# River silt questions



## swcurtis (Jun 1, 2009)

Is using river silt a good option as a substrate? The stuff I collected was from a local river that I know is clean and where I got the sand that my current tank uses. The silt seems like it will work well but I don't know for sure. It will not settle in the bucket its in, even after a few days the water remains a little murky. It also stirs up really easily and I am worried about having any current in the tank and stirring it up while cleaning. If I use it should I cover it with another substrate like sand or gravel?


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## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

swcurtis said:


> Is using river silt a good option as a substrate? The stuff I collected was from a local river that I know is clean and where I got the sand that my current tank uses. The silt seems like it will work well but I don't know for sure. It will not settle in the bucket its in, even after a few days the water remains a little murky. It also stirs up really easily and I am worried about having any current in the tank and stirring it up while cleaning. If I use it should I cover it with another substrate like sand or gravel?


It *should* be ok if you wash the snot out of it, only put 2" in the tank and then cap it with 1" of pool filter sand. I know the allot of people over in the El Natural forum does that and Diana Walstad has also recommended it.

- Brad


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## swcurtis (Jun 1, 2009)

It seems like washing is going to remove a huge amount of material, I am worried that I will not be left with much if I wash it.


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## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

swcurtis said:


> It seems like washing is going to remove a huge amount of material, I am worried that I will not be left with much if I wash it.


Sorry by washing it I mean fill the bucket with water and syphon off the top water over and over instead of straining it like fluorite or eco. All your really wanting to do is get rid of the loose dirt and insects.

You'll want to add a small dusting of pet moss on the bottom of the tank before adding the substrate for a bit more iron content.

- Brad


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Boil it if you absolutely must use it and cover it with a cap or its going to cause algae. Silt, in my opinion, is probably not the best thing you can use for plants since it has a lot of organic material in it and it is so fine. These two properties will cause it to compact overtime and rot causing bad gasses to leech into the water.

Why not use regular top soil?


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## swcurtis (Jun 1, 2009)

Ok I might not use it since a lfs started selling eco complete for a good price. I might try on a smaller tank in a few months though.


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