Blos85
Aquarium Advice Activist
Hi everyone!
So i posted a thread a while ago in case anyone remembers about having leeching problems with miracle grow organic potting soil. Sadly i dont remember the name of who told me to sift it thoroughly. Well out of experimentation i sifted it A LOT a few times through a form of chicken wire and then again through a homemade strainer(5gal bucket with hundreds of small holes drilled in the bottom) and i successfully got all the wood chips out which was actually a very large percent of the bag of soil...i would say it was made up of about 25%+ of just wood chips which i found pretty surprising.
Anyhow i set up a new 10g to replace the old one i was having problems with in hopes for a clearer tank overtime. I want to tear down the old one and reuse the dirt and gravel. So i was wondering if anyone has done this and could give me some tips and advice how to do it with as little mess as possible.
My plan is pretty simple. By hand or with a litter scooper(fish only) pull out all the gravel i can away from the dirt itself then take the muddy dirt and dry it in the oven a like 200-250 for a few hours maybe how ever long it will take and just sift it once its dry the same way i did to potting soil for the new one.
Anyone learn any tricks as to do this?
So i posted a thread a while ago in case anyone remembers about having leeching problems with miracle grow organic potting soil. Sadly i dont remember the name of who told me to sift it thoroughly. Well out of experimentation i sifted it A LOT a few times through a form of chicken wire and then again through a homemade strainer(5gal bucket with hundreds of small holes drilled in the bottom) and i successfully got all the wood chips out which was actually a very large percent of the bag of soil...i would say it was made up of about 25%+ of just wood chips which i found pretty surprising.
Anyhow i set up a new 10g to replace the old one i was having problems with in hopes for a clearer tank overtime. I want to tear down the old one and reuse the dirt and gravel. So i was wondering if anyone has done this and could give me some tips and advice how to do it with as little mess as possible.
My plan is pretty simple. By hand or with a litter scooper(fish only) pull out all the gravel i can away from the dirt itself then take the muddy dirt and dry it in the oven a like 200-250 for a few hours maybe how ever long it will take and just sift it once its dry the same way i did to potting soil for the new one.
Anyone learn any tricks as to do this?
