STEP #1 - SETUP A DIRTED TANK | FATHER FISH

[@FatherFish]

STEM PLANTS BUNDLE SALE - Over 75 plants - 15 Species for $59! Limited Time OFFER so HURRY! father-fish-aquarium.myshopify.com/ For Special Soil Supplements, Plants, FIsh & Merch in your country: fatherfish.fish/

[@jiffyjose5117]

I feel like hearing from my grandpa , love u...

[@bne269]

When people search up how to set up fresh water aquarium this needs to pop up

[@FatherFish]

Working on it.

[@mikerusso4775]

You're absolutely right, and with a little more time I'm positive it will.

[@EireFirst2024]

100%

[@billanderson5037]

Hi can you use sand from the beach and ordinary dirt from the garden seeing it will have micro-organisms through it thanks. Mr New be

[@marconikarga]

​@@FatherFish can I use vermicompost as the base?

[@TheBrianalbanese]

I set up my 2 tanks 4 days ago with dirt & sand. Watching this video, I now learn about adding supplements to the dirt. 😮 I hope all goes well.

[@arbinmajarjan2719]

So its been a month .. hows it going sir?

[@shawndoe2834]

I love the Father Fish Philosophy. This is my experiment with an un-capped dirted 20g tank with no filter. I went to a dry vernal pool & cut tall grass down to about 3" tall. Dug up a 5 gallon pail of soil, organic debris, & grass roots. It was an experimental tank to try growing fairy shrimp that failed. No fairy shrimp hatched, so I decided to intentionally make as many mistakes as I possibly could. Anything I felt uncomfortable doing, I went ahead and did it. Result was an amazing learning experience. Things I thought I'd like I didn't and things I thought I'd hate turned out not bad. Heavier soil sunk and there was about 3-4" of floating debris for close to two months. There was significant smelly off gassing for a while so I threw some airstones in and that seemed to resolve the problem within about a week. If I did it again, I'd just aerate the soil and debris outside for a couple of months during the summer. I intentionally stirred the substrate up many times & what ended up happening was the light organic debris 'self-capped' the substrate. After this happened, if I stirred the bottom up, it would cloud the tank but would settle relatively quickly overnight. The debris that slowly sunk ceated a 'Tunguska Event' bombed forest look to it, I absolutely love the way it looks. I tried Frogbit & its amazing stuff. It really filters the water. My water perimeters stabilzed around the two month mark. The long frogbit roots prevented water movement so any substrate agitation was very minimal and localized. I then tried Giant Duckweed. It took about a month to establish and explode. I enjoy its look from above & below. It reduces light penetration quite a bit more then common duckweed. My next change will be unleashing the dreaded common duckweed because my brother has a tank thats covered in common duckweed and the filtered green light underneath is beautiful. I'm so glad I tried this & so glad I invited disaster from day one. Its helped me to grow more patience. In nature water has floating and sinking debris, tannin water changes shades, water levels & turbidity change.... so when my tank went through all these changes I just had to accept that thats what happens in nature, thats 'natural'. Not sure where this experiment will go. So whether I keep on experimenting or tear down the tank its been an incredible experience. Take Care: Shawn

[@pedrovision6987]

FF...you rock...it is a pleasure and a joy to see a man at work, doing his art...we could all hope to do life like this!! THANK YOU for sharing...greetings from Finland!!

[@KerryScottCooke7402]

Thank you for the video Father Fish. I’m going to watch more of your videos. I’m starting a 150 and I’m going to do it something like you did the tank in this video.

[@kushalsenlaskar]

Good part is you show how to prepare fish tank without any chemicals, where as Mayur from India only shows how to prepare tank with costly products

[@nicki-k8v]

Hi i think what your saying is true i went down to the lake and put some dead leaves in then put in my tank fish are happy before they kept getting sick so thankyou you talk sense

[@fredlesson]

Lol! 🤣

[@Good13man]

I love this raw view.

[@johnjwedrall4290]

Nice looking 10 gallon tank 😊

[@FatherFish]

Yes, thanks John

[@johnjwedrall4290]

@@FatherFish 👍

[@canisteovalleydave]

I just ordered the little aquatop filter for up to 10 gallons. It is great for aeration and establishes a BB colony fast. Its tiny and fits in the background easily.

[@FatherFish]

Excellent.

[@Good13man]

I love your videos, especially your older ones.

