# Safe T Sorb substrate ...



## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

Planning on switching my substrate from pool filter sand to safe t sorb but I have a few questions about it first. Does it need a cap? And if I'm dosing dry ferts do i NEED root tabs for heavy root feeders? I'm having problems with the osmocote root tabs causing ammonia spikes in my 10 gallon and the osmocote balls always seem to come up to the surface of the sand (I hate seeing it lol)

If I do still need root tabs will the safe t sorb help keep the osmocote balls buried better than pool filter sand?

Also is there different types of safe t sorb? If so which should I get?

If you have pics of your tanks with just safe t sorb for substrate (no cap no dirt) I would love to see it and how the plants are growing in it.

Thank you


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

Montmorillonite clay(safe-t-sorb, kitty litter,turface pro etc) are very, VERY light. You can use it as a stand alone substrate but you still would want to treat it like any other substrate like eco-complete, floramax etc. It has no nutrients so you'd want to add nutrients first or, before adding livestock(O+, root tabs). However, Montmorillonite clays are especially good at both absorbing and adsorping nutrients(high CEC). One problem I've read and been told about us the tendency for these products to kill your kh. So manual buffering on your part is a must. Or, you can use a Gh increasing agent BEFORE adding livestock.


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

Thank you!!


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

I'll see if I can find a picture real quick with my newest dirt set-up that has a kitty litter cap and post for you.

Bump:


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

HDBenson said:


> I'll see if I can find a picture real quick with my newest dirt set-up that has a kitty litter cap and post for you.
> 
> Bump:


Heyyyy I said no dirt or cap hahaha jk it's ok I just wanted to see if anyone had used it by itself and had success!! It's still nice to see others tanks though  and yours is very nice!! 

I don't know what my gh and kh levels are :/ I don't have a test for them but would my water company be able to tell me the info? Aren't those tests expensive? Ugh why can't having a pretty tank be simple lol


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

HDBenson said:


> Montmorillonite clay(safe-t-sorb, kitty litter,turface pro etc) are very, VERY light. You can use it as a stand alone substrate but you still would want to treat it like any other substrate like eco-complete, floramax etc. It has no nutrients so you'd want to add nutrients first or, before adding livestock(O+, root tabs). However, Montmorillonite clays are especially good at both absorbing and adsorping nutrients(high CEC). One problem I've read and been told about us the tendency for these products to kill your kh. So manual buffering on your part is a must. Or, you can use a Gh increasing agent BEFORE adding livestock.


What would you recommend for a gh increasing agent?


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## sadchevy (Jun 15, 2013)

pure saf-t-sorb 125g tank











saf-t-sorb will eventually equalize with your source water, it affects kh more than gh.


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

sadchevy said:


> pure saf-t-sorb 125g tank


Awesome!! Thank you so much!! Beautiful tank by the way!! Did you have any problems with it?


Edit: sorry didn't see the text under the pic lol so even if I don't add a gh increasing agent it will be ok?


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## sadchevy (Jun 15, 2013)

No problems at all. I do use seachem root tabs and jobes house plant fertilizer sticks in the substrate. Saf-t-sorb will lower your Kh and ph for awhile. I just let it run its course. Plants and fish have done just fine.


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

sadchevy said:


> No problems at all. I do use seachem root tabs and jobes house plant fertilizer sticks in the substrate. Saf-t-sorb will lower your Kh and ph for awhile. I just let it run its course. Plants and fish have done just fine.


Thank you!!!!!!


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

Here's a thread I started about using Montmorillonite clay and Laterite combined to create an ultimate substrate. It may answer a few questions or, cover some things you didn't think about. 

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=859697


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

Where can I get laterite? Anyone know?


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

Nvm got some ... and if anyone else is wondering petsmart has it!


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

Ok here's a pic (cloudy) 










So what I ended up doing was mixing laterite, osmocote +, crushed limestone, and some safe t sorb for the bottom layer. Then added another layer of safe t sorb on top. Still a little hard to keep the plants planted but I'm thinking if I added a little more safe t sorb on the top layer it might help!

Thank you HDBenson for all of your help!!!! 

I will be posting updates with hopefully some progress lol


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

Added more safe t sorb on top and it actually helped!! 

Also fixed the sand part because it looked a little too silly and wide.


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## foster (Sep 23, 2012)

Did you pre wash the SafeTsorb. The tank don't look too cloudy for using STS. Please let me know how long it takes to clear completely. I'm setting up some tanks this weekend with STS.


