So much has happened since the last update! I've added new fish, the guppy's are breeding, and the plants have grown quite well! Should we keep this experiment going for longer, or is it time for something new? Aquasoil vs Dirt playlist th-cam.com/play/PLr.html... CO2 vs no CO2 playlist th-cam.com/play/PLr.html... Everything I'm using for this project: TANK (US) 36p amzn.to/37M97h3 (EU) amzn.to/3k0uhO5 LIGHT (US) bit.ly/325mg5d (EU) amzn.to/3zNbOLL FILTER (US) amzn.to/3AKak50 (EU) amzn.to/3slWGC1 CO2 (US) amzn.to/3COGU7E (EU) amzn.to/3mc2Bsn DIFFUSER (US) amzn.to/3t0Unoc (EU) amzn.to/3BQUDJE AQUASOIL (US) amzn.to/2WVLoZR (EU) amzn.to/3DWT92o POND SOIL (US) amzn.to/3EWBqbd (EU) amzn.to/3D2iRSl SHRIMP GRAVEL BLACK (US) amzn.to/3CUcrER (EU) amzn.to/3BStnu8 ROCKS amzn.to/38KAJDN WOOD amzn.to/3DVAowz GLUE (gel) (US) amzn.to/3wsl1rU (EU) amzn.to/308joUp GLUE (liquid) (US) amzn.to/3ofpKJZ (EU) amzn.to/3EVDYGA FULL PLANT LIST: Foreground - Micranthemum tweediei (MONTE CARLO) - Marsilea hirsuta Midground - Vesicularia ferriei - Hygrophila lancea Araguaia - Micranthemum umbrosum Background - Rotala rotundifolia Orange Juice - Ludwigia repens Floating plants - Phyllanthus fluitans All plants are from Dennerleplants 👉🏻Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my TH-cam channel: TH-cam.com/mjaquascaping 👉🏻 Use Code ''amsterdam'' for 10% off CO2art products 👉🏻Destroy ALGAE with my FREE ebook 📖 bit.ly/3aBaAcy 👉🏻10% DISCOUNT on buceplanet.de with code: Amsterdam10
Id say thats kinda dependent of the plant type. In my one and only tank that has a very low 12 lumens/litre I have the lights on 14 hours/day but its mostly easy/medium and/or fast growing plants, and Id say it works pretty good and it has the advantage of letting me actually see and enjoy the fish.
Maybe if you got two rgb lights, one with mostly red and the other with mostly blue, not active in the same way for photosynthesis so could be interesting. And if you get baby badies I would especially come to Amsterdam to pick females 😉
Keep this one going for a little longer so that we can see if the dirt eventually leaches out some nutrients into the water column. Also next idea: aquarium light vs normal desk lamp🤔
I do think that the real benefit of dirt substrates is seen after a couple of years (admittedly, too long for your format here). Aquasoil tends breakdown after a couple of years, while dirt does not. The result is a healthy tank for longer. The "red" is likely dependent on iron.
Dirted Tank Pros - Cheap - Almost as good as aquasoil - Have almost 0 Ammonia and don't leech excess nutrients (depends on how use it and what kind) Dirted Tank Cons - Needs liquid fertilizing since substrate is not leeching any nutrients - a bit messy when you need to add/remove plants
@@metallixro yeah but aquasoil also can be depleted and therefore needs liquid ferts I have a dirted tank running for one and a half years and the substrate nutrient is still there. Meanwhile in the aquasoil tank running for 7 month I need to put root tabs and double liquid ferts dose than the dirted tank to keep it nourished
@@metallixro dirted tank release nutrition slowly and lasts longer and aquasoil release nutrition very fast that you may need to change 50-80%water for the first week or 2 after then you will need to add root tabs for this reason amazonia version 2 gives root tabs in the pack
@@mohammadsaminyasar3429 Not every soil is like Amazonia, and v2 has less nutrients than v1. Tropica soil should last half a year before you need to add tabs.
I'm using dert in my aquarium, because I don't see the extra value in the aquasoil... Regarding phosphate and moss, that happened to me in a different way, the moss was always not good in my tank and at same time the tank got some BBA, but after dosing phosphate the moss has recovered well and became so healthy, at the same time the BBA completely gone away
Keep the experiment going, for another month and let's see if the plant growth changes or remains the same, because I think that the roots in the dirted tank has not yet found its way. I would be patient.
Awesome experiment! Adding some laterite/red soil into the dirt would have helped the red plants. Also for the carpet like you said the dirt should have been spread more towards the glass.
Start a new experiment this one is pretty relevant already. Maybe go into lighting and plant growt like for example two tanks with a mix of easy/medium and a couple of harder ones, first tank kept at ~20 lumens/litre and the other high energy 50+/litre, both with proper co2, and proper ferts for each type, goal would be to see if you really need high lighting and which tank has the bigger algae problems.
