# algea outbreak with topsoil substrate how to conrtol?



## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

k so this is all in preperation in the upcoming tank. 

i have a 40 gal tank gonan be putting scotts topsoil into the tank with a 1-2 in layer of pool sand. question is with anyone using soil how hard is it to maintain a clean algea free or close to it tank ? and what kinda stuff do i have to prep or what ever before hand? in regards to algea outbreaks


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

You'll probably have algae issues for the first couple of weeks if you have high lights, but once the soil settles down you should be able to effortlessly maintain an algae free tank for several years. I had a soil tank with medium-high light and no CO2 last for 4 years before the nutrients ran out. Another tank with low light and no CO2 lasted 6 years. With CO2 and high lights the soil became depleted of nitrogen after only 2 years. Its really nitrogen that runs out over time, the other nutrients not so much so. There are also ways to enrich the soil when it becomes depleted without tearing the tank down.


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## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

okay i hate being a newbie lol gets confused vary easily. so with a soil tank i not need a co2 thingy ?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Technically no you don't need CO2 to grow aquatic plants. If you reduce your lighting and use soil you can keep plants alive and grow them but your plants will never look as bushy, lush, or grow nearly as fast as tanks that have CO2 added along with decent lights and soil. The difference is significant.

Here are some of my old tank pics to give you an idea of what results you can get with each different setup. The water column fertilizers vs. soil doesn't really matter much, soil does the same thing but it is just a lot easier. What you are seeing is really the difference between using CO2 and not using CO2 if you adjust the lights to match.

No CO2, medium lighting, water column fertilizers:









CO2, medium lights, water column fertilizers:









CO2, high light, water column fertilizers:









CO2, high light, Soil:


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## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

ah kk i see what you mean  i not shur what a fert column is but if it just the same as a soil bed then great


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

It's where you add pure chemical fertilizers like KNO3 to the water. The ferts dissolve in the water and the plants use it, versus soil which has the same chemicals in it but are all bound up and in one place.


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## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

k so if i go with soil i wouldn't need this column thingy then ?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Nope. Soil will be all you need.

There are several schools of thought on how to fertilizer plants. EI, PPS-pro, and soil are the main ones. 

Soil is probably the least work, but you have to deal with the start up algae phase and the soil will also release tannins into the water for quite some time (makes your water look like tea). The other two methods don't have this issue. Also, with soil, you can't really grow plants like anubias if their roots don't enter the soil layer. If you just tie anubias onto rocks and wood and the roots don't make it into the soil layer the plant will starve so you'll have to add some nutrients to the water column if you choose to make an aquascape that has anubias on wood.


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## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

m kk i think it be only ground or soil rooted theme . but what are these other 2 you mentioned about ? EI and PPS-Pro?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Perpetual Preservation Systems (PPS) and Estimative index (EI). You can read up on the theory of each method and how to do it, the materials you'll need, etc... using the links below.

EI explanation:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilizing/15225-estimative-index-dosing-guide.html

PPS explanation:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...etual-preservation-systems-aquatic-plant.html

There is a lot of info about fertilizing in the fertilizer forum, look through the sticky threads at the top of the page:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilizing/


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