15-06-2003, 07:44 AM
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enriched substrate
ospam (Moontanman) wrote in message ...
Does anyone on this group use enriched substrate? I use mushroom compost and
lava rock dust (mud). I put a thin layer of this under a thick layer of sand.
Seems to work well with some plants, not so well with others. Does any one else
have their own recipes?
Moon
I doubt you need to add compost(too rich). Soil with a fair amount of
peat soaked about two weeks and then add about 1:3 ratio soil/gravel
(2-3mm) cap. You can add a few tablespoons of dolomite if you want in
there.
I use flourite these days or folks that just seem not to get it, use
the soil + laterite/peat etc.
Flourite or onyx I collect the mulm from the gravel of an old tank,
let the water settle, decant, save the mulm in the bottom, add a liter
of wet mulm to each sq ft of gravel. I add about 1 handful of ground
peat(Say like Scott's brand) per sqft also. If the tank is non CO2,
I'll add 1 inch dry peat, Then cap it with flourite of oynx(3 inches).
This works much better for the long term in either tank method and
also in the start up phase.
Pre soaking the soil is a good idea since this reduces most of the NH4
by bacteria(soak for 2-3 weeks). NH4= algae.
I think plain soil by itself is plenty rich enough to support the
plants but the flourite/oynx stuff does help when both are used.
Some have used profile, MPV turface + soil+ sand(To add more weight)
with decent results.
Then there's always the simple window sill jar test, 1 qt jars with a
plant in them, add different substrates+ a guppy etc, see how the
plant/fish/algae reacts. Run for about 2-4 weeks.
Easy way to gauge generally how a substrate behaves.
Regards,
Tom Barr
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