Try dosing some mangnesium to the aquasoil, its the main metal ion in chlorophyl. And, iron to the dirted, would be interesting if those two can be matched :3
The BBA algae is from those stones you have in there. They have high mineral content. It increases the KH and GH. Not sure if it affects the phosphates.
Could you explain this a bit more? How BBA relates to increased KH and GH? If I'm understanding your comment correctly anyway. Lol. 😇 I had a BBA outbreak in my first tank with wood, and I happen to keep calcite rocks in it to help stabilize my KH.
Please keep the experiment going, the depeletuon of nutrients over time in both tanks. Theres arguments that dirted tanks do well in the beginning,but decline over time faster than aquasoil.
@@Joshua-uq9zw if the EI method of fertilization is used,aquasoil can last up to 3 years,sometimes longer. With capped soil,nutrients will be depleted,without the ability to absorb added extra nutrients,the soil will be depleted of the Initial nutrients way before that.
Keep the experiment going correcting the iron and phosphate to she what happens to the the plants in another 30 days. If the plants are similar in appearance, then saving money by using dirt for substrate is the way to go.
Lol I was actually expecting those results. The plants in the aquasoil tank are more red because of higher iron content. I threw more of a guess that the dirted tank had higher phosphates, reason why the moss was growing better, but I do not know if phosphates are particularly important for Moss. I know there are plants that absorb phosphates a lot more than others.
I love this experiment! Especially the differences in trace elements in the water. Maybe keep it going for a bit longer? Or try to "fix" them both (by adding nutrients) to see if you can achieve same results with a bit of modification? :)
Pond soil was covered with inert gravel which kept the nutients from leaking into the water column. That's the reason why the moss did so well in this tank! The other plants developed pale leaves because they did not reach into the nutrient layer immediately or well enough. In the aquasoil tank the moss looked a little yellowish comparably because the water was too high in nutrients for the moss to grow a vibrant green.
I had ro water tank for a year. Great tank for softwater fish like cardinal tetras and shrimps. They are so happy in this water. After a year the nutrients in substrate finished and plants started to experience deficiency. The nutrition from fish waste was not enough. I had to add minerals to water. Also, when I added minerals, algae appeared, hair algae and brown algae, as if I started a new tank
@@nicolero8130 ive always had issues with tap water and stunted growth. Not sure if its something in the water or what. Even when my substrate was rick and dosed liquid ferts. Alot have faced this issue. So we would all like to know how would it be different and if its better to invest in an ro system.
heyy, ik probeer op het moment op een tapijtje te krijgen van monte carlo maar dat lukt niet zo goed denk ik... ik heb 2 plantjes gekocht en verdeelt in een aantal stukjes en dan geplant. we zijn nu een week verder en nog altijd geen vooruitgang ze zijn nog altijd hetzelfde als toen ik ze heb geplant. enig idee hoe dat komt ? ( ze zitten in gewoon grind en heb er voedingsticks ingestoken en ook zonder co2. Ps prettige feestdagen
How about base layer of pondsoil and topping it with a bit of aqua soil. Theoretically you could get best of both worlds without breaking the bank? What do you think? Really curious to know your opinion.
Like this idea, never tried, though I have used pond soil, house plant compost, plain gravel, plain sand and baked pelleted aqua soil over the years, all have their pluses and minuses. I am confident your suggestion would work, though with the health and growth possible with pond soil not sure I would want to use the baked aqua soil again, not just because of expense, but because after a number of years in an aquatic environment it gradually returns to being simply soil, certainly in appearance if not in chemical composition.
@@williammcdowell6257 The only thing I am worried about that it might create an over nutritious environment that can promote algae. However, with heavily planted tank and a thin layer of aqua soil balance could be achieved. Just waiting to hear what @Mj has to say on it. Might be a good experiment (Third setup beside the above two) to see which one out of the three work the best.
A really great experiment. I love that you are very thorough and wanting to figure out stuff for yourself. I think the phosphate difference is that the aqua soil tank has bba in it, which sucks up phosphates and that might be why it’s lower in there as compared to the soil tank that doesn’t have it. Algae, particularly bba, likes phosphate. I may try and get some phosphate remover into my tank that has a lot of bba and see if that helps anything. Now you’ve got me thinking. Thank you! Wishing you a very merry Christmas!
These experiments (also the CO2 vs no-CO2 and alternatives) show the technical solutions for CO2 and nutrition. Perhaps as new experiment: what about adding more fish as CO2-source (and some nutrients) instead of tech? Could the tank biology support the extra fish? Do the fish help the plants grow?
