# Soilmaster setup pics



## MatPat

Since there are going to be a few more of us setting up some tanks with the Soilmaster Select in the next month or so, I took a few pics while setting mine up tonight.

I added a dusting of peat to the bottom of the tank 









added some Soilmaster to hold the peat down, and added mulm to the soilmaster 









added more soilmaster (pic 3)









and partially filled the tank 









I did not rinse the Soilmaster and filled the tank very slowly. The first ten gallons or so probably took me at least 15 minutes. I also added about 6ppm of KNO3 and 1.2ppm of KH2PO4 to the initial fill water (based on total tank volume). I'm thinking this may get absorbed by the soilmaster since it seems to initially be hydroscopic. Maybe it will absorb a bit of the fertilizers.

I was originally going to fill the tank and let the debris settle out overnight. It is clear enough that I figured I would stop and go ahead and put the plants in tomorrow. If it needs a water change after the plants go in, I will do one then. The Soilmaster Select seems to hold the plants down much better than the Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil I hae in my 55g and it is mixed with Flourite also! Might be due to the smaller grain size, but I think I will still add the sand tomorrow...

I thought I would add that I did not rinse the Soilmaster at all. That is why it looks so light in color when initally added.


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## ctmpwrdcamry

Matt, whats the second piture in the first row of? This stuff looks browner than what we saw at the metting. Any thoughts?


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## MatPat

The second pic is where I added mulm from my filters. Probably about a quart or so of nasty, dirty, stinky, fish poop water. It is darker in those areas because it is wet. 

What everyone saw at the meeting was the black sand. We did not have the Soilmaster until yesterday. The soilmaster is actually charcoal colored but we have been calling it gray. It is lighter than the sand. The soilmaster is also dry in the first couple of pics so it really looks grey. The fourth pic shows what it looks like wet and the last pic has plants to give you an idea of the color balance. I painted the backof the tank black with a can of $.97 spray paint from WalMart. That should also give you a better idea as to the color of the Soilmaster. I think I need a better camera!


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## ctmpwrdcamry

Alright, just trying to understand!


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## Rob Tetrazona

Matt, that microncartridge really helped to clear the water as you suggested. However, the water flow from the filter really slows down with it in, causing much gas to build up in my CO2 reactor. I'll go back to the carbon cartridge stuffed with polyester floss like you recommended. 

Since I won't be working today, I'll have plenty of time to plant a new glosso patch in the new substrate. Who knows, maybe I'll get a chance to post a pic today.


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## Rob Tetrazona

Full Frontal










Top View










Up Too Close










Good View of Layers










Surface Shot


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## ctmpwrdcamry

Wow! Thats looks great!


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## Rob Tetrazona

Thanks! I agree. Thanks for the black sand recommendation!


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## Simpte 27

I can't wait!! Tuesday is the big day for me! Matt, I will be over to go plant shopping (In your tanks of course! lol). Will probably also order a package tomorrow (Saturday) and get some oddities. Anything you're still looking for?


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## MatPat

Simpte 27 said:


> I can't wait!! Tuesday is the big day for me! Matt, I will be over to go plant shopping (In your tanks of course! lol). Will probably also order a package tomorrow (Saturday) and get some oddities. Anything you're still looking for?


I'm not looking for anything in particular right now. Not sure what I will have available for your "plant shopping" trip since I too am setting up a new tank and need fast growers. I had to get mine from Rob (thanks Rob) last night. I wll be working on getting all of my Java Fern and Anubias nana in the tank today but I may have a few stems of H. difformis I can spare!


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## Simpte 27

I am awaiting a response from freshwateraquariumplants.com to see wht will be included in their 55-75 gallon package. You have to e-mail them with your tank setup and they match the plants for you. We will see what they say.


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## MatPat

I got my first plant order from Don and everything arrived in good shape. The pacakge was tailored to my light setup and CO2 usage. He even sent me some Rotala macrandra and Pogostemon stellatus and they grew well. That type of customer service is pretty scarce these days. Maybe some more retailers should give it a shot.


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## MatPat

Here's a few more pics of the tank. Sorry about the bad pics, but it's the best I can do with a camcorder 

Initial setup with aqbout 120w of light:









Today, with 192w of T-8 lighting (3 x $8 Home Depot Shoplights with Nutrigrow lamps). 









I added some trimmings to the tank to help with the break in period. So far no algae other than a bit of diatoms and the 6 Otos I added last night have cleaned most of it up already .

Here are a few pics of the new fauna also:

"Powder Blue" Gourami:









I can't remember tha name of this Gourami:









So far, I like these guys a lot but they are a little skittish. Maybe due to the bright lights. They seem to congregate under the anachris canopy that is forming already. Anyone need some anachris


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## ctmpwrdcamry

Matt, 

Your tank looks great, thanks for setting this all up!

Also, thanks to Jim who brought the tank out to me this afternoon. I got the lights above it, filter set up, substraigh down and plants. So far so good, however...I NEED MORE PLANTS! Anyone willing to bring some to me next weekend i would really appreciate it. Let me know ahead of time and I will bring money to donate to the club.


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## MatPat

I will have plenty of plants by the time the meeting rolls around. Definately have some Anachris and Water Sprite, probably some H. difformis and some Blyxa aubertii also. Hopefully some of the others with some Hygro species will be able to lend a hand. 

We had agreed at the last meeting on bagging up the plants for the meeting and pricing them at either $1 or $2 depending on the amount or type of plant. Those will of course be donations to the club  

I will start a thread for plants for the November meeting later in the week so everyone can list what they will be bringing.


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## molurus73

That would be a _Dwarf gourami, Colisa lalia_. A male to be specific. The powder blue is a color variation of said dwarf gourami. The females are of course much drabber in comparison.


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## molurus73

Nice pics of the fish by the way.


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## MatPat

molurus73 said:


> That would be a _Dwarf gourami, Colisa lalia_. A male to be specific. The powder blue is a color variation of said dwarf gourami. The females are of course much drabber in comparison.


Were the blues ones labeled as Powder Blues or Neon Blues? I can't remember now.

I was a bit worried that they may fight with each other but so far so good. I think the tank is large enough that they can all have their own territory. If the do start going after each other, I can always move three of the males to the 75g upstairs and get some more females for that tank

I can take good closeups with the camcorder but the total tank shots look horrible. I definately need a better camera!


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## molurus73

Pretty sure they were powder blues.


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## ctmpwrdcamry

My understanding is dwarfs are not as aggressive.


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## kweeheng

Why dont you put the plants you lvoe most straight in the tank instead of using big stem plant and then remove it later? I m a beginner and i tied my moss straight to the wood . So, Excessive lightsmeans more algae and less lights less algae ? or is it the other way round ?


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## MatPat

kweeheng said:


> Why dont you put the plants you lvoe most straight in the tank instead of using big stem plant and then remove it later? I m a beginner and i tied my moss straight to the wood . So, Excessive lightsmeans more algae and less lights less algae ? or is it the other way round ?


You should pack a tank full of plants when starting out. That allows the plants to "outcompete" the algae. As an added bonus, the faster growing plants will reproduce faster and allow you to either sell them to get more "expensive" plants or give them away to others who are starting up tanks.

The more light you have over a tank the more chances you have to get algae. Light drives the plants uptake of nutrients (CO2, NO3, PO4, etc) so the higher light leaves you less wiggle room on fertilizing. I have found the hardest part of my high ligt tanks is maintainng CO2 levels, even though I have a pressurized system. More light is not always better and I prefer to keep my tanks right around 2wpg or so  I have not found many plant that will not grow in this light range though some do grow better with a bit more light.


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## ctmpwrdcamry

Much agreed with what Matt said. I forget to fert every day, but my plants do well as long as i keep the Duck weed at bay. I do wish I had some other kelven, alittle red would be nice.


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## MatPat

ctmpwrdcamry said:


> Much agreed with what Matt said. I forget to fert every day, but my plants do well as long as i keep the Duck weed at bay. I do wish I had some other kelven, alittle red would be nice.


You should be able to find some GE Fresh and Saltwater bulbs online. I don't remember where I found mine right now but it didn't take too much searching. You have the T-8 lights don you?


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## ctmpwrdcamry

Yeah, i think so. Whateve those big cheapo light fixture hold.  

I have some GE bulbs on the 37 and they really help bring out the red plants.


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## Yzfr6

I have two extra 50 lb bags of soil master select that I am willing to exchange for some plants at the June meeting if anyone is interested or possibly donate to the club. Anyone have suggestions for the 125 gallon tank for the June meeting. I am going to make this a discus tank as well. I do not want to get to out of hand on the plants though. I want the two to flow together and make this a nice presentation tank. It is after all in the dinning room.


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## ctmpwrdcamry

I have some swords I could part with as well as some java fern.


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## kweeheng

So, Whats the most important substance in the tank ? the CO2,NO3 and PO4. Whats the meaning of NO3 and PO4 ? Where can i egt his kind of substance? I saw a bottle of liquid which gives all this nutrient inw ater. but how much is too much and how can i measure how many drops of these nutrients in my tank ? How do i calculate how much light is enough for my tank ?


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## MatPat

kweeheng said:


> So, Whats the most important substance in the tank ? the CO2,NO3 and PO4. Whats the meaning of NO3 and PO4 ? Where can i egt his kind of substance? I saw a bottle of liquid which gives all this nutrient inw ater. but how much is too much and how can i measure how many drops of these nutrients in my tank ? How do i calculate how much light is enough for my tank ?


