So I'm doing the peat moss layer, then the play sand layer, and finally a layer of gravel, and I'm having some MAJOR issues...

From everything I've read, you suppose to add the layer of peat moss, then add water and level out the peat moss. Then you add the play sand, add more water and level the play sand out. Finally you add your gravel (or whatever you're using as your top substrate), then fill the tank with water about half way, put in your plants and other decor, then fill the tank the rest of the way up.

Well my problem started after adding the peat moss, and tried to add the water to level it off... The peat moss immediately started to float. Not a big deal I thought, I'll just stick my hand in there and churn it up so that it basically turns into mud and sill stay at the bottom. I got all of the peat moss saturated, and it look like it worked. So I began to add the sand.

As soon as I started adding the sand, it sunk right to the bottom, and the peat moss floated right up from under it... So now I've got a layer of sand on the bottom, and peat moss on top!

I stopped, because I just know if I even attempt to add the gravel, it's also going to sink under the peat moss and just sit on top of the sand...



This has made me so mad...


I'm going to need to start over. Would this work better if I just put in all 3 layers, and THEN added water, so the sand and gravel kept everything weighted down?

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My 30 gallon planted freshwater - CONSTANTLY CHANGING

I cant help but chuckle, thats the exact same problem I had when I was setting up a 15g using his substrate recipe. Not his fault by any means, thats for sure, I ended up slapping the side panel of the 15g and noticed my hand was wet and so were my feet, muddy wet but wet.

His method is a variation of the NPT method, maybe doing some NPT research might help a bit, i dunno.

I am going to try it again when the 15g becomes a 40b at xmas but I am going to soak the peat first and add it as mud rather then dry. I am hoping this work, I will soak it in old tank water to give it a boost.

Good luck.

He's done it for years, I had one for a couple of years, and basically it takes time. When doing npt you need to put a layer of peat or soil and just enough water so that it doesn't float. After a few days add your sand, add enough water to just barely cover the sand, let set a few days, then if you want add gravel ( which I didn't do) plant the tank and slowly add water to fill. Following Dianas method you need to wait awhile before slowly adding fish as the substrates will start leaching ammonia. It helps to cycle a tank.
But as Diana says and I feel also its not good for beginners to try this until they get some experience in keeping plants and fish.

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SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY YEARS, NOT MONTHS!!!
220 Tank build
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/sta...late-3253.html

oh I have no problems keeping planted tanks

that's why I'm moving out of the 10 gallon into this 30 gallon; I'm simply out of room for the plants to grow


so this is a multiple day long process? is that what my issue is? it really takes that long for the peat to soak up the water?

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My 30 gallon planted freshwater - CONSTANTLY CHANGING

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55gallon
Light - 6500K CFL, 23wattsx5 5hr/day
Substrate - Red Mexican Clay, Sphagnum Peat moss, Eco-Complete
Misc- Pressurized CO2, EI Dose KNO3, KH2PO4, CSM-B
Plants -Limnophila Aromatica, Stargrass, Dwarf Hair Grass, Christmas Moss, Baby Tears (HM), Dwarf Baby Tears(HC), Rotala Rotundifolia, Ludwigia Glandulosa, Riccia Fluitans

Look: It's not as complicated as it looks. This is what I did: I went to a friend's farm, and asked people around if there was some kind of clay (preferrably yellowish), and I got about two supermarket bags of it, and took them back home.

I had no money for awhile, so it just sat there for almost a year...until, a couple of months ago, got some extra bucks and assembled my 200 lt tank fron scratch.

The first thing I had to do was to hammer down the clay that by now was hard as a rock; then, without water yet, I put my gravel, trying to cover as much of the clay as possible (by the way the gravel was wet), and then I put my water (no plants yet). I let the filter do its job for a couple days, and then I put the plants. Don't worry about the cloudy water as long as you don't have fish; it will settle underneath anyway, and when you get the fish, they will be moving things around.
You see, the problem with the peat moss, is that it is produced by bacteria that need no air (anaerobic) to decompose leaves and branches, but they produce methane in the process, which is what got it floating in your case. So, my advice is to use clay which is much better, and has a lot more nutrients than peat moss.
I used peat moss once, and to tell you the truth, I was scared to put the fish in, because there was this terrible rotten wood smell, that I preferred to wash the whole thing off and get the clay.

Give it a try, and good luck ^^

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200 Lt Planted tank

Valisnera spiralis
Hygrophila polysperma
Cryptocorine becketii petchi
Amazone swords (3 different varieties)
Hygrophila polysperma (a giant variety)
Corkscrew valisneria
Rotala
Hygrophila difformis
Hygrophila angustifolia
Java moss
Java fern


Population:
30 Tetra cardinals
5 Swordtails
2 Mollies
4 Zebras
2 Plecos
6 Black dot tetras.

