Aquarium Technology for the Very, Very Budget Minded

Jim Kelly
Dept. of Physics, Univ. of California Davis, California 95616 USA
jkelly@landau.ucdavis.edu

I would like to share some interesting successes I have had in cultivating aquatic plants during the past year. First some historical information. Like most of us, I had trouble growing healthy aquatic plants until I tried CO₂ injection, which enabled me to keep almost any plant alive, though not always in the peak of health. Addition of a micronutrient supplement containing chelated iron increased my success, but I was still far from growing anything like the beautiful Dutch style tanks seen in books. Some plants were still growing quite slowly, and I was carrying on a continual battle with algae.

A little less than a year ago a friend suggested trying some locally abundant loam in place of my rather sterile substrates. He was using it in pots placed under the sand. He also suggested pushing pieces of broken lily pond fertilizer tablets into the loam. Being too lazy to replace the substrate, I decided to try the fertilizer tablets alone in a particular tank with sand-over-potting-vermiculite substrate. The result was an amazing growth spurt for most of the plants, which was slowed only when I forgot to add iron for a few weeks. During this period the nitrate levels measured in the 10 ppm range, indicating that the tablets were leaking into the water column. Algae were still growing strong during this period.

At the time I had done some reading on plant-soil relationships and was eager to try the loam, since it had a high cation-exchange capacity and was fine-grained (which would provide intimate root soil contact), both of which are excellent substrate qualities for plant nutrition (given that sufficient aeration exists). I set up a ten gallon tank using about a quart of the loam mixed with enough potting vermiculite to make a one inch layer, and covered it with an inch of sand. It was planted densely with a variety of plants, had CO₂ injection and micronutrient additions, and 45 watts of full spectrum lighting. Over the time spanning the first month (starting on the day of planting) I probably added the equivalent of 50 grams of pond lily tablets (just a guess really).

The result was absolutely amazing. The plants grew huge leaves with great frequency, and many of the plants which I previously thought were suitable for a ten gallon tank quickly outgrew the tank. Plants with runners were extremely prolific. Grassy field of Echinodorus tenellus grew in quite quickly. The best think about this tank is that it has ABSOLUTELY no visible algae. A soft, non-tenacious green algae did grow in within the first few weeks, but as the snail population caught up, these disappeared completely. I had never had a tank which was absolutely algae free before this, and all of the plants used were from tanks with algae problems (i.e. the new tank had been well supplied with starter algae). Moreover, since the initial setup, plants have been moved to this tank from algae infested tanks and algae growth ceased to be a problem for them. The tank actually repels algae! I couldn&rsqo;t believe that I was afraid of adding nitrogen and phosphorus for my plants for so long because conventional wisdom that said it would only contribute to my algae problems. In this tank I had an example where they had done no harm, and possibly much good.

I have since set up two additional tanks according to the methods outlined below, with similar success stories, except that one still has some visible algae (buy nothing worse than before the addition of the N and P). Several people from the U.C. Davis area, and others from the internet who saw an older version of these instructions posted on the *.aquaria newsgroups have claimed the same successes that I found (including patchy algae successes), so I am confident that the method works reliably and is easy enough for relative beginners (which TAG readers are certainly not, so bear with the obvious items that follow which are included for the sake of completeness). The instructions are meant to be used as a practical guide to setting up planted aquaria as cheaply as possible with almost guaranteed success, and do not include mention of more advanced or expensive techniques which might be used with great success by some advanced aquarists (e.g. heating cables). More detailed information on soil/plant relations and nutrition may appear in a later issue of TAG.

I should mention that it seems to me that substrate aeration is not needed for the tanks that I set up, but they are all fairly young. The two-level substrate I use seems to allow an aerated space on top with lower nutrients and a rich, fine grained low aeration section on the bottom for those roots which care to penetrate. I should also mention that the internet is another great place to get accurate (but not always accurate) aquatic plant info besides TAG. A wealth of information is available from the World Wide Web site http://www.actwin.com/fish/, which contains mainly archives of quality postings to the *.aquaria newsgroups from the past. Now here is an outline of how I set up and maintain healthy tanks cheaply and easily, listed by subject.

