Dirted tank

[ehh]

Taking a stab at setting up a dirted tank. 10 gallons.

This will be my third attempt at a planted tank.

This is what it looked like last night.


I did a 100% change about an hour ago and it's about half that murky now. I'll do another water change later today.

I'll post updates in this thread.

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

When setting up a dirted tank it's vital to add a cap layer, I'll explain...

I normally go the fluorite route when it comes to planted tanks, however in the last 3 years I've gotten more in depth with going the mineralied topsoil route. Mineralized Topsoil is where I'll go with multiple soaking then drying of the topsoil, normally 4-5 times I soak in water for 24-48 hours, then dump the water and then layout the topsoil on a tarp for 3-4 days to completely dry, this method brings out the nutrients to be immediately available to the plants.

So I normally go with 2"-3" of mineralized topsoil and cap it with 1/4" of play sand or gravel depending on the look I'm going for with the tank. The cap stops any dirt from rising in the water, this way you don't end up with a tank of muddy water.

Here's my 30 gallon long tank 30"x12"x16", it's setup using mineralized topsoil with flourite as a cap.

 

[smitty03281964]

xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx thank you, thank you for the information. This is the benefit of joining in with other members.

 

[ehh]

When setting up a dirted tank it's vital to add a cap layer, I'll explain...

I normally go the fluorite route when it comes to planted tanks, however in the last 3 years I've gotten more in depth with going the mineralied topsoil route. Mineralized Topsoil is where I'll go with multiple soaking then drying of the topsoil, normally 4-5 times I soak in water for 24-48 hours, then dump the water and then layout the topsoil on a tarp for 3-4 days to completely dry, this method brings out the nutrients to be immediately available to the plants.

So I normally go with 2"-3" of mineralized topsoil and cap it with 1/4" of play sand or gravel depending on the look I'm going for with the tank. The cap stops any dirt from rising in the water, this way you don't end up with a tank of muddy water.

Here's my 30 gallon long tank 30"x12"x16", it's setup using mineralized topsoil with flourite as a cap.

Thanks. I filled it up about 2" and realized I needed a cap lol. So I tried to drain as much of the water as I could then I added a top layer of sand. It's not that dark at all now. I've changed the water twice and it's really cleared up. A lot of the surface debris has sunk too.

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

Dirted tanks are awesome because of the nutrients that dirt contains are great for growing plants, but the downside of them are that once the tank is planted it's a pain in the arse to rearrange the tank without messing it up.

 

[SandNukka15]

I would definitely drain it all the way and cap it.....gravel is better to use then sand for dirted tanks.... I also love dirted tanks my 75 looks like a jungle

 

[ehh]

The tank looks a lot better now. I used sand because I'm gonna put Cory cats in there.

Looking forward to putting some plants in it.

 

[convict360]

I would definitely drain it all the way and cap it.....gravel is better to use then sand for dirted tanks.... I also love dirted tanks my 75 looks like a jungle

View attachment 1155352

Nice!

 

[ehh]

Update. Soil is still release a ton of tannins into the tank. I do a 100% change and 24 hours later the water is as dark as syrup lol.

 

[Manu8__too]

It will probably take a while to clear up in regards to tannins. You could try running some Purigen to clear the water column. What type of lights are you going to run, co2, ferts etc?