[@mshayden091]

That looks really nice and natural 😊

[@saizan5875]

Thank you FF.

[@KarunakaranNaresh]

You're welcome. 😊

[@bargozideshahsavari]

Thank you for your effort. I have a suggestion: please record a section about Father Fish tanks with full details of the time of formation, i.e. the life of the tank, the fish and plants, the date when new water was added and the fish that have multiplied or died. and the number of generations the fish has been in the tank. I think it will be important and useful. Thank you very much.

[@Baffi_]

I like to clean up and smooth out the dirt line before adding the caping substrate. Then it looks neat and even, and I can see the roots grow down into the dirt around the edges over time. It looks pretty cool when you can see a carpet of dwarf sag from the top down to the roots through the substrate. And it’s really interesting seeing the variety of roots shapes and growth patterns from different plants. Getting a stand that lets you see the bottom of the tank is cool too. I was keeping track of the deep root growth from a dwarf Lilly through my 55 gallon over 3 years. It had roots reaching from one end to the other. Not too many right down in the deepest parts of the substrate, but still a few really thick ones. You could see where they had grown through solid black areas full of anaerobic bacteria, but forced back the anaerobic bacteria slowly as they pushed forward. Example of the “oxidized rhizosphere”, and aquatic plants exuding oxygen from their roots to create an aerobic environment for the bacteria that live symbiotically in the root zone

[@FatherFish]

Great tip! Agree absolutely\

[@Greencloud8]

Do you think that Dirt/mud from the beach will work

[@Baffi_]

@@Greencloud8 it would, you could even start with dirt from your backyard

[@davidrix804]

Hi father fish just love the way you just shove the plants and rocks in and not being too fussy and it turns out great🙏🙏🙏🙏👍🙏👍🙏🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@FatherFish]

Thank you very much David. Toward the end of his life Amano realized that spontaneous placement of hardscape and plants created a natural appearance that was lost in high design.

[@Greencloud8]

This kind of makes sense "well a lot of sense" as I was told by someone they had pet ducks and since they lived basically on beach sand they didnt have to worry about poultry poop

[@marcussmith1177]

3:44 I wanted to ask since it’s the same topic. If I have a 75 gallon and wanted to convert it to a dirted tank after it’s been running for a year with seasoned filter media and sand only with some rocks. How long would it be before I could add fish to that aquarium?

[@FatherFish]

add sand to your exiswsting substrate with the fish in the tank.'

[@marcussmith1177]

@@FatherFish so add more sand on top of my current sand? Would I not add dirt then?

[@coribellanoche]

Could you please clarify what that white substance you mixed in with the dirt. Thanks for the video, great instruction

[@Habs_Centennial]

Its powdered fertilizers, could be different mixtures between Potassium, Magnesium ect... it nutrients to give the soil a kick start so over time within a year or so it could hold it's own nutrients by fish producing waist and uneaten fish foods goes into the substrate naturally and creates a more natural fertilizer for the plants to feed off of.. it that makes sense.

[@coribellanoche]

@@Habs_Centennial Thanks for the reply. Could you be any more specific? Is there a recipe for this mixture available. Have you got a favorite concoction?

[@FatherFish]

Several videos specify the ingredients of the substrate.kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5azpox3n7KmZtE

[@coribellanoche]

@@FatherFish New to your channel - thank you kindly from Rapid City, South Dakota

[@leesutton1845]

Fantastic 👍

[@FatherFish]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@dellsdiy]

You mentioned to add fish immediately, no need to cycle. Does that also remain true when using new organic soil purchased from a store? I've been told that the soil will create a lot of ammonia for the first couple weeks. I'm going to have to use fresh new soil and new sand but will put back the current tank water.

[@FatherFish]

The sand prevents soil from entering the water column. Ammonia is taken up by plant roots.

[@angiebriix9037]

Help Farher Fish!! Thank you for all the videos and tutorials you put out there. I’m learning so much. I just message this morning that all my goodies are on my way. Any tips on medium sized Goldfish as far as how to keep the goldfish from destroying the plants? Do you suggest weights? My goldfish are two now!

[@rbihon]

where do you get that black profile on the edge of your aquarium?

[@D.W.e.s.t.]