Lights

If you’re lucky enough to have a 55 gallon or close-sized tank, good lighting can be quite cheap. Our local hardware store sells Liteway shop-lite fixtures which hold two 4-foot fluorescent bulbs for $8.99. I use two of these fixtures (holding four 40 watt bulbs total) over my 55 gallon tank, with Phillips F40D bulbs ($3.99 each locally) in them. (Many people say that they can’t fit two fixtures over a 55 gallon show tank, but the brand Liteway is only 4-1/2″ wide and a pair fit nicely just laying on the cover glass. Other brands I have seen are unfortunately wider.) This setup satisfies three important factors for aquarium lighting:

1. Uniform lighting over the entire top of the tank so that there are no dark corners or walls in the tank. Dark areas may be aesthetically pleasing to you, but I think healthy plants are more aesthetically pleasing.
2. Full-spectrum or daylight lights. This means they match the spectral output of sunlight closely, which the F40D does. The correct spectrum is obviously important for photosynthesis, as plants have evolved to work best with the sun’s spectrum. Cool White and other cheap $0.99 bulbs won’t look as good and might not work as well since they differ considerably from sunlight, but they can grow undemanding plants and some people claim that the difference in growth rates is minuscule. Also, don’t buy the EXTREMELY overpriced bulbs sold by aquarium specialist companies (up to $30), and don’t be fooled by the fact that daylight bulbs don’t look as bright as cool-white bulbs, since cool-whites put out the highest intensity in the frequencies where your eyes are more sensitive, which are not the most useful frequencies for photosynthesis. Any daylight or full-spectrum bulb will do.
3. Proper intensity. Most people agree that four 40 watt bulbs in a 55 gallon tank is enough light. Really, as long as you have no algae problems and the tank is not overheating, you can’t have too much light intensity. Practically speaking, it may be too much (I have experienced green-water algae in the past with 2 daylight bulbs and two cool-whites over my 55 gal, which some people say is a clear sign of too much light) so I have adjusted the intensity down a little in the past by putting strips of tissue paper between the lights and the glass cover when algae have gotten bad. This is better than just using 2 lights with no light blockage, as you don’t sacrifice item (1). However, algae are often a sign of other problems which are correctable (see algae section). In the end I have always removed the tissue blocking the light after the algae is cured, to provide the plants with as much light as possible.

My experience tell me that you should spend your money on (1) and (3) and not spend too much on expensive special-spectrum bulbs. Finally, if you have the money, buy a timer to turn the lights on and off at regular 12 hour intervals, so the plants won’t get confused if you’re not home to turn the lights on and off at the correct time, or are on vacation. These run about $10 at our local hardware store. If you have a small or odd sized tank, the hood that came with the tank will satisfy neither (1) nor (3) above. That’s ok, just buy plants that do not require a lot of light. As a general rule, dark green plants are ok with low light levels, and light green or red plants need high light. If you can afford it, add a second light fixture to the aquarium so that there are two light strips above. You will notice a marked improvement in growth. I have modified some fixtures to fit three 15 watt bulbs over my ten gallon tank, although the plants could get by with two. The intensity of fluorescent bulbs goes down dramatically in the first 6 months of use, so having a lot of wattage means that you don’t have to worry about replacing the bulbs every 6 months (I use them until they burn out, but you may have greater success if you replace them more often, and not all at once). Having the tank in a bright indirectly lit room (not in direct sunlight) will also help.

Filters

This is not a big issue in planted aquaria as long as you don’t have TOO many fish. The plants love to absorb any waste products, including ammonia, that the fish give off, so you don’t need huge cultures of nitrifying bacteria. Filters serve other purposes though:

1. They remove floating debris from the water so that the tank is nice to look at.
2. They provide water circulation, which is important because the plants absorb CO₂ and nutrients through their leaves, and in the absence of good circulation a layer of water which is depleted in CO₂ and nutrients will form between leaf and the rest of the water.
3. They provide a convenient place in which to inject CO₂ into the water (see the section on CO₂). Even without CO₂ injection the water movement helps keep the CO₂ levels in equilibrium with the atmosphere.

I use Hagen Aqua Clear back filters for my aquaria. Any filter that uses an electric motor (not air bubbles) and is not an undergravel filter will do. Canister filters are supposed to be good at (3).

