Hog
Aquarium Advice Newbie
So what happened next?
Deep 7, are you going to combine the DPs with anything else?
I use the cheap topsoil from the big box hardware store.I'm not sure if anyones still following, lol.
I finally figured out what mineralized soil is a few days ago. I had been asking at every garden and plant store and getting blank stares and questions instead of answers. I already have the laterite so I'm planning on a mineralized soil with laterite recipe for my substrate. Which in the end means another delay, grrrr.
I found some soil I thought looked great, a pile of "topsoil" my landlord had dumped 5 years ago and hardly used. I screened a bunch of it and thought it looked perfect. I did a soil analysis, or at least attempted to do one. I got a sand layer, but instead of a silt layer with clay and then water all I got on top of the sand was sludge. Pretty much 40% colloidal clay and 60% sand according to the analysis guide I was using. (they recommend zero % colloidal clay)
The terrain around here is not gonna have all that colloidal clay, but I don't think it's not gonna be much better overall. On tuesday or wednesday I'll try to get across the island and sample my families farm which I think will be pretty good since we had a well and we had no issues with the well water, and if thats not good enough I'll try several other places until I find a good dirt.
As soon as I get a good sample I'll collect a bunch and start mineralizing it. Hopefully have that done and water in the tank in about 2 weeks. Guess I'll use the extra time to work on aquascaping plans.
My local hardware store only has peat moss and compost soils for sale. I'm about 200 miles from anything like a "big box hardware store". I figure if I'm driving that far I might as well check out the farm I grew up on. If that soil works it will have extra meaning for me, I can be a sentimental sap sometimes.I use the cheap topsoil from the big box hardware store.
I have pool filter sand that I bought 50lbs for 5$. I'm planning to cap it with the sand. Some of the recipes I was looking at suggested substituting clay for laterite as an option. The recipe I'm planning on using will be very similar to one of those.Are you planning to cap the laterite and soil with something? Are you using laterite in place of the clay the recipe calls for?