# switching substrate to mineralized soil



## daverock1337 (Mar 14, 2010)

i will be switching my substrate to mineralized topsoil capped with pool filter sand. will i need to recycle my tank? i plan on putting my fish in a 10 gallon bucket while i teardown, redo my substrate, and then plant my tank. i am going to save as much water as i can and kee my filter running on the bucket while redoing the tank. anyone have any experience/advice? i only have my tetra whisper HOB 60 filter, and a mini hagen i used to use as a diy co2 reactor. only the whisper is cycled. this won;t be happenning for about 3 weeks. will i get an ammonia spike if i finish planting and add my water and fish back into my tank?


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Part of the reason for going through the long mineralization process is that the potential for ammonia release is greatly reduced. 

Here is what I would do:
When you think you are finished mineralizing the soil add a handful to a glass of water. Monitor it for a few days, testing with all the tests you have. 
If the water stays just about the same (nitrogens, GH, KH, TDS) then run the test out for a week or so. 
If the water changes more than the fish can handle in just a few days, then I would keep repeating the mineralizing perhaps a couple more wet/dry cycles, see if that helps. 
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Soil that has not been mineralized is much more likely to cause problems. 
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Most of the nitrifying bacteria live in the filter media, well, perhaps half the population does. The rest live on all the surfaces in the tank that meet their needs. There will be a substantial population living on the upper layer of gravel. Not in the direct light, but in the area with the best water movement. Call it 2-3 pebbles deep. 
When you make a substrate change it is a good idea to save these bacteria. Skim the top of the gravel and save this in a mesh bag (perhaps two three bags would be best). Then hang these bags in the new set up. Once a week remove one bag. This allows the bacteria on the gravel to help out for a little longer, and eases the transition by removing just a small amount of bacteria each time. 

This is not so critical in a densely planted tank, though. The plants are pretty good bio filter, and may just pick up the excess ammonia that the bacteria used to deal with.


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## daverock1337 (Mar 14, 2010)

i am not mineralizing the soil myself. i do not have the time and space for it. but i found someone on tpt that sold kits, complete with the potash, dolomite, and clay. with that kit and a bag of pool filter sand, i have 55 dollars in a substrate for my 29 gallon tank. not bad compared to buying 3-4 bags of eco complete from my lfs (25.99 a bag, plus the cost of ferts and time consumed from them).

thank you for the info, i will be testing the soil in some water before switching out my substrates. and the mesh bag idea is a good one. need to find some mesh bags.

all im waiting on now is the mts and some driftwood.


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