0 seconds ago Isn't it all gonna look relatively "acceptable," with co2 AND lights? Not trying to be a dick, they look amazing!! Just surprised me when you said, "...co2, high lights & no liquid fertilizer". I was under the impression your experiment was SOLELY based off of substrate. Lol, at least according to the thumbnail. Not saying it's cheating (shit, it's your video!), but co2 is borderline high tech, no? I've maintained two tanks as a test once; one was quality potting soil/gravel with no lights or co2. It was against a wall, with northeastern sun exposure from the windows, & some western in the afternoon. Overall it's northern facing but gets a lot of reflected light. Then I had a tank with lights and a base of Eco-complete, mixed with Fluorite red and black for variety. Honestly the dirted tank is the best. I had swords, crinum, crypts, alternanthera reineckii, microsword & hairgrass go insane, just from the dirt. Had to prune and give some away. The lower light was no problem with dirt underneath them. However the Eco/Fluorite tank had slower, minimal growth bc I think it's so chunky and gravelly. Roots want to get into soil. The Anubias and Java ferns honeslty did best in this setup, and they don't even need dirt! Their longest roots would touch the substrate and start feeding right away. Nice airflow, as opposed to soil, so good for epiphytes. This is where co2 I've found is useful- when using anything besides dirt as substrate! I've had straight sand and co2 made all the difference. Root tabs too, but none of that is a requirement with dirt. I just found it was very important to do weekly water changes with the high nutrient load. Dont be fooled by the sand or gravel on top... those nutrients are definitely in there, and ammonia overload can be partly why plants "melt" sometimes. If they're not acclimating of course. If established plants start fading, it's likely time for an bigger water change - with DIRT! Sorry for the speech I'm just obsessed with dirt tanks :-)
Did the same few month ago with a lot more dirt. Added few snails and shrimps. No CO2. Well the plant growth is extrem but the water is brown always. Unless I do water changes. Long story short. I keep the aquarium to farm more and better plants only. For scaping fans I would not recommend it. Cheers
Should have gone full dirt mate. So much loam in store bought pond aqua soil which is basically fibrous organic material that doesnt spoil the water or disnitegrate or cloud. I created my own compost. Takes a long time, I did it with grass cuttings and kitchen offcuts of vegetales and fruits etc... After a year. It breaks down and turns into compost. I then rinsed the compost and poured off what would show in the water (basiucally fill a bucket, disturb it all by mixing it, wait a minute and then pour off whats in the water).. That took a while. Then I mixed it with sand and layed that as a base.. Topped off with a couple of centimetreses of sand/gravel it works wonders. Also. that moss looks like christmas moss or some morph of it. Weeping moss should weep. Literally fall over itself. I can share pics of my weeping moss with you. It falls over itself (downwards). Beautiful stuff, just cut the runners.
Tis movie realy is interesting for me i started a juwel trigon 190 a month ago with high light high co2 but no soil. Just used some playsand as a base layer with dark substrate over it only dosing colombo floragrow pro daily on a dosing pump. So far no fertilised soil is no problem. ❤
I'd love a video on trimming the plants. Cause trimming the tops, the tops are most beautiful, do you throw them away? Doesnt that leave an ugly looking stem? How to trim moss? I mean, really, so many questions 🤣
Hoi Mark, een vraagje: ik zou graag een aquasoil toevoegen aan mijn bestaand nanoaquarium (30L: 7 maanden ingedraaid met CO2) zodat ik een monte carlo carpet kan laten groeien! Hoe kan ik dit het beste aanpakken? De soil gewoon meteen toevoegen of deze eerst afspoelen? Ben aan het twijfelen tussen de Tropica aquasoil of ADA Amazonia soil
@@MJAquascaping super bedankt voor je snel antwoord! En heb je een voorkeur welke soil ik dan best gebruik? Tropica of ADA amazonia (light of gewone versie?)
Your fish in the aquasoil tank look like they're possibly struggling with the co2, the guppies are spending a lot of time at the surface, while the badis colours look washed out
I have dirt planted Tanks with shrimps... please suggest some liquid fertiliser... whoever has mentioned their contents on their product has copper in it. Is that level of copper is toxic to shrimps.. or can I take risk with them...
I am curious about the moss vibrant colour in the dirt tank? have you figured it out? I really appreciate your contents. learning a lot from you thanks!
Maybe try mixing the pond soil and the aqua soil together in a tank. This may produce the best stems and moss. Would be interested to see if it had an effect.
I use dirt and cap with aquasoil. So when I break a scape up, the used aquasoil on the top is recycled into the bottom dirt layer of the new scape. I use a box of JBL Kugen balls which is crushed and sprinkled at the bottom thsn about 2 inch of a mixture of laterite, some clay organic top soil and used aquasoil. This is than capped with about 2 inch thick of aquasoil. I dark cycle the tank for about 3 to 4 weeks before planting. Except for a small squirt of liquid fert once a week, my soil lasts longer than my scape ever has.