What is the white chemicals you added?? I'm making my mud now from red dirt from outside

[@khushipati4501]

Dear Father fish, First of all thank you so much for educating world and me in a beautiful way. I have set up a tank 6month ago as a trial basis. Now looking at the beauty of dirted tank, I am really astonished. I want to set up a bigger tank. Kindly let me know whether I can use the dirt Of old tank or not. Thanks again😊

[@FatherFish]

yes!

[@Asteroid_destroyer82348]

Sir do need to wash these ingredients or just potting soil / garden soil?

[@FatherFish]

Wash nothing in the substrate with the possible exception of the sand.

[@KarunakaranNaresh]

Very helpful for beginners.

[@FatherFish]

I hope so.

[@kellycrowe3417]

Finally, a person who knows how to set up tanks correctly. This is a must video. Think about all the chemicals we use, etc. What a waste! My father use to raise fish back in the 50s so I had some of this information like raising temp for Ick and putting leaves in. I just saw another awesome video for black hair algae which is really hard to get rid of once established in tank. Went on vacation and housesitter prob overfed then had spinal fusion so tank was neglected for about 5 weeks. This video said to rurn off running filter as to not kill natural bacteria, add 3% hydrogen peroxide 3ml per 10 gallons in tank. You can keep water circulator on. Turn off tank lights, cover tank with blanket for an hour. After hour, the HP will have dissolved while adding oxygen to tank. Then turn everything back on. The BBA had turned red as it was dying. Repeated next day and it's completely gone! No fish, snails or shrimp dead. Treated entire tank without having to take anything out. But, he said do not go over 4ml per 10 gallons. In 2 days my plants are back to thriving!

[@ineshianewton7740]

Hello father fish, I did this dirted tank....and my chiclids digging the bottom out...now tank is cloudy..how to fix it

[@FatherFish]

Sand was not deep enough. Placing a few flat rocks will provide nesting sites that help prevent digging.

[@ineshianewton7740]

@@FatherFish ok thank you

[@tanksouth]

Thank you.

[@robertdeschu4367]

This man works like I do: Water, dirt, tools, and materials everywhere lmao. The cleanup can come afterwards! Lol

[@peetos-chan2835]

So i recently added water to a new tank with dirt and 2 inches of sand, byt the water managed to slip under the dirt and sand, bc of the style of tank, and water bubbled up from underneath.... my question is... why is it bad for that to happen? Sorry for my ignorance.

[@snapsaz6067]

Interesting if i put the mud in bags whos hawe a hole's? It will be the same thing ? The thing is if i wonna to change something i can remove bags

[@FatherFish]

won't work

[@ronin6158]

superglue.. did not see that coming. When setting up new with only tap water, when should the water be de-chlorinated?

[@FatherFish]

immediately

[@KathyLankford-u1h]

What if my potting sail has fertilizer in it? Should I try to find one without fertilizer?

[@FatherFish]

fert in soil is ok

[@Good13man]

What kind of sand do you use? I have used pool filter sand, but it's kind of fine. It's difficult to keep stem plants anchored.

[@FatherFish]

lay the stem p[lant on its side when planting.

[@izei5754]

Hello i want to try this but i have 2 comet goldfish, do they fit in a tank like this??

[@blueglass1123]

Help ! I’ve used too much dirt and not enough sand……my water is very muddy….what do I do ? Will I have to start all over again ? Will the dirt in the muddy water settle for me to then put more sand in ! Many thanks…

[@FatherFish]

Add sand.

[@Peeingstickymilk]

Question what if you need to move the tank and have to empty the water out and in the move the sand and soil get mixed up. Is it better to just start over with a new soil and sand setup or just re cap with more sand once the move is done and it settles?

[@FatherFish]

Re cap. No need to waste good product.

[@Greencloud8]

Can I use mud from the beach? and if so do I only get to have salt water fish?

[@shabeerok7274]

Wonderful video and very informative

[@Johanna-qf1yx]

What kind of sand ? Where can I get it from ? Just use tap water or straight from a lake ? I couldn’t hear u well. Can u list what u used for the dirt cocktail ? Tysm

[@FatherFish]

Join us on the Father Fish Shoal and get all your questions and more answered. discord.gg/G4fkAE6qNw

[@retrorespect81]

Hello Father Fish! I have been watching your videos since discovering them only a week ago. Truly grateful for you😊 I have a 180 gallon tank I just got for an upgrade. If I use organic soil and mix with water in a huge tub outside and squeeze the water consistently for a few days with more water..will letting it sit outside for a few more days help release the ammonia quicker? And will water lettuce help remove ammonia from the tank? Thank You from the bottom of my heart for all your graciousness in educating those (including myself) on the road to beautiful tanks❤️

[@FatherFish]

Watch my 2 most recent videos. Explains how to do the substrate.

[@ellenlandowski1659]

I have 2 established gravel tanks... Can the gravel be scraped to one side to put the dirts mix then replace the gravel and cap with the sand??

[@ebonhawken574]

Hello I just started a new dirt tank and I woke up this morning with my water very brown and cloudy. I capped the potting soil with about 2 inches or sand. Do I need to start over? Thanks

[@FatherFish]

You need to figure out how the dirt got in the water.

[@itsjavaman]

So awesome!

[@mitchstavely1]

I'm going to try and convert my 75 gal and 20 long to dirtied (currently, gravel planted). I know this is going to be a job and what to do with the fish during this conversion. I know, I should have set this up to start with, but we all learn for our mistake, right? Any ideas of how to make this somewhat of a manageable operation? Also, you mentioned black cow dirt, so I will get a bag of this instead of getting dirt from the woods or yard. Thanks for all the great advice!

[@FatherFish]

You can simply cap the tanks with 2" of sand and keep going. OR you can break them down and start over. Do not try to put dirt in a tank unless you are starting fresh. REALLY hard to do.

[@ellenlandowski1659]

Thanks I want to know too

[@quackchung]

I have the option of Grey Silica Sand 0,8-1,4mm...OR... Filter Pump Sand 16/30 0,4-0,8mm. What would be your advice and why? Thanks.

[@FatherFish]

Both are good.

[@michelleparsons9881]

I think i messed mine up, I'm starting a Dutchscape. i wished I had seen your video first. I put in 2 inches of organic potting soil and also 2 inches of pool filter sand total of 4 inches. Did I mess up? And if I need to remove some sand, how to keep the soil from leeching through? Any advice would be detrimental at this point cause I don't think my plants will make it

[@FatherFish]

Here are the formulas: discord.gg/father-fish-shoal

[@dragonflyhfc]

Hi father fish, what is the chemicals do you add? Thank you

[@FatherFish]

discord.gg/father-fish-shoal

[@FirstnameLastname-do1px]

Did you have to rinse the sand and soil before putting it in your tank? Thanks!

[@FatherFish]

no

[@FirstnameLastname-do1px]

@@FatherFish Thank you Father Fish you are a legend!

[@youngmango4508]

Thank you for sharing your experience and wisdom. My question for you is about soil depth. I currently have a 120 gallon aquarium and I'd love to put another dirted tank in my home. I was thinking 3 inches of lava rock. I would cover it with some charcoal. Then about 2 inches of your special soil recipe. Then I'd love to do a 2 or 3 inch layer of sand on top of that. Of course this is not an even layer across the whole bottom of the tank. I wanted to use the lava rock to lift the background plants and decor. Please tell me your thoughts on this and if I'm in error then how I could safely accomplish this sloped large aquarium

[@FatherFish]

The most effective approach will be to integrate the lava rock with the sand and keep the soil mixture at the very bottom.

[@conman20000]

Why do yah use peat moss and do you suggust a different mix if you don't have a huge amount of plants?

[@FatherFish]

Peat adds humus and lightens the soil. No. I do not recommend a different mix.

[@SunkenScapes]

Great video FF, really informative

[@KarunakaranNaresh]

Ty

[@johnshanks7902]

Hi can u clarify1 thing the soil u put at bottom for the plants to grow out with sand on top is it ordinary garden soil

[@FatherFish]

I have clarified that in a variety of videos. It is a complex of several types of material. Learn about it by watching some of my videos where it is explained in detail.

[@treelover420]

I set up my tank about 2 months ago today. I do have a few snails and fish in the tank. I have a about 4 plants and some dwarf grass. I do have a small filter on it. It's a 55 gallon tank and I do have about 2in of soil at the bottom. For the last 2 weeks the water has been very cloudy and there's Def alege building up everywhere. I have changed out water twice thinking it will help and it didn't. I'm here because I can't figure out why it cloudy. My question is would sand fix this issue for me or a better filter? Last question would be will adding sand to a tank that has plant growing in it be a problem?