Heaters

These are sometimes unnecessary in warm houses, but they’re cheap so you might buy one anyway and set it at 74 Fahrenheit. Temperatures near 80F are too hot for plants, and should be avoided unless the fish cannot acclimate to lower temperatures. In colder climates and in cold rooms (below 70F) they are absolutely necessary. Larger tanks (> 55 gallons) can stand nighttime dips into the 60’s because they lose their heat more slowly, but a 10 gallon tank would need a heater in the same situation for most tropical plants.

Undergravel Filters

I don’t use them in planted aquaria. Plants like fine soil at their roots and UGF’s will pull the fine clay below the filter plate. I remember someone once saying, undergravel filters grow beautiful roots and poor plants. The roots love to be able to respire, but many nutrient ions will be oxidized to unavailable forms with all that well-oxygenated water flowing through the substrate, and the plants will suffer. Having said that, I should mention that some people claim success with UGF’s.

Air Pumps/bubblers

Don’t use them. Any fresh air contacting the water will deplete the CO₂ dissolved in the water to very low levels. The Aqua-Clear back filters I use don’t introduce enough turbulence to cause major losses as long as the tank is well filled. The plants produce enough oxygen to last all night even for most tightly sealed aquaria. However, if your fish are gasping at the surface in the morning (I’ve never seen this) then turn on an airstone ONLY AT NIGHT when the plants don’t use CO₂. You probably have too many fish to keep thinks in balance if this is a problem.

Power Heads

These are not necessary, but if you already have one you can use it for additional water circulation in a 55 gallon or larger tank. Don’t use it with an undergravel filter (since you shouldn’t be using one anyway).

Gravel/substrate

This is one of the most important items to consider for healthy plant growth. I have gotten absolutely superior growth (after having tried many other substrates with much less success) from the following formula. There are two layers:

For the bottom layer mix potting vermiculite (from any nursery) with enough water to wet the vermiculite well but not so much that it’s in a pool of water. Squeeze and knead the vermiculite to get as much air out of it as possible, and also to separate the different layers of the vermiculite granules, making the mixture as fine as possible. When your hands look like they’re covered in gold dust, you’re done. Now add some soil that you have dug from outside (garden topsoil). See the suggestions for soils at the end of this section. You should mix in enough of this to turn the vermiculite from its shimmery golden color to grey. For example, I used about two gallons of Yolo loam with enough vermiculite to make a 3-inch layer in a 55 gallon tank, or about a quart mixed with enough vermiculite to make a 1.5-inch layer in a 10 gallon tank. The precise amounts are not important. After mixing in the soil, the mixture should no longer be runny with water. If it is, your tank will be quite cloudy when you add the water to fill it, so add more soil and vermiculite until it is no longer runny with water, but comparable to prepared cake mix before you cook it. This bottom layer forms a rich, soft medium for roots to penetrate into and obtain nutrients from. This layer should be as thick as possible, within aesthetic limits.

The top layer is simply sand. You need about a 1 inch or more layer, simply to keep the lower layer from clouding the water. The best is #3 sandblasting grit, which our local gravel yard sells in 100 lb. bags for $10. Any sand that is not from the sea and is not too fine will do. #3 sand is about 2 mm in diameter. Just pour it on top, and level it out. Wash it first if you think it needs it. This layer should be at least 1″ thick, and not more than 2″.

Now you can carefully add the water to the tank. Put down some paper or something flat at the bottom of the tank to keep the soil from being stirred up while you add the water. If you are careful, the water will be crystal clear when you finish. If you stirred up the soil by accident, it will take 2-5 days to clear up, so be patient. A small puff of soil will come up when you uproot a plant, but does not present a problem. After you have planted the plants, you can add a small amount of solid fertilizer to the bottom layer of the substrate (see the fertilizer section).

For those interested in what to look for in a soil that will grow aquatic plants well, here is additional info. Don’t use bagged potting soil, peat moss, or compost (They will decay under water and prevent good root growth. See the recent article by Diane Walstad in the Sept. 1994 issue of TAG. They offer a short-term supply of nutrients which will have to be replenished with solid fertilizer eventually anyway, so you might as well just use a solid fertilizer from the beginning and avoid the problems associated with decaying organic matter, such as hydrogen sulfide formation.) Try to find a soil low in organic matter and high in fine clay particles. It should not be sandy soil or very firm, fine clay either, but somewhere in the middle. Sand has insufficient cation exchange capacity and is too coarse to contact the roots on their entire surface area. These are the two most important factors which influence how well roots can obtain nutrient ions from the soil. Very fine clay (close to Play-Doh texture) might cloud the water when you uproot plants in the aquarium. If you are a student, you might want to go to the university library and look up the types of soils in your area and their properties in government soil survey books which usually have maps telling you where to find the different soils, as well as important chemical properties. You want a soil that has a high cation exchange capacity and low organic matter content, and has metal ions which are present in only moderate quantities (high metal concentrations occurring in subsoils can be toxic to plants upon initial immersion; see TAG article referenced above). I have used Yolo loam from the UC Davis campus with great success in my home tanks. It was not chosen specially, but it is just what was available locally.

