what is a good substrate?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I've used about every plant substrate on the market. I love florabase but found that if I had any diggers it always got kicked up in the water column. Most of my planted tanks with CO2 injection have seachems onxy sand on the bottom for KH reasons ( our water is around 1 dkh coming from the tap out here). covered by flourite and topped with eco-complete. Carib Sea has a new soil out ( they make eco-complete) that has almost the same chemical make up as eco- complete, but is a fine black sand. Kahuna potting soil is the name I think. I used it in one tank and found that it need to be covered with a heavier top layer, but I can't wait to see how it preforms. I have it mixed with frourite and tahian moon sand.
 
Personally, I love Estes #1 natural gravel, it just looks so good, and really keeps plants in the substrate. For my more serious plant tanks, I had a layer of florabase under a 1" layer of #1 gravel mixed with laterite (2 parts gravel 1 part laterite). Corys and bottomdwellers can root naturally, but plants stay secure, even with fish like Geophagus species.
 
i've allways used gravel, but insted of mixing laterite into the bottom layer, i make a clay out of it then bake it off and just burry the balls near the plant roots. i've never had a problem with my cories (12 of them) digging it up just when i get too close to it with the gravel vac. rule of thumb is about 3" gravel depth for planted tanks. is it the same with sand? i'm going to use sand as the substrate in the next tank a set up.
 
tom h said:
i've allways used gravel, but insted of mixing laterite into the bottom layer, i make a clay out of it then bake it off and just burry the balls near the plant roots.
Click to expand...

That works fine if you want to restrain plants to major spots. If you, however, hope to get e.g. cryptocorynen covering larger areas of your tank by naturally spreading out, or if you want to change the set-up somewhere down the road, a base layer of fertilized substrate is of great advantage.

HarleyK
 
I don't know, man. regular top soil can be pretty high in nitrates and/or phosphates. Looks like the tank on the website you link has just been set up. Give it some time, and it could develop a lot of algae. Also, you never know about heavy metal contaminations of that top soil. It's just something that could cause trouble. And if it does, it means empty out the entire tank and start over. That's too much risk for me.

I got my laterite here:

http://www.petblvd.com/cgi-bin/pb/APH05578.html

Two 55 oz packs for my 220 gal, and the plants seem to love it
HarleyK
 
Ive been using topsoil under a thick layer of sand and its working great for most plants. The only problems i had were with toninas and hair grass. Just make sure that the topsoil doesnt contain too much compost. The best way would be to get them in sealed bags from the florist and just separate out the stones from there, easier than taking out dead bits of leaves and twigs. Also try to have a thicker layer of sand above it like maybe 2 inches to prevent too much leakage of excess nutrients.
 
LeGrandB@t said:
Anyone here ever try using a layer of topsoil under the gravel/sand?
I've been reading about it and looking at pics and I think I'm gonna try it.
I've used flourite and laterite with good results but the cost :WHOA:
I let you all know how it goes.
Heres some links:

http://endlersr.us/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=13&mode=&order=0&thold=0

http://dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/125tank.html
Click to expand...

Maybe you could use marbels and PopRocks er... Cosmic Candy for better results. :cheers: :owned: :hitting:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom