Soilmaster for substrate

[suezahn]

Does anybody here actually USE Soilmaster as a substrate?

Following the recommendation of some folks in the club, I ordered a bag of Soilmaster (charcoal) from my local Lesco store. All this time I thought folks were saying 15 lbs bags (including the guy at the store), so thank god I only ordered one bag to see if I liked it--because it's actually 50 lbs!!

My concern, however, is that once I lugged it up to my apartment and opened it, it looks just like cat liter. And on the bag it even says it's excellent at absorbing water! Can you imagine how much it would suck if I added water and ended up with a +50 lbs clump of cat litter??

Somebody please releave my fears so I can either use this or find a different substrate!

[krisw]

I just replaced all of the substrate in my 75G with Soilmaster Select (red). It's about as dusty as Flourite is, but I didn't bother washing it at all. So far, it looks pretty good, and as long as you're careful filling the tank, it won't cloud too badly. It took a day for my tank to totally clear, but that's not too uncommon.

As far as long-term viable, there are some folks on plantedtank and apc that have used this stuff for awhile, but this is the first tank I've done with it. It doesn't clumb. No worries there!

Out of curiosity, what store did you find charcoal color at? I tried three around me, and they all told me that their supply warehouse was even out of that color, and that they had no idea when they could get some.

[suezahn]

So how RED is the red? House brick red or maybe clay pot red/orange? or something else?

I called the Lesco in Springfield, VA since it's the closest to home. He did have to order it and it took about a week, but otherwise there didn't seem to be any trouble. I explained to them that I'd heard from a few other planted aquarium enthusiasts that this was good for a tank, but it was news to them. They didn't stock either color and only ordered the one bag. I just read elsewhere in the forum that the 1 bag might not be enough to do a 120-gal tank, but I'm hesitating buying a second, simply because of storage issues for what's left over (I live in a one-bedroom condo.) I'll start tonight and see how it goes.

[krisw]

So how RED is the red? House brick red or maybe clay pot red/orange? or something else?

The RED looks more like natural earth color to me. I was planning on posting a picture of my tank sometime this weekend after I've planted a few more thing in there. Until then, it's basically clay pot red, but slightly lighter, if that make sense.

The Lesco in Elkridge had a number of bags of the RED, but no charcoal. They mentioned that a couple other folks came in and got it for aquarium use. My question -- why aren't they in GWAPA?!?!?!

Anyways, it's hard to say whether 1 bag will be enough for your tank. If you want to make some nice slopes, you may need another bag to still have 3-4" in front. Honestly, if you're able to get charcoal, I can pretty much guarantee that a GWAPA member would buy the remaider of your 2nd bag off of you. Infact, if they're ordering, you may want to put a quick note up to see if anyone else is interested in a bag or two.

[suezahn]

For those who haven't seen the "charcoal" color, it's grey (just like cat litter), not black. I'm not sure I'll be crazy about the uniform grey substrate look, so I'm debating trying a top layer of something else, just to give it a more natural appearance. But I'm also aware that it'll all get mixed up fairly quickly, so I'm not sure what to use. Any suggestions?

When I've tried doing slopes in the past, it all leveled out pretty quickly anyway. Do you use a particular method to preserve the slopes? I was thinking of getting more rocks and building a sort of wall to form a terrace, but not sure how artificial that would look.

And depending on the results of this first bag, I'll definitely be putting in another order ASAP since I'm eager to get this thing started. I'll post about it.

[suezahn]

I'm wondering now if I might have been happier with the red (I'm picturing the red of a baseball diamond--is that close?) than the charcoal, simply because it would be easier to mix and blend with gravel/rocks for a natural appearance. I was imaging more of a black when I ordered the charcoal. Hmmmm.

[krisw]

Do you use a particular method to preserve the slopes?

Stay posted for when I post my pictures. The main goal of my redesign was to do exactly this. I used lots of rock and wood to build a large hill in the tank.

I'm picturing the red of a baseball diamond--is that close?

Yeah, that's basically it.

I was imaging more of a black when I ordered the charcoal

One thing to note is that the red looks incredibly pale dry, and darkens up a bit when wet. If you haven't already, put some of the charcoal underwater, and see if the color suits you better.

[Aaron]

I think it also depends on what type of rocks you use. I always find it the most visually appealing when the color of the substrate matches closely to that of the rocks in the tank. In nature this is usually the case.

[Spine]

I ordered the Soilmaster (charcoal) from the Lesco Silver Spring location. I told the counter guy more people will be looking for it, so he might keep a couple of bags in stock. The Silver Spring location gets their order every Monday and they only get one order a week. As long as you order by closing on Friday it will be there for pick up on Monday. The counter guy says the easiest way is to order on line you don't have to come to the store to order.

[Aaron]

Thanks for the info Kevin. www.lesco.com is the website I believe.