[@FatherFish]

sand will work and Yes, plants grow in sand

[@brucesherborne408]

So what is the soil composition and what chemicals did you add. Can we get amounts and names of it all ?

[@FatherFish]

Yes. It is extensive. Find it at discord.gg/father-fish-shoal

[@andrewlee843]

Can we use organic compost insted of regular dirt....

[@FatherFish]

organic compost is one of three main products in the soil mixture. The others are potting or garden soil and humus such as peat moss. in addition the supplement adds all necessary minerals to insure a fullly diversified substrate.

[@sidkanderi7820]

what if it's my first tank and I don't have an existing aquarium to siphon water from? what should I use? I live in arizona and my area uses chlorine, not chloramine.

[@FatherFish]

chlorine gasses off almost instantly. Use tapwater and follow the deep substrate instructions.

[@sidkanderi7820]

@@FatherFish thank you! I'll do that

[@1saboletini128]

I used miracle gro moisture control as my soil, have like 2 inches of it and half inch of very fine gravel which I thought was too small, so I capped that with 1 inch of sand. I dont know if the moisture control type is a problem, should I redo the whole thing and get just normal miracle gro potting soil?

[@FatherFish]

sounnds fine.

[@mark21366]

Hi Father Fish, Did you just do that in one day? I' m planning to convert my 10 gal tank sand substrate into a dirted one. So once I'm done setting up, can I put my fish and plants back right away? TIA

[@mark21366]

oh! found my answer at 6:00 😂 Thank you for your awsome videos

[@adilmunir-j8o]

can i use sand from the beach and immediately place it in my tank, or should i wash it first

[@FatherFish]

Collect sand high on the beach

[@MiFinkel-qb9os]

What about a heater? Excellent tutorial!

[@conman20000]

Would it be fine to use kelp meal , soybean meal and or rock phosphate in place of some of these ingredients? Or would that cause problems?

[@FatherFish]

Almost any organic material is good. Don't overlook the importance of mineral supplements as well.

[@skydisco3]

My kids got their tanks switched over to dirted tanks thanks to your supplements and plants. (Thank you!🤩) Question: In my son's 10 gallon aquarium (which we previously asked you about, as he was gifted it and the tank is undersized for the fish), his yellow cichlid "Sunny" is digging through the sand and exposing the soil underneath. Sunny really likes digging; my son can move the sand back but then she digs again. Is it okay if part of the underlying soil is exposed (and also then mixing somewhat into the water and sand)?

[@FatherFish]

What kind of fish is Sunny? Try adding another inch of sand. If Sunny is digging to the bottom it will not work. Sunny will need a new tank with no dirt.

[@skydisco3]

@@FatherFish Sunny is a Yellow Cichlid. We had commented for advice from you previously because my son was gifted this too-small tank with the Cichlid, and we don't have resources or space at this time for another or larger tank. Is it a complete deal breaker on the dirted tank if Sunny digs to the bottom in one spot? She doesn't generally do it all over, just in one small area.

[@FatherFish]

@@skydisco3 if Sunny does not dig the whole tank but keeps his nest in one spot it will be fine. A sponge or hob filter will remove the small amount of dirt. Keep as many plants in as possible. That will limit Sunny's digging.

[@skydisco3]

@@FatherFish Thank you so much for your continued support!

[@cinnoromrotatcid]

how about the residue of that glue?is it not dangerous to the fish and plants?im enjoying your videos sir

[@FatherFish]

There is no residue

[@Leib33]

That tank ended up beautiful. It looks like a long established, well tended and scaped tank. I've only started watching your videos in the last couple of months and mostly your tanks look kind of unkempt. I'm happy to see you actually have a good sense of aesthetics as well! My only question (tongue in cheek) is that since this tank already LOOKS long established, will that detract from it's total life span? ;-D

[@FatherFish]

Funny guy!! Yes, many of my anks are unkempt because these people keep coming in and wanting to buy plants, fish, and decor RIGHT OUT OF THE TANK!! Now that I am retired I MUST try to do something about that.

[@honriecavan3440]

as well what type of sand do you use and do you ever clean a planted tank other than water change?

[@FatherFish]

ant inert sand. I NEVER clean

[@onehitterquitter2130]

As far as dirt goes what kind of dirt is ok to use. I'm in Wisconsin an near me is a city dump. They offer free fill dirt mixed with lots of wood sticks an sometimes plastic an rubber. It's easy to pull out what you don't want. Would you use this dirt?

