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My 120L Soil tank

daizeUK

daizeUK

Member
Joined
18 Jun 2013
Messages
161
Location
Berkshire
After suffering BBA meltdown in my last attempt at a scape, PinkMummy79's success story has inspired me to try a soil tank along with the invaluable guidance of members like Troi and ScienceFiction.

I'm going for something simple with not too much hardscape, mineralized topsoil substrate with a cap of Unipac Samoa coarse sand. The intention is no ferts or CO2, for as long as I can get away with it!

This was immediately after planting:
23Jun_zpsx9y6q66p.jpg

and two weeks later:
6Jul_zps88fxy0mc.jpg

Many of the plants are a bit of an experiment for me as I've never tried them before. I'm relying on staples like crypts and hygrophila which have done well for me before and on echinodorus species which I hope will appreciate the soil substrate. There's also some experimental alternathera cardinalis & reineckii mini, lilaeopsis brasiliensis, monte carlo and an aponogeton back left which is just sprouting nicely and I hope will fill out in front of the filter intake.

The plants are still busy switching to immersed form and I guess are probably running out of their stores of carbon about now so I'm bracing myself for a bit of a meltdown within the next week or two!

Lighting is 2x T8 15W bulbs, an Arcadia Tropical & Freshwater combination which was recommended to me by Troi and I'm really enjoying the rich colours it brings out. I've got these on for 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening with a 4 hour siesta in between. There's also a TMC Aquabar LED nestled in between the T8 bulbs which provides a 2 hr 'noon' burst during each photoperiod. That's on a dimmer switch so it's currently on half power and I can increase or decrease as needed.

Livestock is currently 3 platies and a bunch of hitchhiker snails who are breeding like rabbits! Soon I'll be adding my threadfin rainbows and I'm hoping to add cherry shrimp, CPD's and maybe more rainbows at a future date.

This is the first tank I've ever set up which has not been covered in diatoms within the first two weeks - so far it's completely algae free. Perhaps there really is something in this soil malarkey?! 🙂
 
Lol, yes. Bit of a bun fight! The H. polysperma has doubled in size while the H. polysperma "rosea" isn't doing very much. I knew the rosea was a bit more delicate but the difference in growth is very marked.
 
Nearly 4 weeks since planting now. Snails are helping to keep the tank clean but still there is really very little algae.
I'm very pleased with progress so far, it's exceeded my expectations. I'm not sure if the carpet plants are going to work out or how long this algae-free growth is going to last for but right now I'm just enjoying the tank for what it is. 🙂

19Jul_1_zpsu0bqovjo.jpg

My threadfins are all in the tank now and they seem to like it!
threadfins19Jul_zpszi4ibxur.jpg
 
daizeUK said:
I'm not sure if the carpet plants are going to work out or how long this algae-free growth is going to last for but right now I'm just enjoying the tank for what it is
Click to expand...

The carpet plants may be a bit shaded. Perhaps try something that tolerates lower light if this one doesn't do ok.
My tank has been algae free since its setup 2-3 years ago despite having ups and downs and problems with equipment as well, so you won't necessarily get algae.
 
Thanks SF! The lileaopsis might be getting a bit overshadowed but the monte carlo isn't shaded at all. I'm actually surprised that either of them have lasted this long without melting completely! 🙂 If they deteriorate then I was thinking of trying some small crypts like willisi and legroi and some dwarf sag.

Still no algae that the snails can't handle but I am getting lots of carbonate deposits on leaves. Troi & Darrel explained to me that this is a by-product when plants use the bicarbonates in the water as a source of carbon. My water is hard (305mg/l CaCO₃according to our water supplier) and the tank pH is 8.3 and nearly all the plants seem to be doing this. In the last pic you can actually see the tip of one of the aponogeton leaves looks whitish - that's due to scale deposits, not a reflection. It can really build up.
 
Yes, I read your other thread with the issues with the fish.
Have you monitored your Ph throughout the day and the KH? Perhaps because of the biogenic decalcification those two fluctuate which may have caused the fish to be sick. Normally what happens is the Ph rises, the Kh drops. And this stuff isn't very well tolerated by fish. I'd take a bit of time to test for that and see.