@@theallseeingeye9388 do you see good all around growth with that setup? Been curious to find some more long term setup methods for my tanks. Right now it’s touch ups every month. But most of my reds just aren’t popping.
Thank you for the video, I liked to watch the comparison. I have dirted tanks. There is no iron in water column in them. I add Tetra crypto tabs for swords and crypts (they contain chelated iron), however still iron in water is at zero. There is no point in watching the tanks longer, they will continue the same. I had nutrients depleted after a year of tank existence, so started to add them. It would be nice to see a new experiment. I am personally interested in biomedia and products that remove organics from water and allow to keep more fish in a tank.
I bet you need more iron in your dirt tank out side of that soul does its job always Edit: Called it! You need to put red clay in your dirt n you should be fine
Great work. Really interesting experiment, pleased you've followed through. How about dosing some fertilizer to improve. I would be interested to see if you can improve the look, what does each tank need, etc...
So much has happened since the last update! I've added new fish, the guppy's are breeding, and the plants have grown quite well! Should we keep this experiment going for longer, or is it time for something new?
Aquasoil vs Dirt playlist th-cam.com/play/PLr.html...
CO2 vs no CO2 playlist th-cam.com/play/PLr.html...
Everything I'm using for this project:
TANK
(US) 36p amzn.to/37M97h3
(EU) amzn.to/3k0uhO5
LIGHT
(US) bit.ly/325mg5d
(EU) amzn.to/3zNbOLL
FILTER
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CO2
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DIFFUSER
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AQUASOIL
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POND SOIL
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SHRIMP GRAVEL BLACK
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WOOD
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GLUE (liquid)
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FULL PLANT LIST:
Foreground
- Micranthemum tweediei (MONTE CARLO)
- Marsilea hirsuta
Midground
- Vesicularia ferriei
- Hygrophila lancea Araguaia
- Micranthemum umbrosum
Background
- Rotala rotundifolia Orange Juice
- Ludwigia repens
Floating plants
- Phyllanthus fluitans
All plants are from Dennerleplants
👉🏻Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my TH-cam channel: TH-cam.com/mjaquascaping
👉🏻 Use Code ''amsterdam'' for 10% off CO2art products
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👉🏻10% DISCOUNT on buceplanet.de with code: Amsterdam10
Maybe an idea to start dosing liquid fertilizer to see how the combination of substrate + liq fertilizer works for the plants? Mooie video weer!
dry start vs water start or (normal)
also you are a man of honour for making these AMAZING tanks pls teach us
keep the experiment. this time adding the nutrients that each tank needs to see them in their maximum splendor
keep this experiment going for longer
Would love to see a comparison between high light and short photoperiod (6-8 hrs) vs low light and long photoperiod (~12 hours)
Id say thats kinda dependent of the plant type. In my one and only tank that has a very low 12 lumens/litre I have the lights on 14 hours/day but its mostly easy/medium and/or fast growing plants, and Id say it works pretty good and it has the advantage of letting me actually see and enjoy the fish.
I was going to say this for an experiment as well 👍🏼
@@metallixro I'd love to see this experiment using 2 really long tanks and a huge diversity of plants.
Maybe if you got two rgb lights, one with mostly red and the other with mostly blue, not active in the same way for photosynthesis so could be interesting.
And if you get baby badies I would especially come to Amsterdam to pick females 😉
Yesss
Keep this one going for a little longer so that we can see if the dirt eventually leaches out some nutrients into the water column. Also next idea: aquarium light vs normal desk lamp🤔
It wont for the fact that he covered it with sand. I dont think with time it will leach. I had a dirted tank before.
@@karkoor it would if he chucked in some snails that cultivate the soil
@@watnoudan My dirted tank, using rich redwood forest soil, is capped with an inch of sand, and has pond snails. It is still looking strong.
@@watnoudantrue my tank did but it takes some time
Conclusion: Dirted Tank is just as good as aquasoil. but needs some liquid fertilizer
And it’s very very very cheap 😍
Dark rich garden soil works incredible. Ill never do anything else
@@littlewigglemonster7691 good for you
I do think that the real benefit of dirt substrates is seen after a couple of years (admittedly, too long for your format here). Aquasoil tends breakdown after a couple of years, while dirt does not. The result is a healthy tank for longer.
The "red" is likely dependent on iron.
Both tanks are beautiful, and it is nearly impossible to come a conclusion that expensive soil is much better...
You Should do a Budget Aquascape with all budget items light,soil, filter and C02
What about a lighting experiment ? One with cheap led light from amazon and one with ada light
Could be a nice experiment!
yeah, would love to see that myself!
