Ok lets play the help the other Jeff game.
I am going to upgrade to a 75g sooner rather then later from the current 55.
Assuming I totally redo the substrate of the tank, I really like the Amazonia but I cant afford to spend a few hundred to totally coat the base in Amazonia.
Gimme some suggestions here please.
I have a co2 tank I STILL need to get refilled (going on 5 years or so since I last filled it) and I will continue to use my current Coralife 4x65w PC fixture.
I realized after i pruned the hell out of the tank and got rid of all the spiral val that my tank is pretty barren so I will need to up the amount of plants as well.
With that, I would like to try to do a relatively low tech setup. I really like the look of my 15 which is heavily overgrown so scaping will NOT be a priority.
I like the low light setup I have on my 15 but I dont need to transplant that to the 75 when I get it.
Gimme some suggestions/ideas please.
Ok lets play the help the other Jeff game.
Ok lets play the help the other Jeff game.
The other Jeff
Master of growing algae and getting better at plants
Master of growing algae and getting better at plants
Substrate: Soil Master Select is cheaper than all the rest. If you can still find it. It suits me.
Mineralized Soil is also cheap, but it takes a while to make it, but you will not need to dose fertilizers.
CO2: those tanks need to be recertified every 5 years or so. So check your tank.
You should be able to grow whatever you want with those 4X65.
If you want to go low tech you will have to give me your lights and CO2 equipment and go buy a lower output light and some excel.
Mineralized Soil is also cheap, but it takes a while to make it, but you will not need to dose fertilizers.
CO2: those tanks need to be recertified every 5 years or so. So check your tank.
You should be able to grow whatever you want with those 4X65.
If you want to go low tech you will have to give me your lights and CO2 equipment and go buy a lower output light and some excel.
Joe
I was wondering something after I wrote the OP.jcali10 wrote:Substrate: Soil Master Select is cheaper than all the rest. If you can still find it. It suits me.
Mineralized Soil is also cheap, but it takes a while to make it, but you will not need to dose fertilizers.
CO2: those tanks need to be recertified every 5 years or so. So check your tank.
You should be able to grow whatever you want with those 4X65.
If you want to go low tech you will have to give me your lights and CO2 equipment and go buy a lower output light and some excel.
SMS has nothing to add to the water, how bad would it affect mineralized soil? Would it potentially balance out leeching into the water column?
Im NOT giving up my empty tank (it sits in my backseat and confuses people).
The lights arent being given up either,
The other Jeff
Master of growing algae and getting better at plants
Master of growing algae and getting better at plants
SMS adds nothing, I don't know if anybody has ever capped mineralized soil with it. SMS has a cation exchange capacity, which I think means it is capable of absorbing nutrients, rather than just being an inert substance.
GWAPA, please chime in if my assessment of SMS is incorrect.
You're no low tech guy.
GWAPA, please chime in if my assessment of SMS is incorrect.
You're no low tech guy.
Joe
Im thinking more and more about the soil base (have been for awhile) but I havent come up with a good topcoat for it.
Joe, sorry that I wont give up my tank and lights but I like them and while I may not use them both, I one day very well may decide to start!
Joe, sorry that I wont give up my tank and lights but I like them and while I may not use them both, I one day very well may decide to start!
The other Jeff
Master of growing algae and getting better at plants
Master of growing algae and getting better at plants
I ran a soil with SMS in a 55 gal and yeast CO2. The cheapest option ever ... unless you find sand and dirt for free... which lead you with 0$ costs.
I skipped the mineralization of the soil ... no fish or plants complained about that. I do not test for any concentration of anything ... so I do not really know if it is that bad. The fish breed like magic, plants grow insane. Except for some glass algae (irritating for a long time) and initial silicate algae no major problem.
I will start another 55 soon , same recipe. The only thing I would do differently - a higher layer of SMS. You will get dirt in the water when you unroot plants...where it is thicker it not that bad. Drop the vermiculite ( I read some recipe somewhere and I mixed some in the soil ) it floats and it is annoying.
I really recommend it. I would also try some sand but I have none. Only half bag of SMS left.
Eugen
I skipped the mineralization of the soil ... no fish or plants complained about that. I do not test for any concentration of anything ... so I do not really know if it is that bad. The fish breed like magic, plants grow insane. Except for some glass algae (irritating for a long time) and initial silicate algae no major problem.
I will start another 55 soon , same recipe. The only thing I would do differently - a higher layer of SMS. You will get dirt in the water when you unroot plants...where it is thicker it not that bad. Drop the vermiculite ( I read some recipe somewhere and I mixed some in the soil ) it floats and it is annoying.
I really recommend it. I would also try some sand but I have none. Only half bag of SMS left.
Eugen
The soil base is a great substrate. It takes some patience and initial leg work, but it's worth it in my opinion.
Capping it with SMS shouldn't be a problem. You could mix in a little Flourite Black for extra weight if you're worried about the lightness of the SMS. THey're roughly the same size so they should stay fairly mixed.
The SMS will buffer your pH to be quite acidic at first. Don't worry though, most of the fish and plants we keep will thank you for this.
Capping it with SMS shouldn't be a problem. You could mix in a little Flourite Black for extra weight if you're worried about the lightness of the SMS. THey're roughly the same size so they should stay fairly mixed.
The SMS will buffer your pH to be quite acidic at first. Don't worry though, most of the fish and plants we keep will thank you for this.
After seeing the growth in the 180g, I'll say that the soil substrate is definitely worth the leg work.
I'm not sure it is any better than say Amazonia, but then, I filled that 180g with a grand total of about $80-90 of substrate. I shudder to think what it would have been in Aquasoil.
You can always use 3M Colorquartz sand in your substrate as a cap layer - $30-35 for 50 pounds. That is what I did. Soil, then sand, then a 1/2" layer of accent stone, just because I like to see the slightly larger granule sizes on top.
I'm not sure it is any better than say Amazonia, but then, I filled that 180g with a grand total of about $80-90 of substrate. I shudder to think what it would have been in Aquasoil.
You can always use 3M Colorquartz sand in your substrate as a cap layer - $30-35 for 50 pounds. That is what I did. Soil, then sand, then a 1/2" layer of accent stone, just because I like to see the slightly larger granule sizes on top.
Dave
