Do you mean adding potting soil to the tank then covering it with sand?

@@toriechuntraruk3611 It was five pounds of fluval stratum. Capped with eco complete. Though I am considering adding an inch and a half of sand over the whole thing for it to be a true substrate cap. But for now the tank is running very well as is. Need to plant a few more plants though. But the the ones that are there are doing a great job with helping the filtering. The snails also help with the breaking down of everything. Can't recommend them enough. Try to get at least one species of small snail. Whether it be Malaysian Trumpet snails or Bladder snails. I have both and the MTS keep the substrate nice, while the Bladder snails keep everything else moving in the rest of the tank. Ramshorn snails would do good as well but I have no experience keeping them. But I assume they would be as beneficial. It's like Father Fish teaches that keeping as diverse of a tank as possible the healthier it will be. Clean and sterile does not do well for an aquarium to have healthy fish, they need stability and diversity. Watch a few videos of how Father Fish does a dirt substrate cap, and watch a few other KZfaq videos from others on the same subject and do what seems best for you. But yes it is essentially putting an inch of organic chemical free soil at the bottom and covering it with a lot of sand. Never disturb the substrate either No gravel vacuuming or digging around in it. The only time it should be touched is if you are planting live plants, or if a fish friend has disturbed it and you are simply flattening the sand back into place. Watch Father Fish do it, he has quite a few videos explaining the whole process. It is far easier than you think. Just a little knowledge and a bit of work and you can have an aquarium you can enjoy for years. Mine has been running for over a year, and bar a few hiccups, is now running better than ever with all my fish happy and healthy.

Thanks so much for the info. When I add the sand, does it need to be washed beforehand? Should I take out my fish and put them in another tank while I set up the natural tank? I have gravel in there now.

@@toriechuntraruk3611 100% look up a tutorial on Google of how to rinse the sand. You will be surprised at how much will come off it before it becomes "clean". And see if you can hold onto your current aquarium water as well it will help you tank not go through "new tank shock" as harshly as it can because the amount of nutrients in the soil is quite substantial. Plant the live plants ASAP into the substrate. And get any tank scaping done too before you put your fish back. Watch Father Fish do his tutorial videos on tank setup. He will explain how much sand and dirt the different size tanks will need. He also has a video or two that he goes through the process step by step. Once the tank settles down and the water has cleared to an extent you can add your fish back in. Don't forget to try and hold onto quite a bit of your current aquarium water. Home Depot has buckets on the cheap that stack nicely together and hold a lot that are super useful and will work well to this purpose. A siphon hose long enough and big enough for your tank will be needed to, but they are fairly cheap at most big pet stores. I keep mine coiled up in two buckets that store nicely under my tank with my backup equipment like a heater and a small filter just in case. I also have a super cheap 10 gallon under my tank for emergancies, pretty sure I spent less than 20$ on it at Walmart I don't put anything in it. I do run a hang on back filter on my tank because the Blue Mickey Mouse Platy fish I breed like a bit of water flow, they will swim against the current for hours at a time and will always be playing in and out of it while schooling about with each other. It also helps with keeping the water nice and oxygenated along with being a good bit of extra filtration. But a sponge filter can just as easily provide the exact same services as an HOB filter as far as keeping the water oxygenated and filtered. They can be a great option for fish that don't like a lot of current in the tank. Watch all the videos that Father Fish has on water quality and tank setup and you will be well on your way to the tank of your dreams. It's a commitment, but well worth the effort. Follow Father Fish and he will be able to put you on the right track.

Nice to see fitness in aquarium hobby topics, just shows that life is a circle and not one line.

100% you must do this, ive not had to put any chemicals in my tank once, the water is Chrystal clear and does not smell at all. It really does work. I used sand from a river in our area and mud from a local farmers dugout. Fish are healthier, there breading, giving babies, just incredible how effortlessly looking after the tank has been.

@@canadianbeefeater1672 Thanks for the information! Trust me, I’ve been digging through tons of videos to sponge as much as I can from this technique. I am getting a 30 gallon long to start the project, and hope for the best! Very excited to say the least!

I love your channel

You should not keep 2 goldfish in a 5 gallon tank, it is way too small for them. Maybe trade them for a couple smaller fish.

I used 1 inch of soil with the supplement and 3 inches of pool filter sand. Fast forward over 4 months and it’s a jungle. It’s 75 gallons. Hth.

@@kenrooke9047 Thank you. Can’t wait to get started. What type of filtration system are you using.

@@jennifermartin506 the filtration system is the soil and sand,however I have a nano power head at the right back corner which circulates the water towards the aquaclear 70 I have at the other corner. I just have a sponge on the intake to keep the water clear. I have a pothos plant stuck in the filter box which is climbing the walls so to speak. I have a video on ff discord if you are on there. My user name is h2oinsanity.

It will be deficient in some elements but, yes, it will be effective. One more example of the flexibility of this approach.

Legal ver um brasileiro por aqui.

​@@danton2949 mais um aqui de Barueri/SP 👍

@@danton2949 Estou muito feliz por ter amigos no Brasil. Esta é a casa dos peixes tropicais que mais adoro.

BR aqui 🖐️

I'm happy to know that after about 9 years I will have an ideal place for my fish. God bless you Father Fish, I'm also from Brazil. Thanks!!

Yes I do! father-fish-aquarium.myshopify.com/

Dünya çapında bir balık kulübünün parçası olmak büyük bir mutluluk. Heyecanınızı hepimizle paylaştığınız için teşekkür ederiz.

Nezaketiniz ve desteğiniz için teşekkür ederiz.,

@@FatherFish 👍

It's my pleasure

Watch my newest video.

