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Sterile vs. biotic loam/manure
First off...thanks for the advice re: getting the substrate right in my new
plant tank. One question remains though. I have been advised to use
"garden loam" rather than sterile potting soil. My assumption is that by
using garden soil I would surely introduce plenty of bacteria into the
substrate, thus allowing desireable bioactivity to occur. My fear is that
by doing this I would also introduce into the tank some critters I might not
want. Wouldn't sterile soil eventually be colonized by bacteria and anerobic
bio-degradation begin spontaneously? I would appreciate any thoughts
regarding this. I admit that the idea of digging frozen soil out of the
far-northern New Jersey tundra does not excite me!
I have also been advised by a dealer of laterite that a 2 ounce of laterite
to 25 pound of gravel ratio is ideal. What are the thoughts of the
experienced regarding this. This ratio seems a bit skimpy to me for some
reason. Will it affect results negativily to use more? Is there benefit to
using more? And lastly, what about using vermiculite?
I must admit that my reader ate my Aquatic Plants Digest #260 (the issue
which contained a response to my original post) so I never got to read it!
What response I did get from ya'all came via e-mail.
The Fluval 303 with bio-wheel is up and running (just finished installing).
I shut down half of the UGF while the bio-wheel gets cultured. I am really
anxious to get that damn UGF out of the tank, substrate mixed, and plants
planted!
Thanks again for your patience
Jack <sciguy at garden_net>
From "Toxic-Ice New Jersey", where the cold rain is lubricating the ice in
the parking lot......
"What...me worry?"