the use of soil in planted tanks for non CO2, CO2 and Excel dosed tanks

Is this method good for higher light tanks, or just the low light ones? For example, how about a 2 watt per gallon tank? And, do you not dose NPK and traces at all in the beginning?

 

That was cool. Intuitively, after years of experience with soil underneath gravel, I think that would work much better than one would think at first glance.

I've noticed that when the soil have aged a bit it settles *very* quickly when uprooting thus not making any cloudiness at all - just a bit of mulm around the area where you uprooted the plants. If mixing alot of sand and just a bit of soil thoroughly it should be a bit like getting a well mulm-infused bottom/substrate in seconds.

I will try this next time I setup a tank.

 

When you use the term "sand", are you referring to the very fine playbox-type material or something coarser? If the former, wouldn't an inch of it over the soil-sand substrate restrict the flow of nutrients from the water column to the substrate?

I use 1.0 to 1.5 inches of 2-3 mm gravel over soaked topsoil, and I have never had a problem with the soil getting into the water column. Of course, I don't do a lot of uprooting of established plants. Some, though.

If a small amounts of soil should get into the water column, it is readily removed by the filter.

Bill

 

The next time I do a major overhaul of my tank I will try this. But, I'm still wondering, should I do routine EI fertilizing, and just depend on the substrate to augment the fertilizing, or should I wait to start EI fertillizing until the substrate seems to be running out of nutrients? Or neither?

I like the idea of having a heavier substrate to make it easier to plant and keep plants from floating back out. Plus, this might make substrate formed into hills and valleys last longer before they self level.

 

I have a question about EI and low light, non-CO2 tanks. Specifically, should you attempt it?

Since EI needs water changes with each dosing, and since that kind of tank shouldn't have frequent water changes, it seems to me that EI wouldn't work. But then, I've been wrong before. That's why I'm here.

Bill

 

My tank gets a continuous water change, a trickle of incoming tap water with an overflow dumping the excess tank water out doors. If this were a low light, non-CO2 tank it should do fine, since the incoming water/CO2 would be a constant, not a periodic change. Right now I use only 72 watts for 45 gallons, so I am approaching low light, but I still use EI and CO2. A soil substrate should work well in this type of tank, I would think.

 

That seems logical, since the environment of tank is stable.

I think the problem comes about when new water is introduced to a "low energy" tank, perhaps with more nutrients. But I havn't checked that myself.

Bill

 

I have some soil soaking and will hopefully be getting the tank (around 200l) in 2 weeks. The tank will be low light max 1.75wpg and have pressurised co2. I'll be using mainly crypts as the plants.

Would it be worth adding some root tabs,- ADA multi bottom etc, at the base of each plant at the start just to kick start the plants or not?

I was thinking of weekly liquid ferts of traces and K. Does this sound ok? too much/little?

 

I don't think you need root tabs. They might supply more nutrients than your slow growth environment needs.

I wouldn't dose anything until there was a need. In most of my tanks I find that a little nitrate every now and then is enough, and my tanks have more light and faster growing plants than does yours.

Bill

 

Woops! I missed the fact that this was to be a CO2 tank.

Bill