Top Soil

[minnnt]

Decided to move my 35 litre into my 55 litre tank, and am considering using top soil for the substrate. Is this worth it or is it a lot of hassle? I have seen other people use it and it looks great, but is it a P.I.T.A. to look after? Will it cloud the water everytime it is touched or is it like play sand?

Is it worth it for the extra nutrients or not?

Will it cause an ammonia spike at any time?

 

[Katch]

You use it capped. Look up mineralized soil. It's a PITA to get it ready but once done the whole point it that it is a low maintenance option. The Walsted method uses mineralized top soil; also called EI Natural. Lots of good articles on ukaps.

I'm in the process of setting up a 30L soil tank as a test.

 

[minnnt]

Thanks for the info. Not sure i like the idea of it being capped though.

I would be adding TPN+ and Flourish Excel so maybe the soil wouldn't be needed?! Just looking for something to add a bit more.

 

[stu40]

Cat lit seems to be flavour of the month ATM.Again, needs capping though.

 

[minnnt]

I would be using clay balls underneath the top soil if i went for this option which would do a similar job...

 

[micko]

I've seen "aquatic compost" in my local garden centre for £5 for an 80ltr bag. Would you not try this?

 

[minnnt]

Yeah i was considering this too... Would that work? Maybe i should just forget it and go with my black gravel?

 

[Katch]

Cat lit seems to be flavour of the month ATM.Again, needs capping though.

you can use it uncapped.

Any uncapped soil is going to make your tank cloudy.

 

[micko]

The only thing that's stopping me from giving it a go is my girlfriend, "no more tanks" blah blah blah. I will try it when I get the others set up when I get my shed sorted but until then I think I'm just going to have to leave it until I can

 

[minnnt]

I might just stick with the rabbit poo and my black gravel. Less hassle

 

[micko]

Aaaah so you use the rabbit droppings?
Its something I've read about but never tried. How do you use it? Obviously you dry it out but then what?

 

[minnnt]

I rescaped my tank then just pushed the pellets into the substrate around the plants. The setup is low tech, and no ferts are used so any improvement will be from that and nothing else. Its only been in about 5-6 days. I started a thread about it.

Haven't seen any negative effects yet, no ammonia etc, and the plants are looking great.

Collected the poo about a week before then dried it further in the greenhouse for a week then added it. No smell so its not as bad as it sounds.

 

[Katch]

It makes sense - rabbits basically just process grass into nitrogen rich pellets.

Ah this is interesting here's the NPK composition of rabbit poo:

2.4 - 1.4 - .60

Rabbit manure
Rabbit manure is even higher in nitrogen than some poultry manures and it also contains a large amount of phosphorus--important for flower and fruit formation.
source

I'd always proceed with caution when using it. It does have a high organic content and this will break down in your tank releasing ammonia. Whether it realeases enough to be a problem I am not sure and would depend on how much you used.

There is also the real posibility of introducing some sort of pathogen into your aquarium.

Possibly worth considering the potential loss of stock if something went wrong against the cost of a proven aquarium root tab (tpn+ caps are my fav).

 

[minnnt]

No ammonia as of yet, and water changes are twice a week so can't see any issues really. If I don't see no benefit in a month or so of doing it then I will cease to add it.