Plant Substrate: Termite mounds

[carl p]

The normal round type of termite mounds that we get in the potchefstroom area, if you break them open the soil looks like baked clay, and doesnt disolve in water.

What is the posibility to use crushed T mounds as a substrate? it wont disolve,

Maybe prof can comment on this.

[Henk Hugo]

as long as you cap it with pool sand i dont see why not....

[Zoom]

Any nutritional value to the soil at all?

[carl p]

only nutrition would be what naturally ocurs in the area, the thing is it wont disolve and cloud, i think....

[JaguarCichlid]

I am using potting soil capped with sand and gravel, and dont have a problem at all (Except that I now have to trim my plants to give the fish space)

[carl p]

I am using potting soil capped with sand and gravel, and dont have a problem at all (Except that I now have to trim my plants to give the fish space)
ive also used normal potting soil in my 2x60L tanks, ive created small pockets of potting soil in the areas where i plant and surrounded it with rocks so that it doesnt spread, and capped it with pool filter sand. in new year i will be rescaping my 250L 1.2M and will probably mix potting soil with termite mound, because of the iron content in the red termite mounds and because its as good as baked.

[Gareth]

Sorry to go off Topic here.
just want to find out were do you get the potting soil from Carl?
I would like to put some into my 2m tank and 1.2m tank.

[Kat]

Hey, I use termite mound for my bonsai, u reckon I can mix it with regular soil and use it in my tank- I'm moving in two weeks so will have to take my tanks apart then... Used one of the sites mentioned on someones thread about how to build soil as a substrate- do I use the termite mound instead of the potters clay?

[carl p]

i use those normal white bags of potting soil and the name starts with an F...and i get it from the nursery at lucky fish, i use a colander with another suitable container underneath, i put the potting soil in the colander and the other container underneath i then wash the potting soil under a running tap, all the floating stuff stays in the colander and the fine "good" stuff goes down to the ohter container, i then slowly let the water in the botom container drain of and press the remaining water in the soil out by hand,

this remaining soil i use for my plants and at the moment i mix it 2 parts soil and 1 part silica sand, in future i would rather mix it 50-50 with termite mound and cap with silica or river sand

[Kat]

Kewl thanks will give it a try, the colander is a gud idea :)

[Zoom]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that using potting soil isn't a hot idea.

It continues to rot under the silica sand, and releases tannins and stuff into the water that spikes your Nitrates constantly.

Could someone comment?

[carl p]

Zoom its posible, but at the moment i only use a fist full around the base of my plants in my 2x60L and theres no staining of the water, and i dont test my water so i wont know what the nitrate levels etc are. but ive had in the one 60L around 70 platys at a stage with one large sword plant and some hygrophilia and a diy canister filter

but thats why i want to mix the potting soil with something else to minimize the aerobic effect of rotting potting soil.

how does the wallstadt method work?

[Kat]

But if u soak the soil and rinse and soak and rinse (lots and lots) shouldnt it help reduce the rotting, tannin release...?

[Gareth]

But if u soak the soil and rinse and soak and rinse (lots and lots) shouldnt it help reduce the rotting, tannin release...?
stupid question here but if you do this don't you also was away all the nutraints and styff?

[Zoom]

stupid question here but if you do this don't you also was away all the nutraints and styff?

Um guys... BIOLOGY 101...

It's the DECAYING process of potting soils and compost that causes the nutriants and good stuff. The decaying/rotting process produces the nitrates that feed the plants... but in a tank environment, you DON'T WANT that to happen as you land up with Nitrate spikes... or if you aren't doing water changes, a Nitrate Bath for your fishes.

[Kat]

Ok duh thanks I had a major blond moment there lol...thanks zoom :)

So if I'm adding a soil layer how frequent should my water changes be and what percentage of water to keep the fish happy?

[Zoom]

You need to invest in a good quality test kit and try keep the Ammonia, Nitrites and most importantly the Nitrates level as low as possible. Ideally at 0ppm, but sometimes this is never achieved.

As time progresses, you will find that you know when to do water changes. We all strive for once a week, but the key is how much water to change. After testing a few weeks, you will know what quantity to be changing.

[Kat]

Thanks :)

[Laure]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that using potting soil isn't a hot idea.

It continues to rot under the silica sand, and releases tannins and stuff into the water that spikes your Nitrates constantly.

Could someone comment?

This is not actually a bad thing. With a well established filter you should not have any ammonia or nitrite problems. Nitrates can be kept under control with water changes.

ADA Aquasoil, considered the best substrate in the world, contains plenty of ammonia, phosphate and nitrate. They do warn you though not to add fish for the first month, presumably until your biofilter and plant mass is well established.

[SomethingAbstract]

i have never had any issues with nitrate using potting soil, and the tank has been running for some time so if there was going to issues it should have happened by now

[Slojo]

I think it all depends on the quality,make and what has been used to make the "potting soil" that will have an influence.

[Zoom]

That's also why I asked for the plant Guru's to comment as well... I know some people who use Rose Shrub Mix... But then the people with lots of plants and fish mixed advise strictly against that!

[Laure]

The problem with potting soil is not the nitrates. It's the rotting effect and the other chemicals released in the water due to most likely chicken manure added to the soil. And who knows what else the soil contains...

If you want to go this route, then use pure potting soil not any rose mix. There are some threads which you can google where they explain exactly how to go about creating "mineralized" soil, which is what you want. In short, the process basically entails submerging the soil in a bucket for a period and doing frequent water changes and then drying it out and then repeating this process a few times before adding to your tank. Apparently it takes about 3 months...

The cheapest way to create a good soil is to get these palm peat blocks which you can buy at any nursery and soak them in water in a bucket and add some Chemicult which you can also buy at a nursery. Look for the one with NO3 and PO4. What happens is that the palm peat absorbs the chemicals and then you add this as a bottom layer and cover with silica sand.