Here is the analysis:

Water

I have also grown plants successfully in softer water. Buying or treating water is unnecessary in almost all situations.

CO₂

The importance of CO₂ injection cannot be overemphasized for growing beautiful planted aquaria. Sounds complicated? Actually it’s easy and cheap! Aquarium companies sell extremely overpriced CO₂ setups costing at least $200 for no frills models. These consist of a high pressure tank of CO₂ and a pressure regulator, as well as a reaction chamber where the CO₂ is dissolved in the water. The setups on the my aquaria cost about $5 for supplies that will last a year (this includes 2 liters of Coke that you get to drink). Here’s the idea (which is due to Thomas Narten off of internet as far as I know). CO₂ dissolves into (and escapes out of) water very quickly, so we need a way to produce bubbles of CO₂ and to hold them in contact with a fast flowing stream of water so the CO₂ has time to dissolve. CO₂ is produced by yeast fermenting sugar into alcohol, so take a 2-liter soda bottle and fill it with lukewarm water to about 2″ from the bottom of where the screw cap would be. Pour the measured water into a bucket and add approximately 2 cups sugar and 1/4 teaspoon baking yeast (e.g. Fleishmann’s brand from the baking section of Safeway). Stir until both are dissolved, especially the yeast which is harder to dissolve than the sugar. Pour this stuff back in the bottle and fill to the point it normally would be filled with soda. Drill a hole in the center of the top of the cap which is just wide enough to tightly fit a piece of aquarium airline tubing into it, and glue the tubing into place with aquarium silicone sealant. Leave the cap off the bottle to dry for a day. Then screw on the cap and put the other end of the air tube into the intake tube of the filter, so that the CO₂ will bubble into the filter. The CO₂ may start bubbling the next day, or maybe not for up to 3 days. The bubbles get sucked into the pump propeller and some end up in the filter sponge where they slowly dissolve into the water where the plants can use it for photosynthesis.

This mixture usually lasts about a month before you have to mix a new batch (more sugar makes it last longer; more yeast makes it bubble faster but it will run out quickly). Watch for when the bubbles are no longer produced, at which time you’ll have a nasty alcoholic swill left in the bottle which I don’t recommend drinking. Keep the opened yeast packets in the refrigerator in the meantime or the remaining yeast will die. Some people have to worry about the CO₂ lowering the pH of the aquarium water, but Davis water is so hard that the pH will hardly fluctuate at all. If your water is soft the watch the pH closely during the first few hours of bubbling, and harden the water if the pH gets near 6. I have gotten readings consistently above the recommended level on my CO₂ test kit (Tetra), with no apparent harm to the fish. When using CO₂ you must have a cover on the tank and avoid using accessories which mix air into the water (the plants add plenty of oxygen to the water), as the dissolved CO₂ levels will fall quickly. Note that the bubbling rate is quite sensitive to the room temperature. If you have tried growing plants for a long time with no luck, you will be amazed at the incredible growth that results.

Fertilizer

Plants need nutrients to grow. CO₂ is the most important of these, but the others must be added also. If you feed your fish a lot, then this may supply all of what the plants need. Some people have beautiful plant tanks with no fertilizer other than digested fish food. The unfortunate thing about fertilizing this way is that all these nutrients are available to the algae as well. If all this digested food could be kept deep in the substrate, the plants would have a much easier time getting at it than the algae. For this reason I prefer to feed my fish VERY sparingly and to use a solid fertilizer in the substrate. I have used Lilipons brand pond lily tablets with great success (after having tried many made-for-aquarium additives which weren’t as good and are generally overpriced). I break the rather large tablets into 8 or 16 smaller pieces (best accomplished by placing a flat-head screwdriver onto the tablet and striking with a hammer) and push them deep into the loam/vermiculite part of the substrate. This helps keep the nutrients out of the water and near the roots. I would use no more than one whole tablet per 20 gallons water when you first plant the tank, and then add some weekly until the nitrate levels in the tank rise above 5 ppm (see algae and test kit sections). At this point there is probably quite a supply of fertilizer down there and you can stop adding it for awhile. Note that I assume you are feeding sparingly enough so that the food alone would not cause any readable nitrate levels.

