Soil and mesh bags and established tanks?

[embsidney20]

Hi! Basically covered that in the title lol

I'm sick of watching my planted plants perish and am under the impression I can use soil within mesh bags so I can keep my sand as a topper?

Could anyone recommend which soil will be best for an established aquarium, I have lots of fish and don't want tons of ammonia leaking out! And if you can, bonus points for a recommendation on what bags to buy for it so the roots can get in but not enough for the soil to get out

Thank you

 

[Wills]

Have you seen this on MD Fishtanks? I think he uses his own mix of substrates but I think the soil component is Tropica Aquarium Soil and he uses it in nylon bags with nylon zips which is the important part as metal zips will rust.

It is a good technique but would mean you have to totally empty your tank is that ok?

An other option to look into are root tabs which are little pellets/tablets that you push into the sand/gravel under your plants and it produces the same thing of nutrients around the roots.

Wills

 

[embsidney20]

Ahh no i haven't, I will go have a watch now, thank you!

I think Tropica was one that leaches out lots of ammonia for a while?? Might be wrong there. I have thought about root tabs but my pleco and my cories are all fully grown and make quite a mess of things when they are foraging so I think I would just end up with pellets everywhere long term

Just found the nylon bags, they look perfect for any of the soils I've seen so now I just need to know what is safe! No issues emptying the tank, I will take it as a good opportunity for a rescape and definitely going plant shopping just before I start haha

 

[Wills]

Ahh no i haven't, I will go have a watch now, thank you!

I think Tropica was one that leaches out lots of ammonia for a while?? Might be wrong there. I have thought about root tabs but my pleco and my cories are all fully grown and make quite a mess of things when they are foraging so I think I would just end up with pellets everywhere long term

Just found the nylon bags, they look perfect for any of the soils I've seen so now I just need to know what is safe! No issues emptying the tank, I will take it as a good opportunity for a rescape and definitely going plant shopping just before I start haha

Any aquarium soil will leach ammonia for a week or two, Tropica, ADA, JBL. Its just the nature of how they are made, they are balls of crushed lava rock that have been mixed with nutrients and organic elements designed to feed plants.

If you use a non aquarium branded soil - eg a type of peat or compost. It is possible but research really carefully as there have been some true horror stories. I believe you can get pond compost which is a good option but use it really sparingly and also test your water as I think these have a reputation for ammonia in the early days too.

Wills

 

[embsidney20]

Thank you so much. If it only needs to be managed for a couple of weeks would it be possible to keep on top of it for the fish with lots of water changes? I also have some emergency stuff that supposedly neutralises ammonia? Not sure if that's wise to use at all lol

 

[Wills]

Thank you so much. If it only needs to be managed for a couple of weeks would it be possible to keep on top of it for the fish with lots of water changes? I also have some emergency stuff that supposedly neutralises ammonia? Not sure if that's wise to use at all lol

Its hard to say, especially if you are putting a layer of sand over the top, its meant to help avoid ammonia getting into the water just make sure you cover the bags not just on top but over the sides too. If you do this route make sure you do water tests daily and water change accordingly, you are still putting your fish at risk usually in an aquascaped tank people dont add fish untill week 2 or 3 but still do all the water changes. I think the recommendation is first week ever day, second week every other day, third week every 3 days, fourth week 2 a week then onto 1 a week.

Wills

 

[Colin_T]

Before you change the substrate, how about telling us about the current set up and the plants you are losing?

You can grow plants in gravel with a bit of iron based aquarium plant fertiliser. I have had numerous plant tanks over the years and only one had carbon dioxide (CO2) and none had sand or plant substrate.

Most aquatic plants do well with water, gravel, light and fertiliser.

Most aquatic plants take the majority of the nutrients they need, from the water via their leaves.

--------------
The main reasons people lose aquarium plants are :
1) lack of light
2) lack of nutrients
3) terrestrial or garden plants being sold as aquarium plants.

 

[Lynnzer]

This is the setup I followed. I got lots of information from both James and Nicole at Horizon as they are an easy drive away. The result is very satisfying but although I used cycled filters and put fish straight into the tank I had to water change regularly every couple or three days until the ammonia stabilised. The plants got established vey quickly and you may see a flower coming through on one of the Anubias.
It also produced a fair amount of biofilm that attached itself to the glass and wooden hardscape.

It's a 60cm x 40 x 40 tank that is still achieving good plant growth and it's inhabited by CPD's, Chili Rasboras, Panda Corys and Oto's that helps clean the biofilm.
I'll put the tank online for you in a few minutes once the lights come on. These are the new Chihiros Vivid 2 lights that are amazing.
Here's the link : It's now showing live.
For a resume of what I used for soil, substrate etc I posted build details on the forum. The actual build is here