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peat substrate
>From: John Hawkins <jhawkins at ix_netcom.com>
Subject: Substrate Questions
John wrote:
I'm about to setup a 120 gal. planted Discus tank and could use some =
suggestions regarding substrate. I've read the articles on the Krib, but
=
some of those I found were 3 years old. During my readings I came to the
=
conclusion that this hobby has gained a great deal of knowledge over the
=
past few years and I want to make certain that I make my decision based
=
upon current knowledge/thinking.
I plan to use #1 or #2 gravel and will use Dupla's DuplaRit G =
(laterite). My question regards the use of peat moss as a substrate =
additive. I read some articles that discuss the advantages of using peat
=
moss in the substrate and others that mention concern regarding the peat
=
becoming aerobic. My initial interest regarding peat stems from my use =
of it as a filtering agent. I thought that if I could use it in the =
substrate, filtering may become a cleaner job. However, I do not want to
=
risk losing hundreds of dollars of fish because the substrate poisoned =
the tank.=20
I was considering layering (bottom to top) the following:
1/2 inch to 1 inch of gravel
1/2 inch to 1 inch of peat
1/2 inch to 1 inch of gravel
laterite (any reason why I shouldn't use granular as opposed to balls?)
top layer of gravel - about 1 to 1.5 inches
Thanks in advance for any advice. Please feel free to email me directly.
Best Regards,
John Hawkins
Tampa, Florida
>jhawkins at ix_netcom.com
John,
I set up my 70 gallon tank in April with a topsoil/vermiculite and
silica sand substrate.
After three months it is producing large bubbles of what I assume are
hydrogne sulfide. It doesn't smell and the silica sand keeps the dirt
from actually entering the water column.
The water was slightly cloudy (very slight) and I added a filter pad to
my wet portion of the filter. This seemed to clear it up and the bubbles
don't seem to affect anything yet.
On the plus side: THE PLANTS love the soil. you can see the roots going
down through the sand and into the dirt. A little vein of dirt came up
into the sand and a Val offshoot followed the vein down!
On the negative side: I'm worried about the bubbling gas! I don't know
what the long term affect will be. I plan on buying regular gravel and
laterite to have on hand to tear the tank down and restart on a VERY
short notice, (i.e. as soon as the spouse says "What's that smell).
So, to not answer your question, I have real mixed feelings about
peat/soil substrates. It may turn out to be great or it may be a
horrible disaster! I do know one thing, there will be no middle ground
to this setup! When it goes bad I feel it's really gonna' go!
Be careful!
Bill Ruff