First dirted tank journal (slow)

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NativeTank7 said:
It's a standard 55 gallon. Have 4 but have recently closed down the others due to space issues :( hopefully when our extra room is built on I can add my other tanks to the basement. I have a bad case of multi-tank syndrome :)
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Haha yeah me too. I'm at 6 tanks now. If I only had more room...
 
Update: I finally got my background on which was a pita. Didn't know painting with 4 inches of space was so hard lol but I got it done. I think the paint has some magnetic pull I'm not sure because after painting I realized the dirt had went from the bottom to all up the side lol I had to brush it all back down. Not sure what that was about. Anyway here it is with the background.

image-884495198.jpg

Question: I wanting just a little more dirt I start to set it up completely and want to go with top soil. I did some research and it seems top soil doesn't carry any fertilizers which is what I would like. Walmart around here doesn't sale it so where could I find it without having to order it online?
 
Any Lowe's, Home Depot, or similar store should carry some. I've used top soil before and find it to be rather heavy in an aquarium IMO. Personally I'd just get more Organic Potting Soil. Also what are you going to cap your soil with?
 
Rivercats said:
Any Lowe's, Home Depot, or similar store should carry some. I've used top soil before and find it to be rather heavy in an aquarium IMO. Personally I'd just get more Organic Potting Soil. Also what are you going to cap your soil with?
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What do you mean by heavy? Lol and I have almost a full bag left of floramax to go over the dirt and over the floramax i have some tan gravel to cap it with.
 
NativeTank7 said:
What do you mean by heavy? Lol and I have almost a full bag left of floramax to go over the dirt and over the floramax i have some tan gravel to cap it with.
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If you used organic dirt to start did you notice even after it was moistened that it had a light texture to it? When you get regular soil and wet it- it will compact tightly and seem like a thicker heavier soil than the organic mix. Don't know how else to explain it. For years I tried different types of soils in pots in my ponds and finally saw I got the best growth using an organic potting soil so that is what I went with in my tanks.
 
NativeTank7 said:
Hey guys I got bored with the tank of nothing but Eco complete and gravel because the plant growth didnt grow any better than when I had them in gravel only with clay underlay so I decided to strip it down and start fresh. I have recently picked up some miracle grow organic choice potting mix to dirt it with. Was gonna go straight top soil but couldn't find a trustworthy brand. I picked up 2 bags to give me an Inch of dirt (debating on if I want to add more) I got a thin layer of gravel on bottom for oxygen in the soil and gonna cap the dirt with the Eco complete I still have. Gonna take it slow and make sure I have everything I need before I start the process of adding water and getting the bacteria ready. Need some new plant bulbs and a heater. Going to have easy classic plants for a low tech tank so it will be easy to manage. I have some plants floating in my other 55 temporary until I'm ready. Here's what it looks like so far
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Amazon lace?
Petco has onion bulbs cheap...
 
Rivercats said:
If you used organic dirt to start did you notice even after it was moistened that it had a light texture to it? When you get regular soil and wet it- it will compact tightly and seem like a thicker heavier soil than the organic mix. Don't know how else to explain it. For years I tried different types of soils in pots in my ponds and finally saw I got the best growth using an organic potting soil so that is what I went with in my tanks.
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Maybe I could use top soil on the bottom and potting soil on top of that? The sifting took FOREVER to do lol trying to get around it if possible
 
NativeTank7 said:
Maybe I could use top soil on the bottom and potting soil on top of that? The sifting took FOREVER to do lol trying to get around it if possible
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I know alot of people sift it but I didn't, just used the brand I've used in the ponds for years straight from the bag.
 
It's cheap, don't even think it was $5 a bag. It has all size organic material in it and it leeches alot of tannins due to alot of peat. I used several bags in my 220g and capped with eco-complete and I did 100% WC's for 7 days before I planted on day 8 just to get as much of the tannins out as possible. I also then added purgen to my filter to keep removing any tannins. It worked great doing it that way.
 
Rivercats said:
It's cheap, don't even think it was $5 a bag. It has all size organic material in it and it leeches alot of tannins due to alot of peat. I used several bags in my 220g and capped with eco-complete and I did 100% WC's for 7 days before I planted on day 8 just to get as much of the tannins out as possible. I also then added purgen to my filter to keep removing any tannins. It worked great doing it that way.
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You think 2 bags would be enough for my 55 gallon? Trying to get at least an inch. Would the activated carbon work in taking out tannins?
 
I looked it $3.38 (here in Missouri) a bag and a bag is 1 cu ft. Honestly when you see the bag you will probably only need one.
 
Rivercats said:
I looked it $3.38 (here in Missouri) a bag and a bag is 1 cu ft. Honestly when you see the bag you will probably only need one.
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Okay good :) thanks a lot rivercats your a life saver lol I may just take the old potting soil I have now and put in the 10 gallon plant grow out tank. Trying to get my plants big before setting up the 55 gallon. I heard it's best to plant heavy after dirting I believe to stop algae breakouts I think.
 
If you use the Just Natural you really should do the 7 days of 100% WC as it will really knock down the tons of tannins that stuff releases. Then on day 8 plant very heavily with plants such as water sprite, wisteria, and any fast growing stem plants. These are the plants in the first few months that will use the most excess nutrients making it harder for algae to take hold. You will still get diatoms, that's a given, but also only run your lights for 6 hours a day for the first 3 or so months. This will also go a long way in keeping algae down. You will also need to get something like a long BBQ fork so you can poke around the tank substrate about 3x daily to release excess gas pockets that form from the breakdown of organics in the soil. It last 4-5 weeks. And be sure to get Purgen to help with any tannins that will leach for awhile. I never noticed any tannins after I put Purgen in. If you can plant at least 80% of your substrate your tank will cycle very quickly also. Doing the process above, 7 days of 100% WC, planting on day 8 very very heavily, my tank was cycled by day 10. You won't need any root tabs for about 2-3 months if you use any swords or crypts but you will probably need to start using ferts between 2-4 weeks after setting up.
 
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