The first post in this thread lists some of the abbreviations that are used in planted tanks and may be helpful to you: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ts/3105-common-abbreviations-used-on-apc.html

Everything kind of goes hand in hand as far as "substances" are concerned with light being the most important. Without enough light, not many things will grow regardless of how many nutrients you add to the tank. Light will determine how fast the plants (and algae) grow in your tank. The more light you have the more fertilizer you will need to add to your tank.

A carbon source is second on the list of importance to plants. Once you get about 2 watts per gallon you need to look into adding a source of carbon to your tank. Pressurized CO2 is the best but you can also go with DIY CO2 or Seachem's Excel as a carbon source.

Once you have addressed the light and carbon level, nitrates (NO3) phosphates (PO4) and potassium (K) come into play. They are all required by plants and are considered macros. While nitrates and phosphates are considered "bad" in a fish only tank, they are very important in a planted tank. Micros include iron, manganese, copper, etc and are usually provided by a "Trace" fertilizer like Seachem's Flourish, Tropica Master Grow (TMG) or Plantex CSM+B.

You can purchase most of the above from Greg Watson's website, http://www.gregwatson.com/products.asp?pg=2 in 1 pound quantities. You would be interested in Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) and monopotassium phosphate (KH2PO4) for your macros (note that both of these fertilizers will add K to your tank) and Plantex CSM+B for your micro additions.

If you live in the Cincinnati/Dayton area I have extra fertilizers I can sell in smaller quantities. The prices are the same as Greg's since we (SWOAPE) purchased them from him, but the quantities are smaller. Just let me know how much you need.

Some info about your tanks wouldbe a big help. If you are not using CO2 you may be able to get by without adding any of the above items and rely on fish waste and food to provide fertilizer for your plants.


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## Yzfr6

ctmpwrdcamry said:


> I have some swords I could part with as well as some java fern.


Bring them to the June meeting and we can work something out.


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## AlexTal

Quick question, in this setup, you only used peat? Why did you not use Laterite?


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## MatPat

Not so quick answer:

1 - It is expensive, i.e. one pound of Laterite is about the same price as 50lbs of Soilmaster or Turface, or one package Flourite, all of which contain iron.

2 - Take a look at this link: http://home.infinet.net/teban/jamie.htm
You'll notice that both Flourite and Turface (Soilmaster is a similar product as Turface) have a decent iron content when compared to Substrate Gold (laterite). First Layer Pure Laterite does have considerably more iron than Flourite or Turface but how much is enough?

3 - The Soilmaster may not be "heavy" enough to "cap" the laterite. I didn't want to take the chance of the Soilmaster not being an adequate "cap" for the Laterite.

4 - I already dose the water column with a micro fert that contains iron so why add more?

By dosing the water column I don't feel there is a need for the addition of any macros or micros to the substrate. I don't use any substrate fertilizers in my tanks and don't see the need. I feel that plants will grow just a well by fertilizing the water column. For those who are neither willing nor able to dose the water column consistently, I would recommend the addition of laterite or better yet, Eco Complete.

I don't feel any of the "commercial" substrates curently available are adequate in a high light ( more than 2 or 2.5wpg) tank. The plants _seem_ to grow too fast to rely on their roots to provide nourishment. You can easily test this yourself by watching the growth of a tank with high light and Eco Complete substrate by skipping a few fertilizer additions to the water column. After skipping 2-3 doses, (maybe more in a lower light tank) the plants will begin to look worse (smaller leaves and or stunting) and algae will begin to grow.

By all means feel free to give laterite a try. Just make sure the "cap" you use is heavy enough to not allow the laterite to seep up through the substrate. It can be a real mess if the laterite leaches into the water column. That heavy orange tint (like green water only orange) will take all of the enjoyment out of watching your tank and it can't be filtered out with a diatom filter like gren water can, at least until all the laterite has leached into the water column


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## AlexTal

Thanks for the reply. I plan on setting up my first tank using soilmaster select charcoal mainly due to your set up and another website I found that compared the growth of ADA amazonia and soilmaster. Here's the link ... http://www.geocities.com/jhoetzl/tank/substrates/substratechallenge.htm

The link's obviously not the most scientific thing, but it's interesting and the look of the soilmaster is great.

Thanks for the reply though, it's always interesting to read why other people use or don't use certain things.


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## Simpte 27

Jacks Aquarium here by the Dayton Mall carries the GE 9325 bulbs. May be a little late on the input for you though (Hey, when am I not late?)


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## beznsarah

Great post, thanks for the step by step it really helps a newbie out !


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## MatPat

beznsarah said:


> Great post, thanks for the step by step it really helps a newbie out !


Anytime, I am glad you found it useful


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## suliman

mispost


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## pocpocpocky

Hi, I am new to this Aquatic plants stuff and really need a lot of advice on how to setup, can you please repost those pictures you have in your post? the links seems broken. thanks.


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## Michael

Pocpocpocky, welcome to APC! The original post in this thread is now 9 year old, so I doubt that you will get a response. If you have any specific questions, try posting in the New to Planted Aquariums forum.


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