@dridan7 I am the same. Live on an Ozzie farm. My theory is this (untested) : dry dead decomposing eucalyptus leaves (they look pale yellow), the kind you find on the ground are OK, not fresh ones. You will find these in your dam, they turn black underwater over time. I use both, the black ones from water troughs and have just started using the dead ones outside. Still playing around with this, wish I had the answers. Fresh eucalyptus leaves are toxic but somehow in natural water bodies they can be found sometimes. Hope this helps. These are leaves on their own, not attached to a dead branch.

An aquarium tweezer. Available from many brands and no name!

It should last indefinitely

@FatherFish I have to say that everything you have said about this method has made my fish keeping 100% more enjoyable. Not one other person spoke about doing this method and I have to say you really know your stuff. Thank you soo much for your wisdom its really made a huge difference.

add sand and build a food web. Sounds great.

@@FatherFish fabulous I’ll search up food web? 🙏🎄

This comment allows me to ask a question: my tank was already established, with a quartz gravel substrate, and planted, I added the sand cap, and recently more plants, but both stem and not stem plants lack nutrients, can I wait or should I add some sort of fertilizer, Nitrates and trace elements, or maybe more fish as there are plenty of snails but only 2 male Endler guppies?

Fish increase nutrients as does the introduction of the elements of a food web. You currently have a desert.@@AlinefromToulouse

@@FatherFish Thank you so much for your answer. I've already started the food web, so I will add fish as soon as I can, so much as the 2 don't seem to make any waste.

yes. Stem plants

Just mix up some organic compost with leaf mulch, easy to make this time of year - the other ingredients in the mix are not essential - and top off with kiln dried sand or fine gravel - horticultural grit works great.

​@williammcdowell6257 thanks. Have you tried? No problem with the PH?

There is an FF store on eBay UK, but difficult to say if they ship to other European countries.

​@@AlinefromToulousethanks! had no idea. Gonna check it out. Rly appreciated.

I think you can get some of those nutrients by adding kitty litter. As long as it's unscented and untreated, it's basically just clay.

Join my discord and discuss this with the experts as there is a specific setup, fatherfish.fish

I have set an account up and will jump on at some point before I set the new tank up. Thank you

Join us in the Shoal for guidance: discord.gg/father-fish-shoal

I like 2Wpg but leds are different. 100W on shallow for a 20

@@FatherFish Thank you Father, merry christmas and happy new year from Poland!

1"

Yes, but stock it well. Anything less than 5 gallons is only suitable for neocaridina shrimp and snails. 5 gallons should only be for a single betta, or a very tiny species like mosquito rasbora. So basically, don't overstock the tank and it wil be fine.

I'm currently trying this with a 2 gallon tank that I'm only going to stock with ramshorn snails. It's more of a watery ecosystem than an aquarium. If it works out I'll go bigger.

@@PeteQuad Nice

good work guys.

@@dangboor4277 yes, I was thinking about single beta and some shrimps for this tank. Thanks, I guess I'll try it in the next year.

the betta and tetras will eat planaria.

@@FatherFish thanks, that is true but planeria seems to multiply fast & my shrimp went from 100 to only 25 in just 1 months & the planeria are multiplying so fast - i think i have no choice but to start a new tank 🥹 i don’t know how i got the planeria. maybe from the kanal water (100ml) i put in there 2 months ago or from new plants that i bought. These actions i will be doing differently from now.

Answer me?

do 1/2" soil and 1.5" sand

Clearly better is better.

Yes, absolutely

@cindypilet3834 Use coco peat.

Ty

add 2" of sand and build a food web.

add 2" of sand to control the leaching of dirt ito the water.

buffer to keep the substrate alkaline

yes., The aquasoil will leach the nutrients it contains if you do not cap it.

@FatherFish thank you! Merry Christmas Father Fish!

@TheSheilagirl I didn't cap my aquasoil... within 4-5weeks the algae was uncontrollable. I've capped the aquasoil with sand, cleaned the plants as thoroughly as I could and replanted, and done an 80% water change to remove as much free floating algae as possible. Fingers crossed its gonna work, I'm abit dubious about the lights on 24hrs but I'll try it a few days and see what happens, my fish will probably not enjoy it

When they get dirty

yes

10% a month is a good rule.

Can you please list me the ingredients for your aquarium please 🙏

add plants, cap the substrate

@@FatherFish substrate has 2 - 2.5 inches of sand from the start. Loads of plants in there too.

canisters are appropriate for larger tanks

discord.gg/father-fish-shoal

Anything inert

learn the details here: discord.gg/father-fish-shoal

@@FatherFish thanks father fish!

yes

@@FatherFish thanks I will give it try

no

No as you will wash all of the good biofilm off.

@@FatherFish That’s what I thought. Thank you!!!❤️

It was developed for salt water aquariums.

I'd be surprised if he did, even more surprised if our customs would let it through. I've setup tanks just using a basic organic potting soil with a river sand cap Next one I'm gonna give a 'boost' by using potting soil and adding those osmocote aquatic plant tabs that you can pick up at Bunnings.

@@footagemissing You’ve only used potting soil thus far?, I’ve been struggling to gather all the ingredients for the supplement, and was looking for Australian users on discord who have successfully made the supplement using Australian products. Have you constructed the supplement yourself yet ?

@@mook601 yes I've only used potting soil so far. I just joined discord to try to get more involved as well, definitely need some more local advice on the supplements side, hopefully someone there can help.

@@footagemissing What’s your discord ? Perhaps we can talk on there to construct the supplement

@@mook601 same username as here, I've joined father fish shoal, I'm new to discord though so still working it out.