Have I done this correctly? "Dirted" planted tank

[MattW]

So I've been gathering materials and such over the last few weeks for my future planted 90L aquarium. I've got all the hardscape and nearly all the substrate ready. The plants I have planned are currently in the fry tank being tormented by bladder snails, and the soil I chose was a cheap "top soil" 20L bag from a UK chain store. (See below)

Product Description
Homebase Top Soil is made from natural loam, blended with nutrient rich organic matter.
It is ideal for topping up existing borders, creating raised beds for vegetables, salads and herbs and creating new lawns.

• For lawn preparation and general planting
• Adds nutrients, helps retain moisture and improves soil structure
• Peat free

Since this is my first-ever attempt at a "dirted tank" method. I am still unsure whether I'm doing it correctly as I've only ever used aqua soil previously. I've seen some people add water to the soil a day or two before to remove any unwanted components. So what I did was both. I had one bucket with water that was added over 36hrs ago and one without. The smell from the one with water was awful compared to the one without. I also feel that the soil seems a bit too thick and needs to be sieved to a finer size.

Is there something I've done wrong? And Is the soil I bought ok for use in a dirted tank? I would have preferred to use soil from the garden but I believe that it has plant fertilizers added every few years.

Thanks!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

The soil you bought should be fine, as long as it doesn't have any synthetic fertilizers. Don't worry too much about sifting out the big chunks; I like to think that they decompose more slowly and so stretch out the length of time that nutrients are available.

Use an inch of soil, and cap it with two inches of sand. Add lots of rooted plants. (Crypts and swords especially seem to enjoy a dirted substrate) The soil will release ammonia and CO2 for several weeks, which will help your plants get off to a good start. Make sure your ammonia is reading zero before you add fish. After a year or so, the nutrients can become depleted and you might find yourself needing to add root tabs.

And yes, submerged soil will smell terrible if it is disturbed. Ever sink into the muck at the bottom of a pond? That's exactly what you're creating. So you want to avoid burrowing fish and generally avoid disturbing the substrate once it's in. It won't get too anaerobic if you have lots of plant roots, but it will cloud your water, smell terrible, and won't do your fish any good.

 

[MattW]

The soil you bought should be fine, as long as it doesn't have any synthetic fertilizers. Don't worry too much about sifting out the big chunks; I like to think that they decompose more slowly and so stretch out the length of time that nutrients are available.

Use an inch of soil, and cap it with two inches of sand. Add lots of rooted plants. (Crypts and swords especially seem to enjoy a dirted substrate) The soil will release ammonia and CO2 for several weeks, which will help your plants get off to a good start. Make sure your ammonia is reading zero before you add fish. After a year or so, the nutrients can become depleted and you might find yourself needing to add root tabs.

And yes, submerged soil will smell terrible if it is disturbed. Ever sink into the muck at the bottom of a pond? That's exactly what you're creating. So you want to avoid burrowing fish and generally avoid disturbing the substrate once it's in. It won't get too anaerobic if you have lots of plant roots, but it will cloud your water, smell terrible, and won't do your fish any good.

Thank you! The idea at the moment is a large crypt carpet at the front and a large amount of fast-growing stems at the back. The only thing that would be moving any substrate would be amano shrimp but a 2+ inch substrate cap should be ok like you said and should keep the soil packed down. The stocking will be my sawbwa resplendens fry + amanos + bladder snails.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Thank you! The idea at the moment is a large crypt carpet at the front and a large amount of fast-growing stems at the back. The only thing that would be moving any substrate would be amano shrimp but a 2+ inch substrate cap should be ok like you said and should keep the soil packed down. The stocking will be my sawbwa resplendens fry + amanos + bladder snails.

That should be fine. Amano shrimp won't disturb your substrate at all. Now crayfish are a different story. They love nothing better than moving large amounts of dirt from one place to another.

 

[MaloK]

Yes, we had wild crayfishes and they where plowing the bottom all the time, like little dozers.

Edit:
Oh! and I remember too, They would grip themselves somewhere and use their tail to dig faster and that was blowing a lot of crap in the water.