How To Plant A Dirted And Capped Tank?

[super-MAGuire]

I am thinking of doing a low tec dirted tank, and understand you can use a general potting mix well sorted and soaked, capped with sand or gravel.

All i am wondering is, do you plant in the soaked mudd befor you cap with the sand or gravel, or do you cap it, fill, drain fill drain ect then plant it through the sand cap? Also what if plants are potted?

 

[Ps3Steveo]

You wanna put in your dirt john innes 3 is a good one I think, put in a nice thick cap, raise water so its level with cap, plant everything with tweezers (minimal disturbance to substrate that way) and then fill slowly, one of my fav tricks for this is get some newspaper, soak it and lay over the whole lot, plants, bare substrate, hard scape, everything, then filling is a doddle without disturbing anything, once filled take out paper.

Wow bad grammer, also take out the plants from their pots, trim roots and spread them a little while planting.

Jobs a goodun.

 

[super-MAGuire]

You wanna put in your dirt john innes 3 is a good one I think, put in a nice thick cap, raise water so its level with cap, plant everything with tweezers (minimal disturbance to substrate that way) and then fill slowly, one of my fav tricks for this is get some newspaper, soak it and lay over the whole lot, plants, bare substrate, hard scape, everything, then filling is a doddle without disturbing anything, once filled take out paper.

Wow bad grammer, also take out the plants from their pots, trim roots and spread them a little while planting.

Jobs a goodun.

Thanks very much, i thought that is how it was done, but was not 100% sure, and didnt want to take forever and ever getting the water clean lol

 

[Ps3Steveo]

So long as you have a good cap mate it wont cloud the water with sand.

 

[super-MAGuire]

So long as you have a good cap mate it wont cloud the water with sand.

Yeah, i meant then planting through the cap, i didnt know if you planted then capped so you didnt have to disturb the cap. But the minimal water in it will sort that out thanks