wot to cap dirt off with

just cin wot u use to cap ur dirt off with am bout to setup a dirt tank thinkin of usin black gravel wot size do u all use n wot u think is best

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on March 8, 2012 at 5:51am

I swear the internet and chat rooms are changing the English language. I can't tell if its evolving or devolving - or both. Could it be that English is turning back into German? Anyway, I got your question Ryan...

I'm in the same situation. I bought some moler clay yesterday. Its basically clay pellets that are baked so they don't disintegrate in the water. The advantage they have over conventional gravel is they have a high CEC value. That basically means they suck plant nutrients (like fish poo) out of the water and store them until the plants' roots can access them. Another advantage is its cheap. Its sold in auto supply stores and garages under the name Oil-sorb or Thrift-sorb for about $5 per 50lbs. Its supposed to be used to suck up oil spills in driveways but we know better (hehe). Its 100% natural clay with maybe a little silica thrown in.

My substrate is gonna be clay soil at the bottom; then earthworm castings mixed with a little potting soil; and finally capped by the moler clay. If the plants don't like this substrate I'll hang myself.

As far as color goes, I like black too. But if your floor is gonna be carpeted with plants it probably doesn't matter.

I've read about the pros and cons of certain gravel sizes and I'm still a little fuzzy on the science. But, from what I can tell, something a little smaller than conventional gravel and larger than sand is best. Sand compacts and prevents anything from moving in and out; large gravel is the opposite - a detritus sieve. Are either one of these things necessarily bad? I'm not so sure. Dustin uses regular sized gravel and he's usually right on all things aquarium related. My guess is that ultimately the size matters less than the composition.

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Permalink Reply by Ethan on March 14, 2012 at 9:06am

Hahaha, ok definitely something smaller than standard. Sand generally isn't a good idea.

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Permalink Reply by Roger on March 15, 2012 at 5:32pm

I'm no expert. I would say cap with what looks good and that you will want to look at. Smaller gravel for stem plants and slightly larger stones if your keeping large swords and crypts. Something in between for a mix.