help on dirted tank regarding rusty nails or clay from backyard...

a good morning to all,

i have b33n fascinated with aquariums for as long as i can remember and It has taken me a looooong time to get my tank, stand, lights and filter... (from 2014 and still counting)

tank: 1200*450*450
light: odysea T5 ~ 2*54W
filter: Tetra EX1200 plus
substrate: pending...

the substrate:
as im so close to realising my dream of keeping and maintaining a planted tank i have a few questions on dirted tanks

1) after setting up a dirted tank with potting mix and capping, would it be advisable to add rusty nails or clay that i can dig up from my yard? the clay is comprised of some mustard and red bits

2) can i scape my tank with rocks and driftwood after capping the potting soil or do i add the hardscape first and then add the potting soil around that and then cap?

3) would it be safe to mix the soil dug up by moles with the clay/rusty nails and potting soil and then cap?

any information however miniscule will be greatly appreciated...

so sorry for the long post.



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Hello,

1) Rusty nails are fine just as long as its only iron. Cadmium can also be present in nails and you dont want this in your tank. I have used iron panel pins in the past with good results. As for digging up clay from your garden - I am not sure. Are you sure no fertilizers/pesticides/paracites are present there?
2) Either way should work. Depends on what you are trying to achieve. I would probably add the potting soil, then the hard scape and then cap but its a personal preference.
3)Again depends on how sure you are with respect to fertilizers/pesticides. There could be parasites present as well.

Personally I would get soil from a nursery as you are sure this is safe. Its not expensive. One near my house sells a 20L bag for R20.

 

2) what about aerobic bacteria?

 

I am assuming you will have plants in this tank. Their roots will stop the ground from compacting too much and aerobic bacteria will be present in the substrate. How deep do you want the substrate to be?

There are a couple of threads about using potting soil as a substrate. Have a look on the forum and see what those guys did.

 

the mole heaps is black soil with no stones, debris or pesticides. i was going to nuke it in the oven first before mixing with the potting soil...
my assumption ~ the soil is turned up from underneath where the moles hunt for earthworms and where there are earthworms , there is nutrient rich soil waiting to be scooped up.

 

i want to plant heavy from the beginning using fast growing plants coupled with bolbitis, anubias, mosses, buce rotala rotandifolia and java ferns to initiate the the usage of ammonia.

 

i have been researching on dirted tanks allot and have been following dash's adventure so i will be heading down that road.

 

I have 3 planted tanks (2 with soil/dirt) and would suggest the following:

1. No, I don't see the necessity for this. Just use a potting soil, sieve it well to get rid of the bits and stop the tannins from leaching through for months.
I got a bag from local nursery, R25 IIRC.

2. I made the mistake of putting the driftwood in, then soil, then cap, then water ... BUT had not presoaked the wood, so it floated to the top and 'broke' the cap - took weeks for it all to settle!! So, I would do in this order... rocks, soil, cap, wood, plants.

3. Again, hard to comment without looking at the soil, but I don't see the need for this. Just go with the potting soil.

Then a couple of other comments:

• Sunlight on the tank is fine once it is established. If you expose the sunlight before the plants have taken hold you may get algae.
• If you have not already read Diana Walstad's book, then do this before doing anything else. If the book is too pricey for you, go hang out on 'her' forum, there is a wealth of knowledge there. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/
• Be prepared each week to do some pruning. Once the plants take hold they grow like mad
• I did a write up of the process with my first Dirt tank. You may find some of it useful and hopefully will avoid the issues I had. https://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/140033-first-npt.html

 

Some pics for reference .... first one taken 24 March.





Second one 9 Sept. So almost 6 months later.



Before you ask, Yes, I like the Jungle look.

Inhabitants are 3 schools of tetras (32 at last count), 3 Ottos, 4 Sterbi's, 1 golden bristle-nose ... and ...
more shrimp and snails than I can count anymore.

 

Very nice

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Beautiful tank Dale!

 

those tanks looks awesome...
i'm based in a small town up the north coast called Stanger and there is just one LFS that only sells general stock. its hard to acquire plants and ferts. hope i get all the type of plants that i'd like for my tank particularly Phoenix moss [fissidens fontanas], buce and rotala rotandifolia

 

It's the same tank ... just 6 months later

 

You using natural sunlight through the window ?

 

Definitely. The window faces East and the shades on the window can be adjusted to give more or less light so I 'set' them so there's around 1-2 hours of direct sunlight on the tank each morning.

 

Any additional lighting or is this the only lighting the tank receives ?

 

I also have a Zetlight (P4000?) on a timer that goes on at 2pm and stays on till 6pm, or 7pm in summer. Basically trying to replicate natural light cycles.

 

how often does one need to change the T5 tubes. would it last 6 months or can i use a little longer?

 

6 months is optimum. I have used some for over a year - depends on the plants you are trying to grow.

 

has anyone tried or heard of mixing braai charcoal dust to their potting mix?