[@FatherFish]

Join us on the Father Fish Shoal to learn more. discord.gg/GdakStEjAy

[@onehitterquitter2130]

Well I used it an it worked fine. I did not add any supplements. Just dirt an sand on top. Plants are growing great.

[@udaraperera81]

Hi Can you please describe writing what’s in your diet!! ( can’t understand too noisy)

[@FatherFish]

any and all meat, eggs, dairy - butter, milk cheese.

[@CazzyCat]

OK I heard Peat Moss for the first ingredient, but I'm having trouble understanding what the second one is. It sounds like you said "black cow" 😂 Can you tell me what it is that you mixed with the peat?

[@FatherFish]

compost, any kind, or pond mud - 1/4 of the formula

[@CazzyCat]

thank you!

[@BunzSudz]

Farher Fish, what was the white powder mixture that you mixed in the black cow/peat mix? Thanks!

[@FatherFish]

That is my supplement. It contains nutrients and buffers need by your aquarium for long term stability. I sell it at fatherfish.fish

[@magdawegrowska2039]

Could somebody write down all indgridients the FF is mixing to create foundation? My english is very basic and I can't understand some words from hearing

[@rikhughes6452]

I couldn't hear the soil part af gne beginning either it was a little muffled did he say coir

[@rockandstroll]

What are the chemicals additives you add to the mixture at the beginning?

[@FatherFish]

There are about a dozen. Join us at the Father Fish Shoal to leartn about this. discord.gg/GdakStEjAy

[@kylemcfarlane5547]

Hello father fish. In my existing set up I have used fluval stratum and seachem flourite. If I capped it with 2inches of sand would that be okay? I don’t want to disturb the tank and replace the existing substrate. Thank you for your help your experience is amazing!

[@FatherFish]

Your substrate will be fine. Not to worry.

[@ghoulian2020]

Did you end up adding sand to your existing substrate? How did it go?

[@honriecavan3440]

would you be able to have this type of tank with coolie loaches , would they disturb the dirt coming up into the tabk, ans I understood you said peat moss and what else thanks?

[@FatherFish]

They do not dig deep. Goto discord.gg/father-fish-shoal to get the formula.

[@KnNashua]

What type sand, I search but just see deep bed. Looking for measured size not name as people use wrong names, say .25-.75mm like caribsea moonlight which is medium-course but finer than most aquarium sand, or 1240 screen size like black diamond blasting abrasive, or size in inches. I would much appreciate what Father Fish uses/recommends.

[@FatherFish]

I prefer pool filter sand .22 grain But honestly have found any grain is effective.

[@meggrotte4760]

Wow that's a fantastic tank

[@FatherFish]

That was an amazing tank. It was sold to a hobbyist.

[@randaldavis4880]

can you post the list of plants . Thank you, i been want to do a planted tank, but having no luck really .. seems my plants either melt or die out ..

[@FatherFish]

goto www.fatherfish.fish and click on the store banner.

[@mshellothere100]

Does light matter or can I use the light that came with my tank?

[@FatherFish]

Try to maximize light then cut back as needed./

[@bestfriendship4885]

The only kind of sand available in my place is the sand they use for mixing cement, wondering if i can use it in my aquarium? I really want to have a planted natural aquarium

[@FatherFish]

Yes, rinse it

[@bestfriendship4885]

@@FatherFish Thank you very much, i will do it with my small tank first and hope my bettas will survive😅will update you later

[@BurakArium]

If I spread coconut peat on the bottom, will there be fine sand on top?

[@FatherFish]

fine to do

[@BurakArium]

@@FatherFish thanks father fish 🖐

[@Rickydbaby]

if some plants arent making it and start dying, do you recommend removing them right away? is the dying plant harmful to the fish?

[@FatherFish]

Why are they dying?

[@Rickydbaby]

@@FatherFish I just planted my tank. None are dying yet. I just saw in one of your videos you said to plant a lot of plants because some of them won't make it. I'm wondering/jumping out ahead for advice if I notice some dying if it's advisable to remove them.

[@aqua_bauer]

@fatherfish Can I use dried leafs like Cattapa instead of leaf from a pond to make my Sand only aquarium dirted?

