kitty litter?

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Check out all the threads about Oil Dri, Turface, Soil Master, Safe T Sorb. Its all relevant to your question :)
 
Trickerie said:
Check out all the threads about Oil Dri, Turface, Soil Master, Safe T Sorb. Its all relevant to your question :)
Click to expand...

I've read some of them, I've also heard people recommend it, just was wondering if its better than other substrates
 
Its good because it works, its VERY cheap, and looks amazing. You can also charge the substrate with fertilizers beforehand. If not, at first, the substrate will absorb a lot of the nutrients from the water column. But, these will be made available to plant roots later on. Most see a significant increase in growth using Oil Dri, etc, over something like fluorite
 
Trickerie said:
Its good because it works, its VERY cheap, and looks amazing. You can also charge the substrate with fertilizers beforehand. If not, at first, the substrate will absorb a lot of the nutrients from the water column. But, these will be made available to plant roots later on. Most see a significant increase in growth using Oil Dri, etc, over something like fluorite
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ohhhh I see, so is it recommended for planted tanks apposed to just tanks with decor?
 
Not necessarily. However, be aware there are several draw backs. First, some brands are very dusty. Such as Oil Dri. They need to be thoroughly rinsed before use. Also, your PH will take a nose dive. Im going through this right now. My recent tank I set up with Oil Dri has its PH dropping from 7.5 tap, to below 6 (unreadable with API mtk).
 
Trickerie said:
Not necessarily. However, be aware there are several draw backs. First, some brands are very dusty. Such as Oil Dri. They need to be thoroughly rinsed before use. Also, your PH will take a nose dive. Im going through this right now. My recent tank I set up with Oil Dri has its PH dropping from 7.5 tap, to below 6 (unreadable with API mtk).
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I don't think the Ph would be a problem, mine runs around 8.4 sometimes higher. My tap water is not very good. I was wanting to start a planted tank soon and was looking for the best substrate for plants to grow in
 
Trickerie said:
You may want to take a look at the Walstad method. AKA El Natural.

Walstad method - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki

Instead of fine gravel, you use oil dri, safe t sorb, cat litter, etc.
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That's actually very interesting, I might have to try that. I figure that the potting soil would have to rinsed well, can it be rinsed in the same method as sand? This is what I'm going to try in a tank I'm getting Friday. The moss grows along the bottom as well as the rocks. I wonder if this method would work well with mosses as well as tall plants


View attachment 93698
 
I've never used kitty litter but I have used soil. You don't rinse it but you do need to cap it with fine gravel or sand to keep it down. It's also recommended to mineralize the soil beforehand to avoid massive amounts of nutrients being released into the water column in the beginning. Also if your only growing moss IMO it would be a waste of time and effort using soil substrate.
 
Mumma.of.two said:
I've never used kitty litter but I have used soil. You don't rinse it but you do need to cap it with fine gravel or sand to keep it down. It's also recommended to mineralize the soil beforehand to avoid massive amounts of nutrients being released into the water column in the beginning. Also if your only growing moss IMO it would be a waste of time and effort using soil substrate.
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I want to do mainly moss but some other plants as well, I've never had a planted tank so I was just seeking opinions on what the best substrate for plants is
 
Mumma.of.two said:
It's also recommended to mineralize the soil beforehand to avoid massive amounts of nutrients being released into the water column in the beginning.
Click to expand...

how to you mineralize the soil? Sorry I've never had a planted tank so I'm trying to learn as much as I can before I start the tank.
 
I've done a lot of mineralized soil and it definitely helps versus adding soil directly to a tank. The other benefit is the addition of the dolomite and potash into the soil. The end result is a nutrient rich soil but it is a major mess if you have to pull deep rooted plants, and there is still a potential for an initial algae bloom. I have MTS capped with oil-dri in a few tanks, and all I can say about oil-dri and kitty litter is keep rinsing. It has a nice natural look to it overall.

As far as the pH thing goes, I've never tested my pH after adding oil dri, but have never experienced any fish related issues after setting up with it either. If it was really a concern, though, and it was a lack of GH I'd probably just dose dolomite CaMg(co3)2 (Or a bit of calcium and magnesium sulfate) and a bit of baking soda for the KH. As I said though I have never experienced a issue related to pH with this setup, though, so i've never felt a need to adjust anything.
 
I use pure kitty litter in my planted tank. Not capped with anything. Not just any kitty litter will work, I use Special Kitty from Walmart. It's 100 percent baked clay with no additives. Be sure to not get anything scented or clumping as these are toxic to your fish. Make sure the only ingredient is baked clay. You do not rinse it as you would with sand or gravel as the clay breaks down into smaller pieces until it eventually disintegrates to nothing, just put it in and carefully add water and wait for it to settle. Mine was crystal clear after 24 hrs. It also varies in colour depending on where it's mined from. Mine has a tan sandy colour, but I've seen greys and reds as well all depending on where you live.
 
The stuff I use (oil-dri) is a fired clay also, they make kitty litter as well so it's the same stuff. I do highly recommend rinsing it well before adding it, there is a ton of dust in cat litter/oil dri bags. It won't disintegrate as long as you aren't pulverizing it. I have some tanks that are well over a year old and the oil dri is still in as solid pieces on the top layer as it was when I put it in.

The warning against using a product with additives, clumping, scented is a good one, using that would destroy a tank I bet.
 
What do you mean? Moss doesn't really grow along the substrate. I do have some that attaches itself to individual pieces of gravel but it doesn't creep along the substrate as much as it just grows up and out towards the light.
 
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