# Dirt substrate leaking through sand!



## milesm (Apr 4, 2006)

my suggestion would be to skip the dirt and just use root tabs. pulling up established plants will always bring up dirt.


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## Frank158 (Oct 1, 2013)

There are so many ways to do things in this hobby of keeping a planted tank. Dirt - Root tabs - dosing water column

Your choice to pick whichever one you want, do some research on the various methods and have fun. I like to move plants around so just stick to dosing the water column.


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

Stefi said:


> I planted my tank with a dirt substrate and capped with about an inch of sand however when I was busy planting, the stems pulled up layers of dirt and see floated to the surface..now I can't seem to stop the dirt from leaking all over the tank, I am thinking of starting over with Tetra Active substrate as I plan to add/remove plants in future and don't want to be dealing with this mess from dirt substrate! ..I assume I will need to let it cycle again before adding fish. Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice would be appreciated.



#1 If all dirt is sifted then soaked to remove floating material, cap breaches only make a localized mess that doesn't float and a quick vacuum of an area cleans it right up.
Turn off the filter and start trimming or pulling.

#2 If something is really rooted too well, I cut with scissors deep under the cap. The roots left behind will just rot away.

#3 Plants seem to always enjoy dirt the most. We have to adapt a bit and change our game a bit.


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

+1 to everything Guppy said. Root tabs are not a substitute for dirt - among other benefits, you'll miss out on an easy, reliable co2 source.

I find a thin layer of gravel between the sand and dirt helps reduce cap breach a little. You might already be doing this, but using a larger grain sand like pool filter or black diamond blasting grit also helps.


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## slipfinger (Jun 8, 2016)

Stefi said:


> I planted my tank with a dirt substrate and capped with about an inch of sand however when I was busy planting, the stems pulled up layers of dirt and see floated to the surface..now I can't seem to stop the dirt from leaking all over the tank, I am thinking of starting over with Tetra Active substrate as I plan to add/remove plants in future and don't want to be dealing with this mess from dirt substrate! ..I assume I will need to let it cycle again before adding fish. Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice would be appreciated.


Its been mentioned already about soaking and sifting the dirt before placing it in the tank, did you do this?

Did you research dirted tanks before you started on this adventure? You seem to be acting surprised that dirt came up when you pulled plants.

There are so many positives to using soil, but you have to be prepared for cap breaches. No matter what you do they are going to happen.....


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