Keeps the dirt vs aqua soil tank for another month but add liquid fertilizer
Yes, please, I think it's interesting
Dirted Tank Pros
- Cheap
- Almost as good as aquasoil
- Have almost 0 Ammonia and don't leech excess nutrients (depends on how use it and what kind)
Dirted Tank Cons
- Needs liquid fertilizing since substrate is not leeching any nutrients
- a bit messy when you need to add/remove plants
If it needs fertilizer then in the longer run its not actually cheaper isnt it ?! Since ferts are the number one expense to maintain good plants.
@@metallixro yeah but aquasoil also can be depleted and therefore needs liquid ferts
I have a dirted tank running for one and a half years and the substrate nutrient is still there.
Meanwhile in the aquasoil tank running for 7 month I need to put root tabs and double liquid ferts dose than the dirted tank to keep it nourished
If you are having to add liquid synthetic fertilizer to a dirted tank, you have done it wrong. A good sand cap is the key.
@@metallixro dirted tank release nutrition slowly and lasts longer and aquasoil release nutrition very fast that you may need to change 50-80%water for the first week or 2 after then you will need to add root tabs for this reason amazonia version 2 gives root tabs in the pack
@@mohammadsaminyasar3429 Not every soil is like Amazonia, and v2 has less nutrients than v1. Tropica soil should last half a year before you need to add tabs.
I'm using dert in my aquarium, because I don't see the extra value in the aquasoil... Regarding phosphate and moss, that happened to me in a different way, the moss was always not good in my tank and at same time the tank got some BBA, but after dosing phosphate the moss has recovered well and became so healthy, at the same time the BBA completely gone away
Keep the experiment going, for another month and let's see if the plant growth changes or remains the same, because I think that the roots in the dirted tank has not yet found its way. I would be patient.
Totally agree.
Gotta love a dirted tank, cheap and explosive plant growth. I recently set up my first dirted tank 6 months ago and the plants are thriving!
Great! Mine too. Follower of Father Fish.
how about budget set-up with budget light & sponge filter vs high-end with high-end light (chihiros rgb 2 mini) and external filter?
I already can tell the results :))))
Cool Experiment👌🏻 my Suggestion for next episodes: no Filter Tank vs Filter Tank:)))
Awesome experiment! Adding some laterite/red soil into the dirt would have helped the red plants. Also for the carpet like you said the dirt should have been spread more towards the glass.
can you try which one is better,
set up 1: intense light - short photo period (6hrs)
set up 2: moderate light- ng photo period (12hrs)
Great aquariums! I would keep it going... Cheers from Greece and have a nice holidays!
If you decide to change the experiment you should do diy co2 system yeast ,water and sugar vs citric acid co2
how about mixing both 50 / 50 and see what happens then...
Next, you can do about lighting. Happy holidays
WOW US and EU links? I'd sub twice if I could
Video idea: aquarium plant light vs normal desk lamp!
Mosses love phosphates and red plants love iron and low nitrates.
great suggestion
can u do with filtered lowtech tank vs non filter lowtech tank?
Langer is better! ^^ It can be more interesting to observe in the long run IMO...
Start a new experiment this one is pretty relevant already. Maybe go into lighting and plant growt like for example two tanks with a mix of easy/medium and a couple of harder ones, first tank kept at ~20 lumens/litre and the other high energy 50+/litre, both with proper co2, and proper ferts for each type, goal would be to see if you really need high lighting and which tank has the bigger algae problems.
I wonder if you do a dirted tank and cap it with aqua soil you will get an amazing result?
Try dosing some mangnesium to the aquasoil, its the main metal ion in chlorophyl.
And, iron to the dirted, would be interesting if those two can be matched :3
Monte carlo is calcium hungry rumor goes.
1:09 local fishstore Mauie? Lol i live in that town, great compare, reallly usefull, Fijne dagen!
Almost local! 20km away 😁 Fijne dagen!
The BBA algae is from those stones you have in there. They have high mineral content. It increases the KH and GH. Not sure if it affects the phosphates.
Could you explain this a bit more? How BBA relates to increased KH and GH? If I'm understanding your comment correctly anyway. Lol. 😇 I had a BBA outbreak in my first tank with wood, and I happen to keep calcite rocks in it to help stabilize my KH.
Please keep the experiment going, the depeletuon of nutrients over time in both tanks. Theres arguments that dirted tanks do well in the beginning,but decline over time faster than aquasoil.
They only deplete after a year or even longer, depending on the soil.
