aquatic compost

[avant]

hihi...i intend to use aquatic compost for my tank...wanna know more about it...like the pros and cons and where and what type of aquatic should i get...
hope someone can provide me with some advice...thanx

avant

[loupgarou]

iirc, far east flora along thomson/upper thomson (near PA) has it.

[wks]

Hi avant, I'm currently using aquatic compost to grow my cryptocoryne emersed. Its good for growing aquatic plants.

[vinz]

I'm using J. Arthur Bower's Aquatic Compost. Bought from Far East nursery at Thomson Rd.

Pros:
- Really cheap.

Cons:
- Nutrient content is undetermined. I supplement it with ISTA laterite balls (for iron), root monster 'plug' form and Jacno root fetilisers pellets. If I start another tank with it, I'll pre-mix the laterite balls and some loose form root monster or equivalent in first.
- For some reason, some of the plants did not do very well initially. Those that did not do well had rotting roots when I pulled them out. Eventually, those that did not die or were not removed got better and is growing quite well now. Suspect that some parts of the substrate was anaerobic, but I'm puzzled why so quickly.

Pointers:
- Plant heavily from the start.
- If you care to shop around, check with the nurseries what soil they use for potting pond plants and if they are safe for fishes (most likely yes).
- Never use any soil, etc that has pesticide, fungicide or other chemical additives added to it.

[sherchoo]

Vinz,
Did you have any problems when you uproot your plants. I undestand that this aquatic compost are mostly clay and foul up water pretty bad. Correct me if I'm wrong.

So far I'm using it to plant emerse plants. Good results with my Echinodorus' so far. But, as mentioned, it tends to be muddy when disturbed.

[vinz]

So far, this time round I'm avoiding pulling up any large plants.

The last time I used it and I pulled out a large echinodorus, the mess wasn't any different from using JBL.

When I tore down the last tank that used it, after draining the water and removing the gravel, the aquatic compost was hardly muddy... it was as if I never put it under water.

[loupgarou]

how clayish was it? ie: finer than aquabasis (which is more like fine sand to me)

[sherchoo]

frankly, the texture of the aquatic compost is kinda comparable to JBL Aquabasis except abit more clayish.

[avant]

thanks for the useful discussion
just wondering...how will the clay content affect the plants?
are there plants who are more suited to such conditions?

and er..compare with cocopeat..which do u recommend?

[juggler]

----------------
On 1/6/2003 7:43:48 PM

thanks for the useful discussion

just wondering...how will the clay content affect the plants?

are there plants who are more suited to such conditions?


and er..compare with cocopeat..which do u recommend?
----------------

I only have experience with JBL and cocopeat. I would recommend using JBL as I have seen the good results in my friend's tanks without any fuss.
But using soil is so cheap. I experimented with a few brands of soils in the supermarket and found cocopeat does not cloud the water and the pH remain quite neutral. Most soils should work -- test a small sample if not sure. I was also told cocopeat does not contain enough iron. So I had mixed in some loose forms of the Root Monsters during the initial setup. I have already set up 3 tanks using cocopeat and I would continue using it as a base fert for future setups.
Think about this: In nature, water plants grow in what was once soil, right?

[avant]

i'm thinking of experimenting with other kinds of fert other than the usual kinds sold in lfs.. will be challenging to try them out..
hmm...i think i'll be getting cocopeat and try them out...
thanks for the info!