# To Dirt or Not to Dirt



## fish jihad (Mar 1, 2014)

Opinions are all over the place on this one. Some swear its the best thing since electricity, others say never again. A few tips i read while researching dirt:

1. Never more than 1" of dirt or you risk anaerobic pockets. Seen several threads of people going 2" or more and their tank smells of rotten eggs

2. Sift through the dirt to get sticks and stems out. Thats that stuff more likely to float

3. Dont mess around too much once planted. Makes a huge mess to move stuff around in a dirt tank

Now alot of people cant live with the above, but if you can then i think its worth it. First you get built in fertilizer in the dirt. Second ya get nice place for carpeters to spread. Ive read carpeters do better in dirt, escpecially microsword since its a root feeder. Third you have something crypts and vals love.
Regular substrate can work just as well, just think of dirt as a little boost for certain kinds of plants and situations.


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

if your new to the planted tank / aquarium world then stay away from dirt. you will be messing with your plants / scape too much and will make a huge mess.


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## Dustin87 (Dec 14, 2014)

I would use the dirt, i have only used dirt for all my planted tanks. I havent been into planted tanks to long though, only a couple of years and everything has been fine. Ive rescaped my tanks several times, you just have to be careful and take your time while wiggeling the them out so you do not get debri floating up. 

I usually use 1.5" of MGOPM, and 2-3" of pool filter sand. If i want more of a bank i will use nice flat rocks ( shale or slate) that fit nicely in the corner of the tank to give the dirt something to sit on to give it more depth. I usually soak the dirt for a few days to get all the floaties out ( fill with water and wait til it can absorbe the water and then dump the floaties off) I keep both GBR's and Discus in my tanks and never had a problem with gas pockets. I have DHG, HC i just got and it is carpeting nicely so far and all i dose is 15ml of metricide once a day. My AR is carpeting nice and has been in there for a few months with a nice red colour. I just got a co2 set up and some ferts and going to experiment with them now. 

Dont think i would do a tank without dirt!


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## Izzy- (Jun 11, 2014)

Whenever i uproot plants, close to no dirt at all rises up with it. Yes it sometimes gets messy, but nothing out of hand. 

In my opinion, go for it. 
Just do your research, and make sure to follow most dirt rules.

I know i won't be going back to non-dirt substrates anytime soon lol


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## skim (Jan 28, 2015)

Thanks for the feed back guys, I have had planted tanks in the best so its not totally new and have a Reef Tank now. I have this 100 gal with some Tetras and Angel and a few Clown Loaches but I have decided to tare down and put some effort into making it look better. So far this is what I am working with.
Kessil 150 Amazon Lights
Eheim canister filter
Eco-Complete substrate
Some nice Wood pieces.
A good healthy quantity of Plants about $260.00 worth from a supplier up here.
I am also looking into getting set up with CO2.
Ya I think I will give the dirt a try, I guess I will pick it up tomorrow.

Thanks again.

Skim


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## SouthernGorilla (Mar 22, 2012)

Dirt! Dirt! Dirt! Don't fret over the myths about dirted tanks. I will never use anything other than dirt again.

I just moments ago finished adding about two cubic feet of dirt to our new 75-gallon tank. It worked out to something like 3-4" deep. I'll measure it later. It will compact a bit when I add water. So I might still add more dirt before I cap it with the sand.

The thing about dirt is that it is what plants grow in. I know that's kind of a "duh" statement. But the difference between our first dirted tank and our previous planted tank was absolutely amazing. You don't have to worry about fertilizers because dirt is what plants eat. The added ammonia and nitrogen from the fish waste is exactly the same as what you'd get from commercial fertilizers for you garden.

The plants in our last tank grew faster and bigger than we could keep up with. If we'd had better lighting, and less hungry snails, we'd have been able to grow anything in that tank. Our new tank has better lighting and won't have voracious snails. So I'm expecting amazing things from it.

There are things to remember about dirt tanks, but I wouldn't call them problems.