Plants also require plenty of iron. The Lilipons tablets contain iron, but from my experience it is not sufficiently available. I have been occasionally adding aquarium trace element additives (they contain chelated iron and some other important micronutrients which are usually supplied in tap water, and are somewhat overpriced) or garden supply iron (any iron-plus-chelate compound with no other additives will satisfy the plants, but may slightly discolor the water if part of it is unchelated). My paranoia stems from a tank I had set up with only a coarse substrate (no Yolo loam) into which I had put some of the lily tablets. Plant growth really took off for about 3 weeks after the fertilizer tablets were added, but suddenly all the plants began dying. When about 3/4 of the plants were looking pretty sad, I began adding iron daily and all the plants that hadn’t completely died put out new shoots and came back nicely. Presumably the roots could not contact the iron in the tablets well enough to absorb it without the fine loam, or there was too much water circulation through the substrate.

By the way, even tap water contains soluble iron, but in the high oxygen environment of your aquarium it quickly turns to rust which the plants cannot use. Chelated iron doesn’t oxidize quickly and so will remain available for weeks. Also try the Osmocote tablets described below, which are in all respects identical to the pond lily tablets. In summary, I would add some solid nitrogen containing fertilizer in the substrate (especially Lilipons or similar initially at 5 grams per 10 gallons), check for high nitrates (if they’re high (above 10 ppm), stop fertilizing with nitrogen and increase water changes until they lower), and add chelated iron (especially if the plants take a turn for the worse). Note that the proper levels of fertilizer will depend on fish load, water chemistry, and water change frequency, so you will have to watch for the needs of the tank.

For comparison with other fertilizers, here are the Lilipons ingredients:

An equivalent tablet is available from:

Van Ness Water Gardens
2460 North Euclid Ave
Upland, CA 91784-1199
909-982-2425
Fax: 909-949-7217

Prices:

A tablet with the EXACT same ingredients and proportions was available in the tree fertilizer section of our local hardware store. It’s called Osmocote (Agriform) Planting Tablets and are larger than the Lilipons for $0.35 per tablet. This seems like a more convenient source, since Osmocote is a big company so these should be available.

(Note: The addition of phosphates and sulfates to the aquarium is not above controversy. I have used these tablets in tanks with NO visible algae growth and without any apparent harm to roots from hydrogen sulfide gas. All I can say is that it works, despite the theory, and new information suggests that nitrogen helps counteract H₂S toxicity. These tanks have been set up less than one year.)

Test Kits

I would buy a nitrate test kit (low level), and the nitrates should always register zero or below 5 ppm on the test kit. If they go above 10 ppm then you’re feeding or fertilizing too much with nitrogen, and you should increase water changes and decrease feeding and eliminate nitrogen fertilization until they return below 5 ppm. Be sure you push the fertilizer tablets all the way into the bottom soil so they don’t leak into the water. A pH test kit is useless in Davis, it will always read high, but you will want one if you have soft water for when you start adding CO₂. Keep the pH above 6. An iron test kit is nice to check the iron levels but they’re hard to find and often overpriced, and they won’t tell you anything about iron levels in the substrate. No other test kits are needed, but some are nice to have to satisfy your curiosity.

Planting the Tank

It is natural to be apprehensive about where and how to position the plants. Look at the book Nature Aquarium World by Takashi Amano for artistic inspiration. Then just go ahead and do it, and remember that it won’t look good until the plants grow in, so wait a month or two before repositioning anything. Most plants don’t like to moved too often. One rule that you should follow is to plant very densely. Remember that plants use up available nutrients from the water and thereby prevent algae from getting a strong hold. If you try to save money by planting one plant at a time, you’ll only grow an algae garden. Excess space can be filled in with cheap fast growing plants like Ludwigia, which will quickly use up excess nitrates and/or other nutrients, and can be partially or completely replaced later with fresh cuttings of more other plants. As a fast growing stem plant reaches the top of the water, you’ll want to cut off the top 1/2 to 2/3 of it and replant it, leaving the rooted bottom to produce new sideshoots. In this way a small amount of a stem plant (even one cutting!) can be turned into a thick garden. Rosette plants with roots should be pushed too far into the sand first, then pulled up so that the point where the leaves join the rootstock is above the sand. Small plants can be held down with pieces of bent wire until they root.