[@FatherFish]

With, not instead of. Calalpa is very slow to deteriorate. Maple and ash are much faster. Yoin need both.

[@Gingerscience]

Thank you for your brilliant videos! Can I use garden compost or top soil for my dirt layer?

[@sheilaedmonds5306]

I see u are using cow manure and peat moss and suppliment . I thought we need organic soil also ? Do i need organic soil also ? I want to set up 20 gallon and hoprfully 9 more

[@FatherFish]

Yes, of course. I did not leave it out.,

[@빨강머리-s9q]

Can I put my mollies right away or?

[@FatherFish]

Yes

[@danishshaikh4979]

Will there be a need to change the soil in future?

[@FatherFish]

no

[@danishshaikh4979]

​​@@FatherFish Thank you sir! I will be the first one to buy if you write a book

[@stevengrainger9073]

What were the half a dizen different chemicals?

[@FatherFish]

listed in the Shoal: discord.gg/father-fish-shoal

[@AquaJFinsNGrins]

What chemicals did you add to the soil mix ?

[@FatherFish]

good question. Actually none. There are a number of elements and a few natural compounds but no synthetic chemicals.

[@VictoriaS-hw5gg]

I have an outdoor ornamental pond in Pa. Near Phila. It is about 4 by 6 feet, 20 inches deep and holds about 400 to 450 gallons. I have fan tail goldfish in it that overwinter. I have a bubbler and a pond heater that I use occasionally to melt ice from top only. Leaves blow in and I try to skim some out so the debris in the bottom doesn't get too deep and since many of the leaves are oak the water doesn't get too acidic. Usually I clean out some of the stuff in the bottom once a year. Do you have any advice for what I should be doing better. I do test the water once in a while and make changes if needed but it does seem to be mostly okay. Thanks for any input.

[@FatherFish]

Sounds like you are doing great. You might add a few inches of sand to the botttom.

[@VictoriaS-hw5gg]

@@FatherFish Thanks for your reply. I will try that this spring.

[@somewhereupacreek]

I'm setting up my 55 gallon now with your dirt mixture and plants, etc. You really share some great information. Can you tell me more about the Iron Oxide, where I can get it and what brand, name, etc to look for, I can't find anything but Ironite.

[@FatherFish]

Ironite is perfect.

[@FatherFish]

Look on Amazon

[@somewhereupacreek]

@FatherFish got it and we got those tanks up today. I'm excited to see how this goes.

[@marconikarga]

Can i use vermicompost as the base?

[@sahindemirer]

I completed my tank with your method but my substrate 3 centimeters and fine sand is 5 centimeters. Is my cap enough?

[@jamestheengineer256]

Father fish how do you prevent or atleast control the diatoms (or most people call them brown algae) from taking over your tank? Does heavily planting the tank alone outcompetes the diatoms?

[@FatherFish]

A deep substrate makes diatom growth almost impossible. Reduce feeding and add substantial plants

[@1905milosz]

The sand colour is beautiful what sand is this? What grain size is the best for deep substrate?

[@FatherFish]

I believe that is pool filter sand, 21 grain

[@1905milosz]

@@FatherFish Thank you very much!!! I have found it.

[@1905milosz]

@@FatherFish I have found there 2 standards for the grain 0.2- 0.5mm and 0.5-0.8mm what size is better the smallest or the medium?

[@FatherFish]

@@1905milosz I have used both and do not see a difference in function

[@1905milosz]

@@FatherFish thank you

[@danishshaikh4979]

Sir from where can we get that sand? Or any brand you could recommend? I am watching from India. Its really difficult to get sand because they sell gravels instead of sand

[@FatherFish]

Can you go to the beach or river

[@danishshaikh4979]

@@FatherFish Its illegal here to take sand from the beach🫤

[@FatherFish]

How about a river

[@christopherlewis2864]

was going to get a good sample cross section of the river stour near me in the UK and I am glad I checked first. Look into uk sewage discharge into every one of our rivers and then finally the ocean. It would be unwise for me to introduce this into my tank...ecoli ect. One would have to travel 100s of miles to the cotswalds to obtain the soil you describe. Tragic shame. You should sell a tanks worth of the good stuff to people like me in the UK. It would sell and allow us to participate.

[@FatherFish]

Nature does not tolerate pollution. It is purged and purified in short order. Where there are fishes and plants thriving, pollutants have been overcome.