# Mineralization required?



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

sounds like a walstad tank. 

here's a how to about it:

http://thegab.org/Plants/setting-up-a-walstad-natural-planted-tank.html


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## helgymatt (Dec 7, 2007)

I'm not sure what you are asking - Isn't all soil mineralized? Just get good topsoil, not compost or manure. I have read micacle grow organic and shultz top soil are good.

I would suggest pool filter sand on top of the soil.


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## celine (Nov 19, 2010)

oldpunk78: yes, i suppose it's a walstad, but i've seen all this stuff about mineralization, getting it wet, letting it dry, repeat, and i wasn't sure if those two go hand in hand, or if they're completely seperate styles of setting up soil-based tanks.

helgymatt: is there a big difference betweed play sand and pool filter sand? besides the fact that for 50lbs of play sand it only costs $3.00? (which is why i'm leaning twords play sand, lol)


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## helgymatt (Dec 7, 2007)

celine said:


> oldpunk78: yes, i suppose it's a walstad, but i've seen all this stuff about mineralization, getting it wet, letting it dry, repeat, and i wasn't sure if those two go hand in hand, or if they're completely seperate styles of setting up soil-based tanks.
> 
> helgymatt: is there a big difference betweed play sand and pool filter sand? besides the fact that for 50lbs of play sand it only costs $3.00? (which is why i'm leaning twords play sand, lol)


I plan on setting up a tank with Pool filter sand. From what I read, pool filter sand does not compact like pool filter sand. Pool filter sand is said to be better for the plants because of this. 

I would not worry about wetting and drying the soil - just add it in the tank and wet down the soil, then add the sand.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

i highly advise against the use of play sand as a cap for what you're going to do. it would probably go anerobic.


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## celine (Nov 19, 2010)

helgymatt, thanks!

even if i put in MTS?


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## celine (Nov 19, 2010)

also, would pool filter sand be safe for cories?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

If you don't mineralize the topsoil, which means doing something to convert the organic nitrogen compounds to inorganic nitrogen compounds, you can have a very smelly tank for a few weeks after setup. And, you could run into ammonia problems, but probably not. I did a tank with river silt, which was soaked and dried only one time, so it was not well mineralized. It was a great substrate, under Soilmaster, but it stunk up the house for a week or more. Made the place smell like a swamp.


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## celine (Nov 19, 2010)

oh......my mother would kill me if that happened, lol. that doesn't sound pleasant


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Try doing the dry start method with soils and then you get established plants and no work, and after 4-8 weeks, the soil is well oxidized(which is to say......more specifically........what the mineralization is actually doing).

Then you fill the tank and the do a couple of water changes, you are good to go, tank is all grown in, and soil is well established.

Unlike the process often suggested by MTS proponents, this method established the colonies of anaerobic bacteria and aerobes and links them with the plant roots. So once the oxidation is complete, about 3-4 weeks in.......the bacterial colonies and roots are not disturbed one bit.

So plants and bacteria grown far better and are much more stable than with the other methods. Plus you have plenty of plants that grew in well during the last 4-8 weeks.
Start to finish:









































Simple, easier than any other start method for an aquarium.
No work/labor and no algae.

MTS snails BTW, will offer you virtually zero help for anaerobic conditions.

Folks that claim this have never once *measured Redox in sediments and added these vs not adding them.* That type of test is what is required to say much. Maybe it was the plant roots pumping O2 into the soil and had nothing to do with the presence absence of the MTS snails?

I do not have them and yet my sediment is just fine.
So I find little factual basis for such claims.
Maybe it's just wishful myth and thinking I'd suggest.



Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

You don't have to. It's really to give the soil a really good head start. Over time any soil will mineralize in the aquarium.


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## celine (Nov 19, 2010)

tom, that's a really long time! i've already had this tank set up for 2 months trying to fishless cycle it....which failed miserably. and it now has sterbai cories and a ton of plants floating around waiting to be planted, because i got tired of waiting and decided i'd just stuff it with plants and move on.

so i've been researching the walstad method (like the above link posted by oldpunk (sorry, i can't make links, i'm at a kiddie play place that happens to have internet, lol and doesn't let me open any new tabs.....babysitting....) and since i'm going to need to set the tank up, plant, fill, and stick the fish in pretty soon after, what would be my best option? just going with the plain walstad method without worrying about "mineralizing", other than just setting the soil out and letting it dry, and sifting, or doing something else? also, would i need to add anything else in? like dolomite or minerals?

oh, thanks for all your help everybody! i'm really trying my hardest to make the best environment i can for my plants and fish and i really appreciate yall helping me out!!


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

You still are 2-3 weeks in no matter what.

Question is........do you want to do a lot more work and water changes while the plants grow in??

Or........just wait and have them grow in and no work while this goes on?

You can add things right away and then do frequent water changes to remove the excess NH4, but no matter what, you are still not going avoid waiting for the plants to grow in, and the plants will grow in faster and better without water in the tank. 

And there's no risk of algae till you add water.

Hard to beat that.

Also, if you ever want to do FC for the filters, simply run the filter in a bucket with the NH3 added there, not the whole tank, then after 3-4 weeks, you are ready. The last option might be adding zeolite to the filter initially to chemically remove the NH4 during the start up.

Still, most end up doing frequent water changes and work during the initial plant grow in stage if they decide to fill it asap.

Patience is really a good thing here.

You end up with a nicer tank at the end of the day and it takes you much much less work to do it.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## celine (Nov 19, 2010)

yes, well the problem is i have zero patience, lol. and i already have fish inhabiting the tank that i don't think would appreciate loosing their home for 3 weeks...i wish i had learned about the other method first, tho. 

i don't mind doing wc's so much, but is there anything i should do to keep the soil safe or is it all good?


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