The use of earthworm castings requires some prep-work but offers excellent results: lush, healthy plant growth.
Materials:
- A bucket for rinsing the castings
- Earthworm castings (without additives) - tap water
- a stove and pot for boiling the castings
Preparation: 1) Obtain 100% pure additive-free earthworm castings 2) Rinse the castings in your empty bucket - allow water to flow slowly thru. Turn the material over with your hand to distribute water throughout. Eliminate all that floats. 3) Boil the castings in a pot. There should be plenty of water so that the castings do not dry out. Boil 10-15 minutes, stirring occassionally. 4) Allow to cool. Deposit the castings back in your bucket, repeating step 2. Once again, eliminate all floating debris. 5) After thorough rinsing, the bucket water should become relatively clear. 6) Drain the bucket and place the castings in shallow pans or on sheets of cellophane in thin layers under the sun, allowing them to dry completely. The dried castings can be stored in ziplock bags for future use.
Usage: Earthworm castings should be used in moderation, and do not need to be completely dry for usage. They should be diluted with washed sand in a 50-50 ratio. The combination of earthworm castings and sand should approach 1kg of mixture for every 50 liters of aquarium water (for example, in an aquarium of 100 liters I recommend to use between 2 and 4 kg of earthworm castings). It is best to use the mixture as the first, bottom-most layer of your substrate. If you plan to build an extremely deep substrate, it can be used within the middle layers.
This is the protocol from Mr. Vladimir Simoes' method.
=======================================
I use a different source and method for DIY sediment. I use the delta wetland clay, then wash and screen it, allow it to settle for 1-2 days in a wheel barrow. then decant off the water, allow the soupy soil to settle more and dry out.
I transfer to a bucket and then allow the muck to dry. When it's a nice semi soft clay consistency, it's ready for use. As it's been washed, and then dried some, the oxidation has already occurred and some mineralization has occured.
This can be mixed with 3:1 sand: clay. Then a 1" layer of pure sand on top of this. It will be slightly N limited over time. Any sediment method can use Osmocoat time release grains, ground peat etc (This applies to sand only sediment also-they will benefit from this). I generally will add about 1 handful per sq ft for peat, and 1 table spoon for osmocoat per sq ft.
Mineralized Soil is also becoming more popular, see TPT forum for more on that. I think one thing to consider with these, there's some user variation, it's not as aesthetic as ADA AS, however, it's very cheap, works well. It's also easy long term for a nutrient supply. So you can and should still dose the water column, but if you forget or want leaner amounts, this sediment will allow you more flexibility. Likewise, dosing the water column will extend the life of the sediment, reducing the % draw from that source. Most of the issues folks have had with soils/clays etc, are due to pulling up roots without care, not processing the soil prior to oxidize it(mechanically-washing/drying/boiling, chemically(Zeolite), or biologically).
When that is done and folks do not too much organic matter (OM)%, then they have better results. Too much OM is bad for roots/plants and uses up too much O2, causing the redox levels to drop too far. Mineralizing it, boiling etc reduces most of the reduced OM. This is why and how several different works well. The DSM also works very well in conjunction with nutrient rich sediments and during the grow in phase, the sediment gets mineralized anyway(several weeks)
There are various amendments. Add some K2SO4 and mix with clay to provide long term bound up K+. Some folks add dolomite for Ca/Mg. Some add Traces in clay. Clay allows the plant roots to access the nutrients but not leech away into the water. Some folks add Jobes sticks and other "tabs". For soils and clays, you may freeze the soil/clay in ice cube trays, then insert the "mud ice cube" into the sediment below plants to add and enriched the sediment over time without making a mess or redoing the entire sediment. Simple little trick.
Regards,
Tom Barr
Materials:
- A bucket for rinsing the castings
- Earthworm castings (without additives) - tap water
- a stove and pot for boiling the castings
Preparation: 1) Obtain 100% pure additive-free earthworm castings 2) Rinse the castings in your empty bucket - allow water to flow slowly thru. Turn the material over with your hand to distribute water throughout. Eliminate all that floats. 3) Boil the castings in a pot. There should be plenty of water so that the castings do not dry out. Boil 10-15 minutes, stirring occassionally. 4) Allow to cool. Deposit the castings back in your bucket, repeating step 2. Once again, eliminate all floating debris. 5) After thorough rinsing, the bucket water should become relatively clear. 6) Drain the bucket and place the castings in shallow pans or on sheets of cellophane in thin layers under the sun, allowing them to dry completely. The dried castings can be stored in ziplock bags for future use.
Usage: Earthworm castings should be used in moderation, and do not need to be completely dry for usage. They should be diluted with washed sand in a 50-50 ratio. The combination of earthworm castings and sand should approach 1kg of mixture for every 50 liters of aquarium water (for example, in an aquarium of 100 liters I recommend to use between 2 and 4 kg of earthworm castings). It is best to use the mixture as the first, bottom-most layer of your substrate. If you plan to build an extremely deep substrate, it can be used within the middle layers.
This is the protocol from Mr. Vladimir Simoes' method.
=======================================
I use a different source and method for DIY sediment. I use the delta wetland clay, then wash and screen it, allow it to settle for 1-2 days in a wheel barrow. then decant off the water, allow the soupy soil to settle more and dry out.
I transfer to a bucket and then allow the muck to dry. When it's a nice semi soft clay consistency, it's ready for use. As it's been washed, and then dried some, the oxidation has already occurred and some mineralization has occured.
This can be mixed with 3:1 sand: clay. Then a 1" layer of pure sand on top of this. It will be slightly N limited over time. Any sediment method can use Osmocoat time release grains, ground peat etc (This applies to sand only sediment also-they will benefit from this). I generally will add about 1 handful per sq ft for peat, and 1 table spoon for osmocoat per sq ft.
Mineralized Soil is also becoming more popular, see TPT forum for more on that. I think one thing to consider with these, there's some user variation, it's not as aesthetic as ADA AS, however, it's very cheap, works well. It's also easy long term for a nutrient supply. So you can and should still dose the water column, but if you forget or want leaner amounts, this sediment will allow you more flexibility. Likewise, dosing the water column will extend the life of the sediment, reducing the % draw from that source. Most of the issues folks have had with soils/clays etc, are due to pulling up roots without care, not processing the soil prior to oxidize it(mechanically-washing/drying/boiling, chemically(Zeolite), or biologically).
When that is done and folks do not too much organic matter (OM)%, then they have better results. Too much OM is bad for roots/plants and uses up too much O2, causing the redox levels to drop too far. Mineralizing it, boiling etc reduces most of the reduced OM. This is why and how several different works well. The DSM also works very well in conjunction with nutrient rich sediments and during the grow in phase, the sediment gets mineralized anyway(several weeks)
There are various amendments. Add some K2SO4 and mix with clay to provide long term bound up K+. Some folks add dolomite for Ca/Mg. Some add Traces in clay. Clay allows the plant roots to access the nutrients but not leech away into the water. Some folks add Jobes sticks and other "tabs". For soils and clays, you may freeze the soil/clay in ice cube trays, then insert the "mud ice cube" into the sediment below plants to add and enriched the sediment over time without making a mess or redoing the entire sediment. Simple little trick.
Regards,
Tom Barr