Its the other way around. Aquasoil declines after time
@@Joshua-uq9zw if the EI method of fertilization is used,aquasoil can last up to 3 years,sometimes longer. With capped soil,nutrients will be depleted,without the ability to absorb added extra nutrients,the soil will be depleted of the Initial nutrients way before that.
@@DRaquascapes I guess I'll find out. 2 years in my dirted tank so far. Plants look great. Algae at a minimum
Keep the experiment going correcting the iron and phosphate to she what happens to the the plants in another 30 days. If the plants are similar in appearance, then saving money by using dirt for substrate is the way to go.
Lol I was actually expecting those results. The plants in the aquasoil tank are more red because of higher iron content. I threw more of a guess that the dirted tank had higher phosphates, reason why the moss was growing better, but I do not know if phosphates are particularly important for Moss. I know there are plants that absorb phosphates a lot more than others.
Yes, mosses definitely need phosphates to put up their color.
Please keep the experiment for a couple more months. It really is very interesting, nice work!!
I love this experiment! Especially the differences in trace elements in the water.
Maybe keep it going for a bit longer?
Or try to "fix" them both (by adding nutrients) to see if you can achieve same results with a bit of modification? :)
test magnesium and potassium please
Pond soil was covered with inert gravel which kept the nutients from leaking into the water column. That's the reason why the moss did so well in this tank! The other plants developed pale leaves because they did not reach into the nutrient layer immediately or well enough. In the aquasoil tank the moss looked a little yellowish comparably because the water was too high in nutrients for the moss to grow a vibrant green.
u need to add the missing nutrients to see if this fixes the problems w the plants to get a good conclution, nice vids keep it up =)
Just love the vase
That makes perfect sense as far as the plants.. Moss like more phosphate and nitrates.. And stems like more Iron and nitrates
If you were to not add CO2 to thaw tests, how would that change your plant setup? Curious what suggestions for plants you might have. Thanks
New year new experiment
NEW EXPERIMENT
TAP WATER vs RO WATER
..
Always been curious !
I had ro water tank for a year. Great tank for softwater fish like cardinal tetras and shrimps. They are so happy in this water. After a year the nutrients in substrate finished and plants started to experience deficiency. The nutrition from fish waste was not enough. I had to add minerals to water.
Also, when I added minerals, algae appeared, hair algae and brown algae, as if I started a new tank
@@nicolero8130 ive always had issues with tap water and stunted growth. Not sure if its something in the water or what. Even when my substrate was rick and dosed liquid ferts. Alot have faced this issue. So we would all like to know how would it be different and if its better to invest in an ro system.
heyy, ik probeer op het moment op een tapijtje te krijgen van monte carlo maar dat lukt niet zo goed denk ik... ik heb 2 plantjes gekocht en verdeelt in een aantal stukjes en dan geplant. we zijn nu een week verder en nog altijd geen vooruitgang ze zijn nog altijd hetzelfde als toen ik ze heb geplant. enig idee hoe dat komt ? ( ze zitten in gewoon grind en heb er voedingsticks ingestoken en ook zonder co2. Ps prettige feestdagen
Je zal heel veel geduld moeten hebben. Zonder Co2 en met een grind bodem zal dit plantje heel traag groeien
How about base layer of pondsoil and topping it with a bit of aqua soil. Theoretically you could get best of both worlds without breaking the bank? What do you think? Really curious to know your opinion.
Like this idea, never tried, though I have used pond soil, house plant compost, plain gravel, plain sand and baked pelleted aqua soil over the years, all have their pluses and minuses. I am confident your suggestion would work, though with the health and growth possible with pond soil not sure I would want to use the baked aqua soil again, not just because of expense, but because after a number of years in an aquatic environment it gradually returns to being simply soil, certainly in appearance if not in chemical composition.
@@williammcdowell6257 The only thing I am worried about that it might create an over nutritious environment that can promote algae. However, with heavily planted tank and a thin layer of aqua soil balance could be achieved. Just waiting to hear what @Mj has to say on it. Might be a good experiment (Third setup beside the above two) to see which one out of the three work the best.
This is awesome! I hace My Tank with dirted substrate. By the way can i write someday un Facebook ti clear dime doubths i have? Thank you very much
Yes you can!
@@MJAquascaping tank you very much
what is the model and brand of your filtration system?
Dennerle scapers flow!
Nicely done Mark! Please may you give us a link to the test kit you use?
A really great experiment. I love that you are very thorough and wanting to figure out stuff for yourself. I think the phosphate difference is that the aqua soil tank has bba in it, which sucks up phosphates and that might be why it’s lower in there as compared to the soil tank that doesn’t have it. Algae, particularly bba, likes phosphate. I may try and get some phosphate remover into my tank that has a lot of bba and see if that helps anything. Now you’ve got me thinking. Thank you! Wishing you a very merry Christmas!
