Planted Aquarium With Miracle Grow Soil

[Dj-damo]

[font="'Arial Black"]Hi There[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]Ok well i have moved house, gone down to 1 tank 240L and i am now in the process of getting all the bits to maintain a well planted tank.[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]So far i have[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]- Co2 (from pub) not a mixture i.e 60/40 just pure co2, it does state is for food use so i presume this is ok.[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- Eheim 2078 prof E filter with 5L Eheim Ehfisubstratpro, 2L Mech Pro, JBL Phosex ultra and JBL Nitrat ex[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- I do have an Aquamanta EFX 400 but not sure if this will be needed? [/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- 2 x T5 lighting[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- I have 4 x power heads left over from my 450 litre tank. may only use 1 or 2.[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- 2 x Fluval E 300w Heaters[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- 2 x air pumps[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- Vectron 600 UV Sterelizer[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- Reverse osmosis unit for RO water[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]Will be ordering on friday[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- TMC CO2 Pressure Regulator with integrated solenoid valve. din447 connection[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- TMC AquaGro CO2 Power Diffuser 1500 (will this be to much, would like to ensure nearly 100% co2 dissolved!)[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- and some sort of bubble counter[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]Now my problem lies with the substrate[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]I was going to use the ECO complete but with further research have found that i am going to need to supplement minerals ect when it starts to wear off. as it is basically gravel laced with additives/minerals.?[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]Now i have seen a few posts with regards to using soil/dirt/compost as a base then topping with gravel.[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]The one i am looking at is miracle grow potting soil? organic as well i think.[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]what i need to know is[/font]
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[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- can i use this without spending stupid amounts of money on supplements and minerals?[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- How do i prepare the soil, i have seen posts with regards to baking ect[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- How much will i need?[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- I will want to top the soil, i heard that play sand would be good as to compact the soil also has been disinfected?? or do i leave the top bare, do i need a sand or gravel base i.e sandwiching the soil.[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- When i brought the tank and being a newbie at the time i was told to use nutrafin cycle to start the cycling process then added the fish 8 days later, do i use the same process.[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]i will more than likely be stocking with shrimps, mollies, tetras , nothing too exotic!! but i like these! not 100% but shrimps are definatley on the list!![/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]With regards to planting im not 100% sure as will take a while to see what i like and tinker with it.[/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]I would like to get this right first time!! if that's at all possible!![/font]
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[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]is there anything i should be aware off ?[/font]
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[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]All help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!![/font]
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[font="'Arial Black"]Thanks Damien[/font]
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[Primous]

]Now my problem lies with the substrate[/size][/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]I was going to use the ECO complete but with further research have found that i am going to need to supplement minerals ect when it starts to wear off. as it is basically gravel laced with additives/minerals.?

Congrats on finding that info out first!

[font="'Arial Black"]Now i have seen a few posts with regards to using soil/dirt/compost as a base then topping with gravel.[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]The one i am looking at is miracle grow potting soil? organic as well i think.[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]what i need to know is[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- can i use this without spending stupid amounts of money on supplements and minerals?[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- How do i prepare the soil, i have seen posts with regards to baking ect[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- How much will i need?[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- I will want to top the soil, i heard that play sand would be good as to compact the soil also has been disinfected?? or do i leave the top bare, do i need a sand or gravel base i.e sandwiching the soil.[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]- When i brought the tank and being a newbie at the time i was told to use nutrafin cycle to start the cycling process then added the fish 8 days later, do i use the same process.[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]i will more than likely be stocking with shrimps, mollies, tetras , nothing too exotic!! but i like these! not 100% but shrimps are definatley on the list!![/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]With regards to planting im not 100% sure as will take a while to see what i like and tinker with it.[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]I would like to get this right first time!! if that's at all possible!![/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]is there anything i should be aware off ?[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]All help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!![/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]Thanks Damien[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
[font="'Arial Black"]
[/font]
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.Ok so first up you can buy this for cheap I think a bag of miracle grow is about 3bucks.
.Don't bake it. Simply soak it over night or for at least 6 hours (I used one 12L bucket per bag to soak it in)
.I'm not sure how many bags you will need but I used 4 bags to dirt a 180L. You'll need enough to get the dirt to a depth of 1.5 inches
. You will need to cap the soil. I personally wouldn't recommend using sand because of compaction issues. I recommend you used a thin gravel such as >>>THIS<<< which is what I'm currently using in my dirt setup.


The following however may dampen your spirits a little. You need to cycle before you add dirt in fact you need to cycle before you do ANYTHING. Right now all you need is the following. Tank, filter, heater, nutrafin or api liquid test kit and a bottle of ammonia. It may be tempting to go ahead and buy dirt/plants but that would be a waste of money at this point. The cycling process is not something you can avoid. I should also stress that the bottle of nutrafin cycle is infact worthless. A sad con most of us (myself included) fall for when we're new to the hobby because the bottle contains no bacteria whatsoever, or at least not the two types of bacteria we in this hobby need. And if it did contain the bacteria we need at the point of manufacture, by the time you got it home they would have died long before that.

Your next step should be to go to the section of this forum tittled "Your new freshwater tank" and we/they will help you through the cycling process. I stress don't buy anything bar the items I listed.

 

[Dj-damo]

ok,

Im still unsure with what would be the best route, if i go the soil route, i dont technically need a filter or half the equipment i have spent money on!, or co2, just a powerhead to move the water around! as the soil will break up all the bacteria ect, and the soil will produce the co2 needed for the plant growth, or do i stick with the gravel i have, and go co2 instead! i think the soil route could be more risky and will take longer to set up and get going,

HMMMM!!

 

[Dj-damo]

1 question, why do i have to cycle before adding dirt as i would need to fill the tank then empty it again? why cant i cycle with the soil in the tank?? after soaking?

Also would it be better for me to use an aqua soil? or will mirace grow oraginc work! if miracle grow or john innes no.3, which brand is better and what type is best to go for,? potting soil, compost, mixture of both , topsoil???


Thanks Again

Damien

 

[Dj-damo]

Just to update

ive now decided to use the eco complete, 4 bags about £85..... not cheap at all, just gotta wait for the reg and am counter then should be set to go!!