Planted Tank Substrate - An Alternative to PFP and Chemicult

Step 1 –Rinse the Topsoil
Take the topsoil and distribute in the container of your choice for soakingpurposes. I use large Plastic Containers. You must use topsoil and not potting soil. Potting soil has additives to avoid such as fertilizers, vermiculiteand peat moss.
Fill the Plastic Container with water so the water level is about 5 centimetresabove the top of the soil. Stir it around a bit to help break up any big clumpsand evenly distribute the water. Let this soak for a day or two. Come back andslowly dump the water off of the top. Now add in more water so the soil is wellcovered. This water changing process helps to rinse the soil of any possiblefertilizers or other harmful water soluble chemicals.

Step 2 – Allowthe Topsoil to Dry
Pour the excess water out of the container as you did when changing the water.Lay out the large plastic sheet, preferably in direct sunlight. Dump out themuddy soil and spread it relatively thin over the sheet. Allow the soil to drycompletely. This can take a day or two and depends greatly on how warm thetemperature is where you are drying the soil. This part of the process could bedone indoors. Due to its messy nature, I suggest doing it outdoors if possible.When the soil is completely dry, add it back into the soaking container.
The drying process is the part that allows the microbes in the soil to beginmineralizing the nutrients. Exposing it to air oxygenates the soil.

Step 3 – Repeatthe Rinsing and Drying Cycles
Repeat steps 1 and 2 three to four times. Repeating the steps is necessary tofurther mineralize the soil and remove any lingering fertilizers. The soilmineralizes the most during the time while it is still moist and exposed to airon the large tarp. By soaking it over again we reintroduce the needed moisturefor this process to take place. When the soil is near fully mineralized it willhave a very grainy texture. Another way to tell that the soil is ready is bysmell. There will be virtually no smell coming from the soil once it ismineralized.

Step 4 – Sift theSoil to Remove Debris
Screening the soil can help to remove any large organic materials that theshort mineralization process employed thus far cannot remove. I have found thatadding this step to the process helps to further eliminate algae issues after atank is newly setup. The resulting sifted soil will feel like airy sand.

Step 5 – Add the Red Clay
Now that you have a mineralized soil to use as the substrate, you need to addin the red clay. Estimate how much clay you will need so that the resultingmixture of soil and clay is about 5% to 10% clay. To add the clay, dry the clayin the oven at a temperature of 100 to 150 Celsius let it cool and then crushit into a powder and add it to the soil. You must add enough water to themixture to form a nice runny mud.

Step 6 – Createan Aesthetic Border
Now this is the fun part of setting up the aquarium. Add the gravel of yourchoice just along the front and side edges of the aquarium bottom. Wet it justenough that it holds a slope and press it up against the sides. Doing this stepensures that we will not see the different layers of substrate when viewing thetank from the front and sides. I have use Fine Black gravel as a substrate toplayer. I prefer this coarse sand for many reasons. It is very dense and holds aslope for a long period of time. The finer granules also allow for easyplanting.


Step 7 – Add Dolomiteand Potash
Sprinkle a light dusting of both dolomite and potash on the bottom glass of thetank. The bottom of the glass should still be somewhat visible.


Step 8 – Add the Mineralized Mud
Fill in the borders you’ve created with the runny mud mixture of mineralizedsoil and clay. This layer should be about 2,5 cm deep.

Step 9 – Top with Gravel
Cover the mud with more of the same border gravel from step 6. Cover the mud byabout 2,5 cm in the front to 5cm in the back of the tank to create a nicesloping substrate effect.


Step 10 - SlowlyFill the Aquarium and Begin Planting
Begin planting and filling the aquarium as you would any other plantedaquarium. Use caution when filling the tank with water. Go slowly to avoiddisturbing the substrate and uncovering the soil.

I hope this has inspired some of you to try something new. I amsure you will be pleased with the results.

For Sources of Clay,Topsoil and Containers please PM me.

 

are you going to credit AARONT from TPT?

 

Yip and B as well

 

@Slojo, can you please give a clear link as to where you sourced this info from? Is the source copyrighted? Do you have the permission of the info providor to copy it?

Just trying to avoid any 'international incidents'!

Regards
G!

 

Nicely done @Slojo. Could you post a pic of what the soil looked like before and after treating?

 

Sorry been out the whole day.
Link
http://www.slojo.co.za/mineralised_topsoil.htm

Disclaimer:
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Slojo, is this a method that you had devised yourself?
Any photos/feedback as to the results?

 

@Slojo.

That link is firstly a link to your own website, not the original author of the method you are describing, and secondly not working.

Please provide necessary links where the disclaimer allowing free use is also mentioned.