I would love to see this go longer. Love the insight this has given with side by side comparison.
👍👍👍😍😍😍😍
This was a great experiment. New Year, new experiment. Have a great holiday season.
Thank you! You too!
These experiments (also the CO2 vs no-CO2 and alternatives) show the technical solutions for CO2 and nutrition. Perhaps as new experiment: what about adding more fish as CO2-source (and some nutrients) instead of tech? Could the tank biology support the extra fish? Do the fish help the plants grow?
How do you prevent the wood flooring when adding water?
I glue it too the rocks
Wow
0 seconds ago
Isn't it all gonna look relatively "acceptable," with co2 AND lights? Not trying to be a dick, they look amazing!! Just surprised me when you said, "...co2, high lights & no liquid fertilizer". I was under the impression your experiment was SOLELY based off of substrate. Lol, at least according to the thumbnail. Not saying it's cheating (shit, it's your video!), but co2 is borderline high tech, no? I've maintained two tanks as a test once; one was quality potting soil/gravel with no lights or co2. It was against a wall, with northeastern sun exposure from the windows, & some western in the afternoon. Overall it's northern facing but gets a lot of reflected light. Then I had a tank with lights and a base of Eco-complete, mixed with Fluorite red and black for variety. Honestly the dirted tank is the best. I had swords, crinum, crypts, alternanthera reineckii, microsword & hairgrass go insane, just from the dirt. Had to prune and give some away. The lower light was no problem with dirt underneath them.
However the Eco/Fluorite tank had slower, minimal growth bc I think it's so chunky and gravelly. Roots want to get into soil. The Anubias and Java ferns honeslty did best in this setup, and they don't even need dirt! Their longest roots would touch the substrate and start feeding right away. Nice airflow, as opposed to soil, so good for epiphytes. This is where co2 I've found is useful- when using anything besides dirt as substrate! I've had straight sand and co2 made all the difference. Root tabs too, but none of that is a requirement with dirt. I just found it was very important to do weekly water changes with the high nutrient load. Dont be fooled by the sand or gravel on top... those nutrients are definitely in there, and ammonia overload can be partly why plants "melt" sometimes. If they're not acclimating of course. If established plants start fading, it's likely time for an bigger water change - with DIRT! Sorry for the speech I'm just obsessed with dirt tanks :-)
Happy holidays and Marry Christmas 🎄 🥳
Same to you!
Great experiment! 👌👏🏻 New idea; proffesional Aquarium led light & led bulb light 🙏
Did the same few month ago with a lot more dirt. Added few snails and shrimps. No CO2.
Well the plant growth is extrem but the water is brown always. Unless I do water changes.
Long story short. I keep the aquarium to farm more and better plants only.
For scaping fans I would not recommend it.
Cheers
Should have gone full dirt mate. So much loam in store bought pond aqua soil which is basically fibrous organic material that doesnt spoil the water or disnitegrate or cloud.
I created my own compost. Takes a long time, I did it with grass cuttings and kitchen offcuts of vegetales and fruits etc... After a year. It breaks down and turns into compost. I then rinsed the compost and poured off what would show in the water (basiucally fill a bucket, disturb it all by mixing it, wait a minute and then pour off whats in the water).. That took a while. Then I mixed it with sand and layed that as a base.. Topped off with a couple of centimetreses of sand/gravel it works wonders. Also. that moss looks like christmas moss or some morph of it. Weeping moss should weep. Literally fall over itself. I can share pics of my weeping moss with you. It falls over itself (downwards). Beautiful stuff, just cut the runners.
I'm just staring my aquascaping journey and it been great to watch your videos. I notice you don't have a bubbler - I'm guessing that's not necessary?
I have a question: does not injecting CO2 make the water acidic(lower pH)? carbonic acid?
Have you ever done an ecosystem tank with no water changes? That would be interesting.
Tis movie realy is interesting for me i started a juwel trigon 190 a month ago with high light high co2 but no soil. Just used some playsand as a base layer with dark substrate over it only dosing colombo floragrow pro daily on a dosing pump.
So far no fertilised soil is no problem. ❤
Keep it going.
It is a very cool experiment
May i ask what is the filter brand and model ?
Dennerle scapers flow!
I'd love a video on trimming the plants. Cause trimming the tops, the tops are most beautiful, do you throw them away? Doesnt that leave an ugly looking stem? How to trim moss? I mean, really, so many questions 🤣
Here in the states,if you win the lottery and find a female Dario dario,it would cost about $200
Hoi Mark, een vraagje: ik zou graag een aquasoil toevoegen aan mijn bestaand nanoaquarium (30L: 7 maanden ingedraaid met CO2) zodat ik een monte carlo carpet kan laten groeien! Hoe kan ik dit het beste aanpakken? De soil gewoon meteen toevoegen of deze eerst afspoelen? Ben aan het twijfelen tussen de Tropica aquasoil of ADA Amazonia soil
Gewoon meteen toevoegen, en de dagen erna wat extra water wissels doen.
