# First Time With Soil



## ILuvMyGoldBarb (Apr 7, 2007)

I'm in the initial stages of researching soil in my tank. I have a 125 gal tank that is established with a playsand substrate but I'm just not happy with it. The plants are not doing well and I really want more out of it since it is the focal point of my living room. I've alread read up on what soils to use so I'm planning to use regular peat along with some organic soil. My question is about preparing this stuff to be put in a tank that is already running. I do have a place to put my fish for a short time so that's not a problem. I also have access to a 37gal rubbermaid trash can for preparing as well. What would be the best way to proceed with changing the substrate over? I'm guessing it will likely involve draining the tank and removing the substrate.

BTW, this tank is on a sump that has a good established biofilter to handle the ammonia.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

It sounds like your soil choice will be rich enough. However, I'd go easy on the peat or leave it out altogether.

I think finding the "right" soil is less important than other factors. The soil layer should be no more than 1" deep and covered with 1" of gravel or sand. You should have plenty of plant species and enough plants right from the start. There should be enough light. You should be careful working with the soil (for a 125 gal, I'd recommend doing a bottle test before hand).

All of this (and more) is in my book, but sometimes the highlights are worth repeating.  

At least, you have seen for yourself that aquarium plants won't do well in pure sand.


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## ILuvMyGoldBarb (Apr 7, 2007)

Everything I've seen so far deals with high light environments. Currently I have 160w of NO flourescent lights. I can get that to 320 if I need to. Will the 160 be sufficent for the soil?


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## littleguy (Jan 6, 2005)

Will your tank be getting any direct or filtered sunlight?


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## ILuvMyGoldBarb (Apr 7, 2007)

no, no direct or filtered sunlight. Just my NO flourescent lighting. As I mentioned, I can add another 160w of light to the tank if need be.


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

I'd had good luck with around 2 wpg with plants potted in topsoil with no direct sunlight.


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

I have good luck with 128W of NO T-8 bulbs in cheap shop lights from Home depot over my 80Gal, but have also ran up to 3WPG without problems. The 32W T-8 puts out more light than the 40W T-12 does, depending on bulb choice of course. How deep is your tank? if you want to grow low growing plants you may need more light if the tank is deep, like a 4 foot 125.

Brian


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## ILuvMyGoldBarb (Apr 7, 2007)

I've often looked at the 32w T8 bulbs but I was told that though they look brighter they don't actually give more light. Could someone clear that up for me?


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## bristles (Mar 7, 2006)

Our aquarium gardening club advocates soil mix substrates (I have one also & it works) around 3/4 to 1 inch of Ace hardware topsoil (not potting soil) then add around 1 & a half inch's of Turface (baked clay infield conditioner, cheap!) covered with 1 & a half inch's of fine quartz gravel. the plants grow wonderfully. Some folks poo poo soil substrates because they cloud the water when uprooting plants, but the water clears and its all good. It works for us so don't be afraid, just do your home work, reading a copy of Diane W's book (it's a classic) would be a great start.


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## snickle (Apr 8, 2007)

I currently use 2.5 inches of small gravel and 1.5 inches of medium river rock looking gravel. I was wondering about something else to the substrate to help the plants. I had not planned on a heavily planted tank when I started.

Would mixing some top soil and Turface and sprinkling it over my substrate and letting it settle in help?


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## bristles (Mar 7, 2006)

I'm afraid that might be messy, you want to have the topsoil on the bottom then the Turface (clay assists in cation exchange, in common words helps the plants absorb the nutrients) then the fine gravel then the river rock (typically small substrate is best for live plants) if you want an easy improvement to your present substrate you might want to just add Turface (knead it into existing substrate) it will be cloudy for a day but will clear and provide your plants with a healthier substrate.


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## ILuvMyGoldBarb (Apr 7, 2007)

I've heard a few people mention Diane W's book, infact the first place I heard mention of it was in TFH this month. Anyone know where I can get my hands on a copy of it and how much it costs?


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

ILuvMyGoldBarb said:


> I've heard a few people mention Diane W's book, infact the first place I heard mention of it was in TFH this month. Anyone know where I can get my hands on a copy of it and how much it costs?


Are you in the U.S? You could try your local library. They almost certainly won't have it on their shelves, but you can request an inter-library loan. That's either free for you, or costs a few dollars, depending on the policy at your particular library. You then have a few weeks to read the book before returning it. (This is what I did.)

Or, of course, you could buy the book and have it always available for reference; amazon.com has some for sale.

Natalie


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## ILuvMyGoldBarb (Apr 7, 2007)

I usually like to keep the aquarium books I have.  Think I'll check out amazon. I live in SC.


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

ILuvMyGoldBarb said:


> I usually like to keep the aquarium books I have.  Think I'll check out amazon. I live in SC.


I had asked if you were in the U.S. because I wasn't sure if library systems work differently in other countries  I often prefer to read a book before I buy it, to see whether I like it enough to want it always on my shelf, so that's why I went with interlibrary loan.

Natalie


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## Markalot (Feb 14, 2007)

You can get an electronic version here:

http://www.bookmasters.com/marktplc/00388.htm

for $15. I have it plus the hardcover  I was impatient.


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## ILuvMyGoldBarb (Apr 7, 2007)

Ok, I've been reading through a number of other threads on this topic and there it seems that there are some mixed results. Some have had huge ammonia and nitrite spikes and others have not. This seems to be mainly dependent on the number of plants one keeps. Is this a valid observation?


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## Fleur (Apr 23, 2007)

It seems to me that the spikes in ammonia and nitrite almost always have more to do with venting the gasses from the soil before planting. The people with the spikes didn't air out their soil before planting the tank, so they have the gasses from the soil causing chemical spikes in their water. They'll just have to wait awhile before adding fish. It sounds to me (I might be wrong) like the soil choice can drastically alter your setup. Some soil ingredients can also degrade in water causing harmful chemicals to vent into the water. Soil research is the key.

Of course, this is just an educated guess. I haven't started my tank yet. I have just started venting my soil (Black Gold Coco Blend) and am waiting on plants...

--D'lyse


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

ILuvMyGoldBarb said:


> I've often looked at the 32w T8 bulbs but I was told that though they look brighter they don't actually give more light. Could someone clear that up for me?


The T-8 is more efficient and does give off more light, look at the lumen rating for the same bulb in T-12 and T-8. The lumen rating is not a good rating for growing plants as it is a measure based on the human eye's perception of light but as a reference on efficiency it will answer your question as long as you look at the same type of tube in both sizes.


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

Just as a note, i have the T8 Philips Daytime bulbs. I like them, the only downside I saw on the packaging was the CRI of like 86, what's that?


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## ILuvMyGoldBarb (Apr 7, 2007)

I'll have to look into getting the T-8 bulbs.

Now on to soil. I've been looking at the new Organic Blend from Miracle Grow. There are no added ferts at all. Everything in it is completely natural. It states on the bag that it is a blend of Compost, Manure (small amount), Top Soil, and Peat. Anybody know anything about this and if it would work or not?


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## Mud Pie Mama (Jul 30, 2006)

I would consider the added poultry manure to be added fertilizer. I would be cautious about using this. Perhaps if you were to pre-soak for a few weeks first to get the extra ammonia out?


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

Is pre-soaking more useful, or is it more useful to expose it to air for the same length of time?


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