Any insight on substrate?

[uszkatatouestela]

Hello everyone,
I am moving, so I have the opportunity (and the pain) to move my 4 tanks and upgrade. I plan to move my 3 polypterus and leaf fish to a 75 gallon tank, my small community fish to a 50 gallon breeder, and my betta to a 20 gallon.
I have some low light plants, and I would like to see some good growth on them, but I would also like to have black sand in my tanks. Do you think an inch of laterite kitty litter, capped with mesh, and covered in another inch of black sand would work well? I am also considering adding trumpet snails to help keep the sand moving.
Are there other, better options I should consider?
Thank you!

 

[baconmeupscotty]

I have approx. 25-30 various anubias, as well as some aponogeton, in my 55g with just a sand substrate. I dose liquid ferts maybe once a month or two and haven't used any root tabs for 3 months. Everything is thriving on fish waste. So honestly, if you are using low light, low tech type plants (especially ones that don't require burying) I wouldn't worry about multiple layers; just go with sand. It seems a lot easier and has worked well for me personally.

 

[uszkatatouestela]

Thank you for your response! Do you use larger or heavier sand at all? Do you stir up your sand ever? Have you had any trouble with it and your filter? By the way, all my friends also think I'm a crazy fish lady. I'm coming to terms with it slowly.

 

[baconmeupscotty]

I haven't had any trouble with it, my filter intake is 3 inches or so above it. I just bought carib-something brand sand from my lfs (I confess I was too lazy to go buy the much cheaper pool filter sand from a hardware store). I just vacuum it and tilt the tube if it picks up too much sand and it will pour right out back into the tank. I stir portions of it up during water changes. Just use a chopstick of kebab stick and poke it around in a small patch. Haven't had any problems yet! If you want to save a little $ you can buy black diamond blasting sand for less than you would spend at the fish store. Good luck!