Muddy Bottom

[mrbudgie]

Hi all

Is it possible to have a muddy bottom instead of a gravel based one

cheers ian

 

[WILDER]

As in muddy bottom do you mean soil.

 

[mrbudgie]

yep a soil type bottom

 

[WILDER]

I would do some research into in them as I know that you have to be careful of pesticides and chemicals in the soil, so you would have to sterlise it.

http/home.infinet.net/teban/how-to.html

 

[mrbudgie]

any 1 here ever tried a mud/soil/peat based tank bottom

 

[ibbledibble]

Interesting article here by Diana Walstad author of Ecology of the Planted Aquarium.

she actually recommends using a soil substrate in a planted tank and explains how it actually improves ammonia removal.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

What are you wanting to use it for? I know of people that have used soil for planted tanks (it is treat and not just dug from the garden and dropped in ) but normally top it off with gravel or sand to stop it clouding the water.

 

[Dave Spencer]

http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/19...ed-Dosing-It-3/

Dave.

 

[mrbudgie]

What are you wanting to use it for? I know of people that have used soil for planted tanks (it is treat and not just dug from the garden and dropped in ) but normally top it off with gravel or sand to stop it clouding the water.

i just fancied doing something different and thought it might look nice

 

[PRW1988]

Have you thought of sand?

 

[aluno]

ive read to breed plecosotomus's you have to try and mimic the natural environment using earthy banks and fast flowing waters so i assume it can be done, but this is however a proffesional standard of breeding.
I often see in shops heavily planted aquariums for selling underwater flora with a few neons in there so y dont you ask in your LFS if they have any leftovers you could dispose of for them
i assume it can be done but im not sure how you would make it sterile,

maybe using a UV filter attached to a canister filter with no media in to allow the dirt to pass through or would this clog the pump. im sure some sites out there somewhere must be able to sell soil for awautic purposes.

im sure other people will be much more help but i like sand myself so havent looked into it too hard.

 

[nurglespuss]

Not sure if this would work, but.... Does miracle mud have a salt content already in it? If it doesnt this would be a gread base....

 

[chrisdoesntmiss]

any 1 here ever tried a mud/soil/peat based tank bottom

I have used pure peat before, it became rather messy so mixed it with some childrens playsand, much better.

Chris

 

[mrbudgie]

well my plan is to order a new 4ft tank and get the 3d tree root backdrop so i thought the mud bottom would add to the whole effect and look quite pleasing on the eye.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Not sure if this would work, but.... Does miracle mud have a salt content already in it? If it doesnt this would be a gread base....

Wouldn't recommend it. For one it costs a fortune and two it is full of stuff that lives in SW so most likely has at least some SW and will end up with a lot of dead stuff if it is kept in FW. I like your thinking though

You might want to take a look at the ada powersoil range. This is designed for planted tanks and also costs loads but looks quite good.