Algae

Among people who can actually grow plants, algae is the main headache. The main rules for algae are don’t panic and don’t use any algicides. Algicides will kill the plants too and algae can be handled by addressing its causes and being patient enough to try the solutions. One main cause of algae seems to be unhealthy plants. I have used cuttings from algae-plagued tanks when setting up new tanks according to the above suggestions, and have been able to completely eliminate the algae once the plants grew in. It seems that the worst kinds of algae, filamentous algae and red algae, can thrive even in water that is starved of nutrients when they are attached to a dying leaf (I don’t know if it derives nutrients from the leaf or what). By having only healthy leaves in the tank, you have already eliminated the favorite breeding ground for these algae. Presuming you are starting with no-so-healthy cuttings from an unsuccessful tank, so that most of the leaves have firmly attatched algae, you must grow out new leaves as quickly as possible so you can eliminate the dying leaves. This is the job of the suggestions presented above. In the mean time, cut off any leaves that are badly covered, and as soon as a stem grows tall, cut it off at the point where the algae starts and replant the top, and discard the bottom. For rosette plants just cut off the infested leaves when sufficient new ones have grown. For me this has been sufficient to eliminate all algae problems (to the point of no visible algae) when I followed the setup techniques outlined above in some of my tanks. However, this does not eliminate the chance that variations in your tap water chemistry and fish feeding habits will make your job more difficult.

If the above suggestions alone worked always, many plant keepers would be much happier. The truth is that you can have very healthy plants AND algae at the same time, possibly due to excess nutrients in the water and (less possibly) excess light. The truth of the matter is that no one I know of has a firm handle on what can reliably be done to limit algae growth in all cases. Many aquarists have similar tanks side by side, only some of which are plagued by algae, and others of which are spotless. If you have a problem, test for nitrates. If they’re above 10 ppm then add more fast-growing stem plants which will help to quickly use nitrates, and decrease feeding and stop adding nitrogen fertilizer. If nitrates read zero, there may be too much light and you can SLOWLY lower the light levels by putting toilet paper or equivalent between the lights and the top glass, while continually removing algae and watching how fast it grows back. More likely to cause algae than either excess nitrates or light are excess phosphates originating from fish food or decaying plant leaves. At present the only known ways to remove it are with a phosphate removing resin (Phos-Sorb for example) or by water changes.

There is one type of algae that may thrive despite all this advice: blue-green algae. This algae is actually related to bacteria and will respond to treatment with erythromycin, available at most pet shops. Follow the instructions indicated for bacterial infection of fish on the label, but use only half the dosage. The people at the pet shop will think you’re crazy for using it on an algae, but remember that the pet shops are poor sources of information and that blue-green algae is actually a photosynthetic bacteria. I have used the brand Maracyn with success and it has never reappeared. This algae can be identified by the color (usually more bluish than most algae) and the fact that it quickly coats plants/sand in a thin layer like a veil, which is easy to remove from the plant but grows back very quickly. It is not stringy or tufty. This treatment will not harm the filter bacteria if the directions are followed (using 1/2 strength). Some people even claim that a single day’s treatment will eliminate blue-green algae, so use as little as possible. If you’re not sure, get an expert identification before using the medication. Many snails are said to love to eat blue green algae (e.g. ramshorn and pond snails) and thus provide an organic (but not as quick) remedy.

Cheap Items

O.K., that may sound like a lot of requirements, so what is the bare minimum low budget setup? You need at least a full spectrum fluorescent light for the hood you already have, the CO₂ generator, a filter for circulation and CO₂ injection, the sand/vermiculite/soil combo I suggested, an Osmocote planting tablet or two, and a nitrate test kit. This all should cost about $40 for a smaller tank. The best improvement on this bare minimum would be to add more light. With any luck, another TAG article will follow which summarizes some soil science principles and soil-plant relationships. Until then, I hope there is valuable information for you (or a budget-minded beginner) contained above.

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