# Soilmaster Select as top layer of Soil/El Natural tank?



## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Hello everyone (*aside - I'm so happy to be able to be here on El Natural at its new home on APC - I was starting to go into withdrawl, LOL!)

I'm still toying with re-doing my current Quackenbush style tank into a Walstad-style, soil underlayer tank. BUT, I really like the black substrate - I'm currently "capping" the clay (kitty littler) bottom layer with the Tahitian Moon black sand. 

Unfortunately, the darkest pool filter (coarse) sand I can find to put over a soil underlayer is still pretty light colored. And before going in for the brown "Bits O Walnut" small gravel/coarse sand, I'm considering other options. 

Soilmaster Select is a turf amendment. Several people have been using it very successfully with planted tank, but they all seem to be high-tech folks. It is a porous, high heat treated clay product. Its similar to the Shultz Aquatic Plant "Soil", but even more porous. Chemically it is inert, but has high CEC and an incredible water-absorbing capacity because of its extremely high surface area and porosity. Its added as a soil conditioner to prevent compaction and aid in aeration of topsoil on baseball fields and golf courses. I've gotten a bag in "charcoal" which is a dark grey. Now I'm getting "cold feet", LOL!

What are your thoughts on using this as the top layer over soil? I would imagine that it would provide lots of biocolonization sites, and I've read that the particle size is OK for small foreground plants (I've got a good stand of glosso going I'd like to replant after the re-do). 

Is there a down side to this much surface area? If it got down into the soil layer would it promote anaerobic conditions?

Should I just re-create what I've had success with in the past and accept that the substrate color will be tan? Is this a foolish idea?

I'd love to get your input!
Thanks!
-Jane


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

SM and Flourite are fairly similar is some respects. 
I've used flourite over long time frames in non carbon enriched methods.

I used peat mainly but a lot of mulm also, you could get away with some soil, I would not add a lot though, about 1/2" well soaked for a coupe, of weeks or boiled for 5-10 min prior to use.

SM is not that dark really.

The other option, it'll cost more, use the ADA AS instead, that'
s like kitty litter without the mess and has more N and P in there.

I have 2 non carbon tanks with it and the growth is superb, tanks look every bit as good as a CO2 enriched tank, growth is much slower, I still add some GH booster, P and N and traces ever so often(once a week and then only a smidge).

This works very well and is very consistent and stable.
If you use more soil, consider going back to the inert black sands.
You'll get too much reduction otherwise and liberate too much Fe and other cations from the SM.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

The one thing about SS, is it is light. I don't know how well it will keep the soil down without a deeper than normal layer.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

I just finished reading Diana Walstad's book and have read the above entries. 
Natural Sunlight and top soil is what I remember from the book. 
Seems like a leap of faith. Worth trying. From what I read from the above entries - it seems like there is more to it than just adding topsoil. 

PlantBrain - for a newbie / intermediate - what would you recommend for testing this in a 10 gallon tank. Dirt? Top Soil? Something else underneath Flourite? 

Please simplify for us relative newbies. 
What is it called and where can we find it? 

Thank you all for your input. 
I would like to test this 10 gallon tank in front of one of my windows in my boys' room for natural light. 

Does this mean that there may be an answer to a 'low maintenance' planted aquarium? (hopeful smile)


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Jane, does your tank have any fish in it that like to dig? If not, have you considered just using soil with no gravel or sand over the top? I now have two small tanks with soil only substrates and both are doing very well. The soil is nice and dark (not quite black but pretty dark), and the plants (especially Glosso) root much more quickly than in my tanks with gravel over the soil. I happen to use soil which settles very quickly and does not cloud the water when disturbed (both tanks have lots or worms and small creatures in them which constantly poke around in the soil). If your soil tends to cloud the water this might not work. 

Just an idea. 

From Alex.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Jane in Upton said:


> I'm considering other options.
> 
> Soilmaster Select is a turf amendment. Several people have been using it very successfully with planted tank, but they all seem to be high-tech folks. It is a porous, high heat treated clay product. Its similar to the Shultz Aquatic Plant "Soil", but even more porous. Chemically it is inert, but has high CEC and an incredible water-absorbing capacity because of its extremely high surface area and porosity. Its added as a soil conditioner to prevent compaction and aid in aeration of topsoil on baseball fields and golf courses. I've gotten a bag in "charcoal" which is a dark grey.
> 
> ...


This stuff could, indeed, be ground charcoal! Surface area, per se, is a good thing. More attachment sites for bacteria and plant nutrients.

However, soil itself, with its small particle size, has plenty of surface area. I see nothing wrong with using this additive, but it may not be necessary.

I would recommend a Bottle Test beforehand, just in case the stuff floats.

If you use it, I trust you'll keep us posted on results!


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Wow, Alex - you're using straight soil? I've wondered about that! I might try that in a 5 1/2 gal, but not the 30. I wonder how FW shrimp would take to it?

Thanks Diana - you've eased my concerns. And....I was planning on doing a bottle test, certainly! The stuff is reportedly inert, though, and the website said it had a similar physical "wear" profile to granite bits.

And Jimbo - YES! Read the imported thread about "Hi Tech vs. Low Tech" from WT Forums. I'm a true believer in low tech. Years ago I found the Quackenbush method, and it appealed to me because it made a lot of sense, and fit my tiny budget (Hartz pH 5.5 Kitty Litter @ $1/bag plus playground sand @ $2.39 for 50 lbs - now that's a substrate even I could afford back then, LOL!). I still have two Q-style tanks I've been running for 3+ years (set up under the "if it ain't broke...." theory), before I became a "soil convert", LOL! I think they're nearing the end of their lifecycle, and I'm planning to do a soil underlayer methodology with both. 