@@MJAquascaping super bedankt voor je snel antwoord! En heb je een voorkeur welke soil ik dan best gebruik? Tropica of ADA amazonia (light of gewone versie?)
@@charlottedelaet5430 ik zou voor de gewone Amazonia gaan. Mocht je de NEO soil van Aquario kunnen vinden dan zou ik voor die gaan.
Your fish in the aquasoil tank look like they're possibly struggling with the co2, the guppies are spending a lot of time at the surface, while the badis colours look washed out
cheap vs expensive aquarium fertilizer or diy co2 vs canister co2
I have dirt planted Tanks with shrimps... please suggest some liquid fertiliser... whoever has mentioned their contents on their product has copper in it. Is that level of copper is toxic to shrimps.. or can I take risk with them...
Try adding phosphate to the soil tank and Iron to the dirted tank, see if that change the plants/moss. Iron could be the reason for BBA.
How many days water change weekly
50% once a week!
What would happen if you try with a third tank, both aquasoil and dirt?
Would it be different?
Cheers
Thank you. This film was very good and teach me some new things. Greetings from Poland.
No surprise common dirt has sustained life for millions of years, guess were aquasoil comes from?, lol
I am curious about the moss vibrant colour in the dirt tank? have you figured it out? I really appreciate your contents. learning a lot from you thanks!
I thought high phosphate lead to more algae, ergo water change. No??? I vote to keep this project going for at least another month.
The phosphate level was not really high, just higher compared to the other tank. According to the test it was like 2mg per liter which is okay!
Breeding the scarlet badis!! You could keep them in the tank or make something new and refreshing. And then sell me a female xD
Let's Start !00% natural setup no filter no nothing what do you say , also you got a sub I learned a lot from you !!
I like dirt because it is cheap. I like dirt because plants like dirt. Did I mention that it's cheap?
this series goingh so amazingly.. thanks legend...goldy
Great work!
I hope to continue watching how this experiment proceeds in the future
how about trying to "create" your own dirt from dead fish or plants, etc.
to reuse all the things in every next tank
Nice vid. I'd like to see a two scape off:
Tissue culture and emersed (what you'd buy online)
Vs.
Same plants from a grow out tank.
Thanks!
what filters (brand\model) are you using on those setups?
Maybe try mixing the pond soil and the aqua soil together in a tank. This may produce the best stems and moss. Would be interested to see if it had an effect.
Great idea!
I use dirt and cap with aquasoil.
So when I break a scape up, the used aquasoil on the top is recycled into the bottom dirt layer of the new scape.
I use a box of JBL Kugen balls which is crushed and sprinkled at the bottom thsn about 2 inch of a mixture of laterite, some clay organic top soil and used aquasoil. This is than capped with about 2 inch thick of aquasoil.
I dark cycle the tank for about 3 to 4 weeks before planting.
Except for a small squirt of liquid fert once a week, my soil lasts longer than my scape ever has.
@@theallseeingeye9388 That's very interesting actually, I was thinking in trying something similar what a coincidence.
@@theallseeingeye9388 do you see good all around growth with that setup? Been curious to find some more long term setup methods for my tanks. Right now it’s touch ups every month. But most of my reds just aren’t popping.
@@theallseeingeye9388 Thanks for sharing your method. Where do you get laterite from?
where you didnt have dirt for the carpet plants, maybe place a handfull of root tabs under, that will probably help
Thank you for the video, I liked to watch the comparison. I have dirted tanks. There is no iron in water column in them. I add Tetra crypto tabs for swords and crypts (they contain chelated iron), however still iron in water is at zero.
There is no point in watching the tanks longer, they will continue the same. I had nutrients depleted after a year of tank existence, so started to add them.
It would be nice to see a new experiment.
I am personally interested in biomedia and products that remove organics from water and allow to keep more fish in a tank.
how do you clean the substrate in this aquariums? (they are full of plants)
where did you buy the wooden metal stand where you hold all your aquariums? Hi from Croatia
I bet you need more iron in your dirt tank out side of that soul does its job always
Edit:
Called it! You need to put red clay in your dirt n you should be fine
What happen to this experiment..
Who win....😊😊😊😊
Send in your tank water sample to a professional water testing company to know more .
By the look of it mixing the two substrates would be a goog idea
Great work. Really interesting experiment, pleased you've followed through. How about dosing some fertilizer to improve. I would be interested to see if you can improve the look, what does each tank need, etc...
What is the name of the test kit?
It's from Sera!