This is what it looks like after three weeks or so (didn't know how to upload the picture here he-he)

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200 Lt Planted tank

Valisnera spiralis
Hygrophila polysperma
Cryptocorine becketii petchi
Amazone swords (3 different varieties)
Hygrophila polysperma (a giant variety)
Corkscrew valisneria
Rotala
Hygrophila difformis
Hygrophila angustifolia
Java moss
Java fern


Population:
30 Tetra cardinals
5 Swordtails
2 Mollies
4 Zebras
2 Plecos
6 Black dot tetras.

I had a similar problem with mine. When it started to float I just held my hand on top of it to let it soak and then it stayed at the bottom and the play sand went on fine. Although after putting in the sand I did not need to add more water as the water in the peat moss soaked the sand anyway. Next time I am going to try making thick mud with the peat before putting it in. Check out this thread: My beaslbob Build I made it about my experience doing my first beaslbob build and I tried to address every problem that I came across while doing it. I hope it helps (that's what I made it for!!)

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10gal fry tank planted with Wisteria, Java Moss, Anuabis and Anacharis
35gal Sponge Bob tank with live bearing tropicals (daughters tank)
15gal planted with Swords, Java Fern, Wisteria and Red Rubin housing 10 fry and 2 bladder snails
55 gal with Oscar (future planted tank with angels and flowerhorns)
55 gal Community tank (platys, mollys, guppys, glass catfish, angels, phantom tetra, red eye tetra and swordtails)

well I scooped everything out and put it in a 5 gallon bucket

the sand and the peat moss separated in the bucket; all of the sand sunk, and there was a thick gooey layer of peat moss on top. so what I did is scooped all of that peat moss out, strained the water out of it that I could, and spread it back over the bottom of the empty tank again, that way I'm still using the peat and it's nice and water logged now. it's just a moist layer of the peat moss now; basically really thick mud, and there's no standing water at all. so I'm going to try to add the sand and gravel on top of it and see how it works

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My 30 gallon planted freshwater - CONSTANTLY CHANGING

HA!

I didn't let it beat me

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My 30 gallon planted freshwater - CONSTANTLY CHANGING

He-he-he Way to go !!!

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200 Lt Planted tank

Valisnera spiralis
Hygrophila polysperma
Cryptocorine becketii petchi
Amazone swords (3 different varieties)
Hygrophila polysperma (a giant variety)
Corkscrew valisneria
Rotala
Hygrophila difformis
Hygrophila angustifolia
Java moss
Java fern


Population:
30 Tetra cardinals
5 Swordtails
2 Mollies
4 Zebras
2 Plecos
6 Black dot tetras.

Gee what yo'all need me for?

Looks like you got it figured out.

And that is one of the clearest new setups I have ever seen.

Sure if you (to exaggerate) put in 1" of peat moss then filled the tank and added sand you would have a mess. Hence the key is just add enough water to the peat(and other) layer to the top of that layer. Then add the sand which traps the peat under the sand.

Also I add the plants after wetting the final layer not after filling the tank 1/2 way. but perhaps that will work as well.

Looks good now and keep us posted on how it goes.

I do appreciate all the feedback on this thread and suggest it might even be a stickie.

my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

yeah I got it to work out thanks for responding to my PM though!

I need a lot more plants now; I only put in what I took out of my 10 gallon, so there's a LOT of empty space in there still

I'm still flabbergasted at just how clear the water is for being just set up






I've introduced the 4 Dwarf Gouramis that were in my 10 gallon, and they seem SO much more happy with more room

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My 30 gallon planted freshwater - CONSTANTLY CHANGING

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

FWIW I read on a peat moss site that one suggestion for wetting peat moss was to open the package (even if a bale) and fill the package and peat with water.

I have never done that but it does seem like it would work.

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

I'm thinking that with my next one I'm going to add the plants after putting in the sand but before adding the gravel. That way there will be much less upset to the substrate after it's all together and since I have another layer coming after I can plant the plants shallow.

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10gal fry tank planted with Wisteria, Java Moss, Anuabis and Anacharis
35gal Sponge Bob tank with live bearing tropicals (daughters tank)
15gal planted with Swords, Java Fern, Wisteria and Red Rubin housing 10 fry and 2 bladder snails
55 gal with Oscar (future planted tank with angels and flowerhorns)
55 gal Community tank (platys, mollys, guppys, glass catfish, angels, phantom tetra, red eye tetra and swordtails)