heaters that I don't know how you call them but they work on the principal of accumulating heat-anyway you can sit on them...my point is that its not warmer than 40-45 C! but the only problem is that its in my sleeping room!How long will it take to be done?


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

My wife will probably put me in the oven next if I ever bring some soil to put inside the oven..hahaha

All of you are lucky to be able to bake the soil


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

The point of this process is not to dry the soil quickly. Instead, you want to keep the soil moist but not saturated, and exposed to air. This promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria which decompose organic material into humus. When I mineralize soil outdoors, it often takes days for the soil to dry, and that is good!


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## john.shephard26 (Mar 8, 2011)

Michael said:


> The point of this process is not to dry the soil quickly. Instead, you want to keep the soil moist but not saturated, and exposed to air. This promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria which decompose organic material into humus. When I mineralize soil outdoors, it often takes days for the soil to dry, and that is good!


 Please, if You have experience, tell me more, how long does it take prepare this pot soil for tank use?Actually I would appreciate if You explain in more details the hole process, another experience, another opinion won't hurt right?
BTW It took all night, my prepared soil, to get dry (I'm drying it on top of my room heater) and I will have to add water again I just don't know how dry should it be?
Should I use fresh tap water or my tank water?
Should I direct a fan to speed up the process?
Are the bacteria all ready formed or I need to wait for that cause then I'm going to need a hole lot of time(2-3 months) and I'm hoping to do this in a week?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Relax, you are over-thinking this. Have you read the articles in the library forum about mineralized soil? Any amount of mineralization you accomplish will help.

See my comments in *bold* below.



john.shephard26 said:


> Please, if You have experience, tell me more, how long does it take prepare this pot soil for tank use? *Usually several weeks.* Actually I would appreciate if You explain in more details the hole process, another experience, another opinion won't hurt right?
> BTW It took all night, my prepared soil, to get dry (I'm drying it on top of my room heater) and I will have to add water again I just don't know how dry should it be? *When it is dry, add water. Exactly how dry is not terribly important.*
> Should I use fresh tap water or my tank water? *Either will work.*
> Should I direct a fan to speed up the process? *No.*
> Are the bacteria all ready formed or I need to wait for that cause then I'm going to need a hole lot of time(2-3 months) and I'm hoping to do this in a week? *The bacteria are there, you are just creating good conditions for them to grow.*


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## john.shephard26 (Mar 8, 2011)

My main concern is ammonia, last year I didn't prepare the soil and I lost a heavily planted tank due to incredible algae bloom...since then I can not establish good balance!
I will keep this soil in my room for more then a month if necessary, let's see what happens. 
What about boiling it?I found somewhere a method were You boil the soil some minutes(5 or 15min not sure!) and its ready and I did it,last year, I just can't remember what was the exact time or who's method was that, I just know I didn't have any algae!


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

*Don't boil it!* You want the bacteria alive so that they can break down the organic matter into stable humus.


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## Malefactor (Jan 29, 2014)

Here's a question. I'm makiing MTS myself right now and letting it dry outside. With Temps in the 30's, the top inch froze over (it was the trash anyways i was gonna throw out with twigs still in it), but wind chills freezing. Getting up to 60's in the day with wind chills still at about 40... Will it still work or too cold and killing off all the bacteria?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

It will still work, just take longer. Freezing temperatures will not kill the soil bacteria, but they will not be actively decomposing either. Wind chill is not a factor in this, just the temperature of the soil.


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## D9Vin (May 12, 2011)

If all you are worried about is the blast of ammonia from some fresh soil, you can just set up the substrate and filters without any flora or fauna in it and just do 50% daily water changes until the ammonia is under control.


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## john.shephard26 (Mar 8, 2011)

Ah, trust me, I've tried water changes and lost my best set up to algae!
Couple of days now I'm mineralizing Florabella pot soil, I keep it above my room heater so when I add water in the evening it is almost completely dry by the morning.In the beginning it was deep brown now its a bit lighter all most chestnut colored...I guess I need to keep doing this until its totally grey right?


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