Plant Substrate'

[jeff_hopkinson]

Hi, i will try putting this on this site i got no answers on the begginer site. i would like to know if there is a plant substrate that can be used with sand substrate and how would you use it. I have two 40gal tanks both with sand and planted but some of the plants roots have gone black. i have been told that silver quartz is good substrate for plants but would you use it on its own or could it be mixed with sand. Any help would do nicely.

 

[AndyTaylor]

TBH, any aquatic compost/substrate mixed with the sand will improve things. I use TetraPlant complete because it was the only one I could get, it seems to work fine.
Basically, most sand is more or less devoid of any nutrients and IME is near useless for growing in.
The black roots you're observing are most likely caused by the sand....I had similar problems...
If you plan to redo the tanks, i'd recommend removing the sand altogether and replacing it with a mix of small gravel and some substrate....Laterite, aquatic compost or whatever. I don't think that silver quartz alone would be much of an improvement over sand......

 

[DarkSeraph]

I've heard Eco-Complete was a good substrate, and that's what I plan on using in my 60g.

 

[ChrisP]

How deep are your pockets? If your on a budget you could get away with a Laterite mix otherwise you may want to dig deep and try out some Flourite/Eco-Complete or even some of the newer stuff from ADA.