Maybe try decreasing the light duration to 6 hours in total or less without a siesta to tame the plants. I am not sure who this can be prevented long term. I do get calcium deposits on the glass but I've never had biogenic decalcification on the plants. My water is hard, but not as hard as yours, probably around 220mg/l.
Your tank is new, the soil will make it slightly more acidic in time which will help long term so things should get better.
Also, see if the issue is around certain area only, perhaps you need to get the flow better. The aponogeton seems to be under the spraybar and this is normally a dead area for flow if the filter is not strong enough. Perhaps in your hard water flow could be even more important as it will get the co2 to plants on time.
 
Hi SF, it's good! 🙂
Thanks for your suggestions about the calcification. It hasn't seemed quite as bad for the last week. There's still scale on the glass but not so much on the leaves, at least I didn't have to bother wiping them off this week. pH seems quite stable at 8.2-8.3 and I've adjusted the spraybar slightly in an attempt to get a more even flow. There was a very strong down-current at the right side of the tank which I've alleviated, more for the fishes' sake than the plants - these species aren't known for being particularly strong swimmers.

The monte carlo is actually spreading but incredibly slowly. It seems that some of the initial growth spurt on top has yellowed but there is some nice green creeping growth underneath. I'll continue to see how it gets on.

The stems were starting to look a bit overgrown so they got a trim this week.

14Aug_1_zpsttvmkjqc.jpg
 
It looks really great and healthy. I wouldn't worry one bit about anything.
White deposits on the glass have been my problem for years and it hasn't affected the fish or the plants but I haven't seen it on the plants. I don't think in the soil tank you'd have much issues with that. These tanks are extremely stable in my opinion and even if you get a bit of a deficiency here and there one day, it's pretty easy to sort out and algae is never a problem.
 
Don't take this wrong, it really is up to you. The tank looks amazing, love the jungle look.... The single tree branch looks out of place. I would either get rid or put it at another angle or try and get a few more smaller pieces into the tank. But if you like it then keep it 😀
 
Thanks for the feedback, I agree the branch is probably a bit too vertical and could be angled better aesthetically! I was attracted to this piece of wood because the natural twistiness reminds me of a kudu horn (an antelope from South Africa where I spent a year of my childhood). I also chose it for practical reasons because it stands up on its own without having a large footprint. It's not buried at all, it just rests atop a foundation of gravel so that it can be easily removed without disturbing the soil substrate. My previous layout had an immovable arrangement of artistically arranged branches and I deliberately wanted something simpler and less rigid this time around. So, I'm quite liking the wood at the moment but it's nice to hear other perspectives and I do appreciate the comments!
 
daizeUK said:
Hi SF, it's good! 🙂
Thanks for your suggestions about the calcification. It hasn't seemed quite as bad for the last week. There's still scale on the glass but not so much on the leaves, at least I didn't have to bother wiping them off this week. pH seems quite stable at 8.2-8.3 and I've adjusted the spraybar slightly in an attempt to get a more even flow. There was a very strong down-current at the right side of the tank which I've alleviated, more for the fishes' sake than the plants - these species aren't known for being particularly strong swimmers.

The monte carlo is actually spreading but incredibly slowly. It seems that some of the initial growth spurt on top has yellowed but there is some nice green creeping growth underneath. I'll continue to see how it gets on.

The stems were starting to look a bit overgrown so they got a trim this week.

14Aug_1_zpsttvmkjqc.jpg
Click to expand...
Wow that has matured beautifully...Why isn't this in the journal section as well?...it's amazing.
 
Thanks Troi! I feel a bit intimidated by all the beautiful CO2 tanks in the journals section tbh! 🙂 I'm hoping that my experiences might contain useful information for anyone else thinking of starting a soil tank, so I put it here!
 
No way should you feel intimidated - you're way better than you must think:clap::clap::clap:
...And for what it's worth there is loads of good info in your posts...😉
 
If you want to improve the carpet, I'd recommend a propagate, heated one might be better this time of year, a small section quickly grows in the right emersed conditions and you can put down huge mats that will have a much better chance of spreading in the tank.
 
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