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

foster said:


> Did you pre wash the SafeTsorb. The tank don't look too cloudy for using STS. Please let me know how long it takes to clear completely. I'm setting up some tanks this weekend with STS.


Yes I did prewash it and it just did not want to be clean lol I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed etc. And the water still wasn't running clear but I put it in anyway after soaking it all night and it wasn't too bad! When I put the extra in, it of course clouded it more but it seems to be clearing up. I'm sure by morning it will be clear but I'll let you know!!


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

You are certainly welcome!! I like the second much better!


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

HDBenson said:


> You are certainly welcome!! I like the second much better!


Me too!! I can't wait for the plants to fill in!! There are some in the back just small and hard to see (especially since the water was cloudy) 

I'll try to get a better pic tomorrow and test the ph to see if I'm even close to my normal ph and let you know if the limestone is working.


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

Looking forward to your results!


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

It cleared up over night!!  but the ph is lower than normal. 
Normally 7.6
Now 6.6

Should I add more limestone either float it or in the filter? Or maybe sprinkle it on the sand path?

Here's a pic


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

Added more limestone, I just put a layer of it on top of the sand path. I'll test the ph again in a few hours and hopefully that is all I need lol


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

I still haven't noticed a change in ph. I'll test again in another hour and if nothing I'll add a couple larger limestones to the tank and see if that makes any difference.


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

Ok so now I'm confused on what to do ... ph still has not changed :/ not even the slightest bit even after adding larger pieces of limestone. I guess I'll give it a little more time and test again. 

If it doesn't change then what could I do about water changes so that it isn't too stressful to the plants and fish?


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## sadchevy (Jun 15, 2013)

Don't chase your water. Leave it be, it will work itself out over time. The saf-t-sorb will slowly quit altering your water then you will be trying to go the other way. Best to just let it be. Ph will not change very quickly just by adding limestone. The limestone needs time to start dissolving before you will see a change. Depending on your water source it could take months or even years. Your fish and plants will be just fine with the water. As the saf-t-sorb does it's thing over time your water will stabilize at or near what your source water is.


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

sadchevy said:


> Don't chase your water. Leave it be, it will work itself out over time. The saf-t-sorb will slowly quit altering your water then you will be trying to go the other way. Best to just let it be. Ph will not change very quickly just by adding limestone. The limestone needs time to start dissolving before you will see a change. Depending on your water source it could take months or even years. Your fish and plants will be just fine with the water. As the saf-t-sorb does it's thing over time your water will stabilize at or near what your source water is.


Ok thank you so much. So with water changes I don't need to do anything special?


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

Sts is going to make your water acidic for a good part of a year. If your tap pH comes out a lot higher I would suggest being very careful during big water changes.

I used to have sts in my 75 and had over a 1 point drop. All my snail shells eroded and my plants never really thrived like they should have.

I switched to pfs not long ago and my growth rate has been soon much better. I can now grow my crypts without having then rot away due to horrible water parameters.


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

philipraposo1982 said:


> Sts is going to make your water acidic for a good part of a year. If your tap pH comes out a lot higher I would suggest being very careful during big water changes.
> 
> I used to have sts in my 75 and had over a 1 point drop. All my snail shells eroded and my plants never really thrived like they should have.
> 
> I switched to pfs not long ago and my growth rate has been soon much better. I can now grow my crypts without having then rot away due to horrible water parameters.


My normal ph is 7.6 but with the sts it's at 6.6 so it's not really too low so I'm hoping I won't have any problems with plants. The fish will be fine with that ph I believe.


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

New canister filter which will hopefully help with cycling!!


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

Ph dropped to 6.4 now and I think it stalled my cycling process :/ ... I think I'm going to try using baking soda to help keep the ph stable until the safe t sorb stops lowering it. 

Anyone have any other suggestions?


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

UPDATE -BAKING SODA
Lol I put in 2 teaspoons of baking soda in the tank last night. This morning I tested my ph and it's around 7.6 ish (a little lighter but still the blue so maybe 7.5?) 
I'm going to keep testing to keep an eye on the ph level. If I start seeing a drop I'm going to add a pinch more baking soda to try and keep it stable around 7.6. 
I'll keep updating!!


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

The only thing about baking soda is that you'll have to routinely add it at waterchange until the STS has stopped affecting your Kh.


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

HDBenson said:


> The only thing about baking soda is that you'll have to routinely add it at waterchange until the STS has stopped affecting your Kh.


That's not a big deal!! I'd rather do that honestly.


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## st3phaniex3 (Dec 18, 2014)

Another update. ..

I've only added baking soda once and have done 2 water changes since then and my ph has stayed around 7.6


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