# Mulm and substrate



## freeasabird (Mar 21, 2012)

I'm in the early planning stages for a 75 gallon tank. I'm still undecided about which kind of fish to go with but before I get that far I figure I need to decide on what type of substrate to use. This will be 100% first and foremost a natural planted tank, everything else is on the table. I have no intentions of using any kind of fertilizers or CO2 and am ok with plants growing slowly. This method is doing quite well in my 26 gallon with gravel only and no fertilizer besides the fish. So I'm going back and forth between sand+dirt, gravel only, eco-complete only (or aquariumplants.com version), or eco-complete+dirt.

The one thing I really don't want is to have the mulm sitting on top of the substrate. I don't have the patience to vacuum every day and don't want an unsightly mess at the bottom. I think I'm coming to the conclusion that sand would be definitely out, is that true? Would eco-complete also be out or is it big enough to allow the mulm to pass through as it does with traditional gravel?


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## luananeko (Aug 27, 2010)

Sand would definitely show each and every bit of mulm, unless you went with a darker colored sand. Ecocomplete has a combination of large and small particles, but since it's a dark substrate the mulm would blend in with it. If your primary focus is a low tech planted tank then gravel would work, but personally I'd go with a more nutrient rich substrate since you don't plan on using ferts. Either Eco-complete only or eco complete mixed with something (either dirt or gravel) is probably your best bet.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

One thing is if you use gravel you'll have to syphon it to get the mulm out so it doesnt build up. If you use sand or something else where it sits on top and heavily plant it itreally doesnt show


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## frogwings (Aug 26, 2011)

I used the aquariumplants version of eco-complete with mixed color pebbles on top - maybe 1/2 thick. Sometimes mulm will collect around the larger stones I have sitting around but I just remove that with a turkey baster when it gets too unsightly. My plants are growing fine without any ferts. (The mulm must be doing it's job!) As for vacuuming, I do that about, m-m-m-m-m, once every couple of months, but I guess, in your case, that would depend on how many fish you plan to have.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

None of the types you mention would be considered a natural planted tank. Eco complete is far from natural, is inert, and does not have the nutrients your plants may need. This is all dependent on the lights you choose. As long as you stay away from T5HO you should be okay. The AP.com substrate isn't too bad, but mostly inert also. And, no matter what you use mulm will build up. It does however break up. If you don't want to see it, make it a heavily plated tank and you won't see it.

If you really want a natural planted tank, look into soil substrates or go a step further and make your own mineralized top soil or MTS.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I have a 90 gallon with mineralized top soil topped with sand. Heavy root feeders like vals go crazy in it. I think plants grow just as well, if not better than expensive commercial plant substrates I have tried. Disadvantages of MTS (and similar soil substrates) compared to commercial substrates are that it is time consuming and messy to make, messy to set up, can cause algae outbreaks, cloudy water and trapped gasses. I admit that sounds awful, and I had all those problems which made me start to have second thoughts about my choice but after about 6 weeks the tank finally settled. The water since then has been crystal clear and plants grow wonderfully. I would do it again and could probably avoid some of the problems second time around but it is always going to be a method for the patient, if you want a beautiful looking tank with crystal clear water from day one I don't recommend it.

I have found mulm builds up on the sand, I would consider gravel next time so that the mulm falls through and gets to the roots of the plants, although the sand works well for the plants because it's easy for the roots to get through. Once the plants grow in you cant see the mulm anyway.


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## freeasabird (Mar 21, 2012)

jrman83 said:


> None of the types you mention would be considered a natural planted tank.


I guess low tech would be the more appropriate term for what I was looking for.

Thanks for the feedback.


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## freeasabird (Mar 21, 2012)

snail said:


> I have a 90 gallon with mineralized top soil topped with sand. Heavy root feeders like vals go crazy in it. I think plants grow just as well, if not better than expensive commercial plant substrates I have tried. Disadvantages of MTS (and similar soil substrates) compared to commercial substrates are that it is time consuming and messy to make, messy to set up, can cause algae outbreaks, cloudy water and trapped gasses. I admit that sounds awful, and I had all those problems which made me start to have second thoughts about my choice but after about 6 weeks the tank finally settled. The water since then has been crystal clear and plants grow wonderfully. I would do it again and could probably avoid some of the problems second time around but it is always going to be a method for the patient, if you want a beautiful looking tank with crystal clear water from day one I don't recommend it.
> 
> I have found mulm builds up on the sand, I would consider gravel next time so that the mulm falls through and gets to the roots of the plants, although the sand works well for the plants because it's easy for the roots to get through. Once the plants grow in you cant see the mulm anyway.


I'm curious, what is it about the process that makes the mineralized soil better? I've done a bit of reading on it over the last couple days and all I gathered was that you just repeat a process of wetting and drying soil. I must have been missing something.

Edit: Also yeah about the mulm falling through the gravel and joining the soil at the bottom was indeed kind of the goal. I'm not averse to vacuuming, just don't want to do it every day and don't want my tank to look like crap.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

freeasabird said:


> I'm curious, what is it about the process that makes the mineralized soil better? I've done a bit of reading on it over the last couple days and all I gathered was that you just repeat a process of wetting and drying soil. I must have been missing something.


I think it has to do with breaking down organic material and locking in minerals. You can use straight soil but it I think it takes longer to settle. I don't really know a lot about it but it got good reviews so I decided to try it and I am happy with the results. I used garden soil to make my MTS and I can say it looked very different at the end of the process than it did when I started both in color and texture.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

luananeko said:


> Sand would definitely show each and every bit of mulm, unless you went with a darker colored sand. Ecocomplete has a combination of large and small particles, but since it's a dark substrate the mulm would blend in with it. If your primary focus is a low tech planted tank then gravel would work, but personally I'd go with a more nutrient rich substrate since you don't plan on using ferts. Either Eco-complete only or eco complete mixed with something (either dirt or gravel) is probably your best bet.


I just use peat moss, sand, and pc select (or aquarium gravel) in layers.

And let the mulm build up then once a year suck it out.

Obviously you could suck it out more often.

Please keep us informed on how it goes.


my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

freeasabird said:


> I guess low tech would be the more appropriate term for what I was looking for.
> 
> Thanks for the feedback.


Getting to low-tech is easy. It is more driven by the light. Stay out of high range and it will keep you without a need for CO2 and keep you low-tech.

My kid has a 75g tank with a 48" 4x32W T-8 shop light over his tank that has been working great for him.


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