First, you definitely need a cap over the dirt. We typically run one-half to one inch of sand. This keeps the dirt from washing into the water column.

Second, yes, dirt will "fart" into the tank some times. Big deal. It doesn't nuke the tank. You just see some bubbles rise to the surface where there is no airstone. This happens in lakes and rivers all the time without causing mass destruction. Although I have been told these gasses are what cause plane crashes in the Bermuda triangle. So be careful if you fly planes over your tank. These gasses are the result of things breaking down into other things plants can eat. Think of it like timed-release fertilizers.

Third, depth is important. I'm actually designing my dream tank around the idea of not having the substrate in the viewing window because I want the substrate much deeper than normal. Plants don't send out just shallow roots barely under the surface. They dig down as well. It also turns out that anaerobic bacteria are the ones that finish off the nitrites (or is it nitrates? I can't keep the two straight). So having substrate deep enough to let these bacteria flourish can be beneficial to your tank. I genuinely believe the people who diss dirt do so because they only use an inch or so of substrate like they would with sand or gravel. Yes, deeper substrate steals space from the viewing window. That's a trade-off I'll gladly accept for now. When I do build my dream tank it will have space for 6-8 inches of dirt below the viewing window.

I confess I am a zealot for dirt. But that's only because I have seen firsthand the difference it makes. Plants are so much happier with it.


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## ROYWS3 (Feb 1, 2014)

SouthernGorilla said:


> It also turns out that anaerobic bacteria are the ones that finish off the nitrites (or is it nitrates? I can't keep the two straight). So having substrate deep enough to let these bacteria flourish can be beneficial to your tank.


 Yes, it's nitrates


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## Ben125 (Dec 16, 2014)

Ive used dirt and eco complete. Eco complete is better but dirt is cheaper. If you have a small tank or an unlimited budget, I'd just go all out and get eco complete or aquasoil. If you have a really big tank, dirt is the way to go.


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## Kareen (Apr 6, 2013)

I have two 125g tanks both dirt/w sand cap I use osmocotet+, Flourish Excel and my plants grow really good if you need to pull up a plant do it very slowly or if you don't like a plant just cut it down to the root there all kinds of little tricks. Good luck with your tank


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

You don't need dirt, there so many choices for substrate out there that will give you great results. ADA AquaSoil being the top dog right now. 

All you need is a nutrient base substrate (ADA, Seachem) and some fertilizers:









And...









Monster energy drink is optional.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Not all dirt is made the same.

Use fine worm castings + montmorillonite clay as a binder, mix in your choice of zeolite, diatomite, charcoal, or activated carbon (anything with high CEC as a buffer/nutrient storage). Use the dry start method.

Or you can buy ADA for 10x the price for the same effect. http://bialix.com/amania/Chapters/Tech/sub-aquasoils_en.html It's basically the same ingredients baked at high heat, but after a year or two it crumbles back to the same thing.

*also not all worm castings are made the same, so sprinkle in some bone meal for trace elements


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## BulletToothBoris (Jan 17, 2013)

Dirt.


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## King of Hyrule (Apr 29, 2013)

Go with dirt. You'll have more trouble with getting plants to stick in Eco-complete, than trouble with dirt.

I have dirt 29G capped with Eco-Complete and it has worked very well. There lots of videos and post on how to dirt a tank online, its remarkably easy. 

My advise:

Filter all the little wood bit out of the MGO, before using it. I used a kitchen strainer and 5 gallon bucket.

Add water very, very slowly to a dirt tank. 

You'll want a couple inches of dirt to let the roots get nice and deep. Over time the dirt will compress. 

Eco-complete is a nice substrate (I use it myself), but it doesn't hold a slop well. You want a cap of about an inch. Keep it level. 

With dirt you don't need to add any fertilizers. the soil will provide for your plants. (You save $$$).

Plant growth can be slow at first but once the roots reach the dirt, wow! Things really start to grow, so give your plants time. 

Dirt is good stuff, and you'll have a nice lush tank because of it. Watch every video you can find online and read every post you can. 

My dirt and Eco-complete tank


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