How to stop dirt from getting into the water column

[Mississippi fish guy]

After I bought an aco light for my 55 gallon I found that my problem with water clarity was dirt and not tannins. I have about 3 inches of topsoil with about 1/2-3/4 in of quickcrete pool filter sand. The dirt has been leaching into the water for several months and with one exception it has done this consistently every time between water changes. I currently have 1 large aco sponge filter. How can I stop the dirt from leaching into the water?

[Tony s]

Look at how Father Fish does his. It's usually around a 3" sand cap. and depending on if you have digging fish, even that may not be deep enough. When I temporarily moved my skunk corys, they dug to the bottom of the tank. 2" + of sand. Not intentionally, they were just very skittish in the new tank

[Tony s]

1/2" of sand is more of Diana Walstad's method, and every square inch is then planted to death. 

[Mississippi fish guy]

On 9/26/2024 at 1:23 PM, Tony s said:

Look at how Father Fish does his. It's usually around a 3" sand cap. and depending on if you have digging fish, even that may not be deep enough. When I temporarily moved my skunk corys, they dug to the bottom of the tank. 2" + of sand. Not intentionally, they were just very skittish in the new tank

I have one large green Cory and five smaller juliis. What do you think would be the best depth? I will redo the tank if I have to but I would rather not if that is possible.

[Tony s]

I honestly don't have any experience with dirted tanks. But was listening to tank talk podcast this afternoon and they were discussing the differences. I was actually surprised my skunk corys kicked up that much sand. it was at least 2 inches deep. But they were frightened, and it was in the corner. And they went to the bottom there. Was kind of interesting because it exposed new plant roots

[Mississippi fish guy]

How should I add more sand?

[MWilk]

The plastic bottle method is slow but works well. Is it very heavily planted?

[Mississippi fish guy]

On 9/26/2024 at 5:54 PM, MWilk said:

The plastic bottle method is slow but works well. Is it very heavily planted?

it’s not very planted yet so I might try that, thanks.

[MWilk]

I think you just need more filtration. Are there any bottom feeders in here? Who are the leaves for?

[Mississippi fish guy]

On 9/26/2024 at 6:29 PM, MWilk said:

I think you just need more filtration. Are there any bottom feeders in here? Who are the leaves for?

The leaves are for the kuhlis and my clown pleco. Would a second sponge filter work? I don’t want to get a hob filter.

[Odd Duck]

I have about 3/4” of high iron clay under 2” of sand in my 100 G nanofish (plus cories and plecos) tank and my big bristlenose pleco boys still stir it up sometimes.  Plus moving any rooted plants at all stirs it up.  I regret having clay in the bottom of that tank because it’s too messy and it’s not been very convincing as a nutrient sink.  It’s probably not enough of a layer for a good nutrient sink but I can’t imagine what a mess the tank would be if I had more clay and less sand.  A clown pleco isn’t going to be as messy as my big bristlenoses but it’s still a pleco and my clown pleco does dig himself hollows under the edges of the driftwood to some extent.  A sand layer less than 2” over any kind of soil is going to be a perpetual dust cloud in the water with any bottom feeders but especially with cories and plecos.

[mynameisnobody]

Here’s a quick thought, if it’s not heavily planted, what’s the point of dirting it? Seems like you’re making your life difficult for no reason. Also you’ll want much less dirt and much more sand. Your equations are backwards.

[MWilk]

On 9/27/2024 at 6:37 AM, mynameisnobody said:

Here’s a quick thought, if it’s not heavily planted, what’s the point of dirting it? Seems like you’re making your life difficult for no reason. Also you’ll want much less dirt and much more sand. Your equations are backwards.

I assume it’s just not heavily planted yet. 

[Mississippi fish guy]

On 9/27/2024 at 6:37 AM, mynameisnobody said:

Here’s a quick thought, if it’s not heavily planted, what’s the point of dirting it? Seems like you’re making your life difficult for no reason. Also you’ll want much less dirt and much more sand. Your equations are backwards.

I plan on heavily planting it I just haven’t yet.

[mynameisnobody]

I figured as much, but how will you plant it without making a mess is the real question. Usually these things are setup in 1 shot. When you start doing dirt in stages, you run into this problem much more often, like every time you want to plant something. 

[DaveO]

A sponge filter will never clarify the water column. You will need a hob or canister filter to do that. If you want clear water you should start over and get rid of the dirt. With those corys doing what they do, your water will always be cloudy. I still use a sponge filter, but mostly for aeration, and add a canister to clarify the water.

[Weepnprophet]

As DaveO stated, a sponge filter isn’t the best at polishing the water. A power filter of any kind loaded with filter floss will help. The reality is with that much dirt and such a thin cap layer, this is going to be an ongoing problem for you. 

[Martin]

I'm not sure if it will work, but if you really don't want to change your filtration set-up, you could try temporarily tie some filter floss around the intake and add some Accuclear or some other additive like it, but like Weepnprophet has stated, it would likely recur.

[MattyM]

You should easily be able to take all that stuff out, add your sand, and then plant the heck out of it - why else have a dirt bottom. 

If you want crystal clear water you can try wedging a polishing pad between your tank wall and sponge filter, or wrap a piece around the filter - I believe the co-op site/youtube channel has ways of optimizing a sponge filter like this - as well as Irene's channel "Girl Talks Fish." Personally I've found a this size does can do extremely well with both a sponge and HOB that has filter floss and purigen. You can also try one of those corner filters (also air driven) and put some filter floss in there.

[clownbaby]

Agree with other folks. 1/2 of sand will not hold down topsoil enough, especially 3 inches of it. I would recommend at least 2 inches of sand for 3 inches of topsoil

[johnnyxxl]

On 9/27/2024 at 10:18 AM, Martin said:

I'm not sure if it will work, but if you really don't want to change your filtration set-up, you could try temporarily tie some filter floss around the intake and add some Accuclear or some other additive like it, but like Weepnprophet has stated, it would likely recur.

Or do like MD and I started to do and use a small internal filter for polishing the water 

[Mississippi fish guy]

On 9/28/2024 at 6:48 PM, johnnyxxl said:

Or do like MD and I started to do and use a small internal filter for polishing the water 

How would I do that and what kind of filter would I need?

[mynameisnobody]

That is going to be a really expensive band aid. 

[johnnyxxl]

I bought a cheap like less than 20 dollar one been using it every water change 

[Odd Duck]

Please trust us when we tell you that such a thin layer of sand will prevent your water from ever staying clear.  You’ll need at least 2” of sand to have a fighting chance with plecos and cories in the tank.  I have other tanks that are sand over clay and they are all problematic and will get substrate changed out eventually.