I also currently run 4 "Walstad style" tanks - using a soil with moderate (not high) organics, covered by coarse sand (to promote aerobic conditions) and without CO2 or regular ferts. I travel frequently, and have NO qualms leaving all my tanks for a week here or there. I do INfrequent water changes, and grow a lot of plants that I'd been "warned" MUST have CO2. For the ratio of Effortayoff, its a GREAT method! 

The black sand I'm able to find is too fine - it would "cap" the soil, and promote anaerobic conditions. That's why I'm considering the SM Select. 

Personally, I wouldn't boil the soil - that would defeat one of the main benefits of having a soil underlayer - a ready and waiting bacterial population.

And Tom - I've got another question. I thought Laterite broke down somewhat, and gave some nutritional input to the plants, especially iron. From what I've been able to find out about Soilmaster, its essentially a "fired ceramic", and its mechanical breakdown profile under wear and tear was similar to granite bits! I've never used Laterite - but from your report of 2+ years in use, it seems to be pretty resistant to degradation as well. Are these setups Soil with a laterite top layer, or straight laterite? It sounds like you do water column dosing with that though, right?

Yes, an important part of setting up a soil underlayer is avoiding the temptation that more is better. 1/2-3/4" of soil is the recommended depth. I've had such great success with the method, I'm now confident that I want to use it with my 30.

But perhaps I'll try a 5 1/2 gal with SM Select as the top layer first, to see how the "lightweight" stuff behaves.

THANKs for all the input!
-Jane


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Soilmaster is definitely inert. It is baked clay very similar to Turface/Aquatic Plant Soil. It is montmorillonite that is fired to something like 1500 degrees (Oil-Dri has a presentation on their web site with particulars).


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## askindc (Mar 30, 2005)

A few weeks ago, I started a bottle test using a gently washed sample of Eco-Complete (I like its black color, porosity, CEC value, and nutrients) to overlay Schultz Professional Potting Soil Plus for African Violets & Flowering Plants. So far, the results are very promising; i.e., the water column has only a trace of color and turbidity, its pH (ca. 7.8), ammonia (0 ppm), nitrite (0 ppm), nitrate (5 ppm; the Prime-treated water used to overlay the Eco-Complete contains 5 ppm nitrate), GH and KH values (ca. 8 degrees and 10 degrees, respectively) are fine, and I haven't detected ionic iron (using the SeaChem kit) in the water column. In addition to the bottle test with Eco-Complete as the overlayer, I set-up (as a parallel control) a bottle test with "inert," washed aquarium gravel (ca. 3-5 mm diameter, from the LFS) as the overlayer. So far, the results obtained with the parallel control are reasonably good - but I would say that they are not as good as those observed with the Eco-Complete bottle test. The water column's pH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrate, GH, and KH values are fine; however, my visual inspection indicates that it's definitely more colored (brown-yellow) and turbid than is the water column in the Eco-Complete bottle test. Also, I haven't had any trouble detecting a slight scent of hydrogen sulfide gas and a low concentration of ionic iron in the gravel-overlaid test's water column (ca. 0.08 ppm, which isn't too bad). 

I will be following both bottle tests for several more weeks, to see if the good results so far noted with Eco-Complete and the Schultz potting soil continue to hold up. If they do, my next step probably will be to set-up a small freshwater aquarium (probably 10 g) with the same two layers, so that I can evaluate how well they work in a tank containing a nice variety of rooted, unrooted and floating plants. I will post again after the final results are in with the two bottle tests.

Best wishes for an enjoyable week,

askindc


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## askindc (Mar 30, 2005)

I don't understand why the pH value I included in my above message has a "smiley face" in it. I typed in that the pH value for the Eco-Complete test's water column is ca. 7.8 (i.e., ca. seven point eight).

askindc


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Bottle tests are great for quickly detecting soils that cloud the water or have major problems.

However, remember that a Bottle Test doesn't exactly duplicate aquarium conditions where the water is circulated and/or contains oxygenating plants. The aquarium contains well-oxygenated water.

The bottle test, on the other hand, has the soil overlaid with stagnant water. The soil will quickly become oxygen-deprived. With a bottle test, you may get enhanced anaerobic decomposition, iron release, H2S production, etc. Thus, the same soil and same substrate setup may give vastly different results in a bottle test v. the aquarium.

There's no way to guarantee that the soil you choose will work perfectly. At some point, you just have to take the plunge.  

Good luck!


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## askindc (Mar 30, 2005)

Thanks very much for your reply, Diana. Of course, as a fellow bacteriologist, I definitely agree with your comments. Therefore, I have been slowly accumulating the hardware and many plants I'll need to set-up the small tank mentioned in my post. Based on the preliminary bottle test results I have at the present time, I'm optimistic that the Schultz potting soil and Eco-Complete will work well in an aquarium. So, I'm very much looking forward to "taking the plunge" and setting up my first soil underlayer-based tank.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

askindc said:


> I don't understand why the pH value I included in my above message has a "smiley face" in it. I typed in that the pH value for the Eco-Complete test's water column is ca. 7.8 (i.e., ca. seven point eight).
> 
> askindc


First off, I'm looking forward to watching this thread.

Second...your smiley face came from combining "8" and ")". That gets you the sunglasses 8)


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## askindc (Mar 30, 2005)

Many thanks for your kind explanation, turbomkt. I will try not to make the same mistake again!


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

cuz the 8 had a paren directly after it. That's shorthand for this smiley 8)


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