Plant Substrate

Bebobb

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Should I use gravel, or sand? Or should I just use the plant substrate that they sell specifically for plants? And don't you have to put gravel over the plant substrate? I'm just curious on how to use it and what is best for my plants.
 
Should I use gravel, or sand? Or should I just use the plant substrate that they sell specifically for plants? And don't you have to put gravel over the plant substrate? I'm just curious on how to use it and what is best for my plants.


The best plant substrate on the market is Oliver Knotts Nature soil- but this doesnt come cheap.
its all down to price, and how much you want to spend really, if you get back to me with a tank size and a budget for the substrate i can help you out
 
There are plant substrates that you can use that don't need to be capped. I believe ADA Aqua Soil (and there are a few different colours) doesn't need to be covered and can be used as a substrate on it's own. There is also the option to combine different types of substrate. I'm toying with the idea of combining Aqua Soil with sand, and use the soil in the areas that I am planning to plant. I'm hoping that this will keep the costs down...

I have a 240litre tank to do, and I'm sure that's gonna cost me a pretty penny!
 
There are plant substrates that you can use that don't need to be capped. I believe ADA Aqua Soil (and there are a few different colours) doesn't need to be covered and can be used as a substrate on it's own. There is also the option to combine different types of substrate. I'm toying with the idea of combining Aqua Soil with sand, and use the soil in the areas that I am planning to plant. I'm hoping that this will keep the costs down...

I have a 240litre tank to do, and I'm sure that's gonna cost me a pretty penny!
In my Rio 240ltr I put sand on the bottom then JBL Aquabasis + (1 and a half bags of) then Oliver Knott Nature Soil on the top (1 and a half bags again) So substrate ended up costing in excess of £125 :crazy:

The Oliver Knott is really nice but does move a lot, I wouldn't recommend it for tanks that have fish who move the substrate a lot and shallow rooting plants. I have lost just about all of my HC & HM because of this and have planted Eleocharis parvula instead, it doesn't help that I have over 7000lrt per hour flow rate either :S If you can plant the tank a month or so before adding fish then the shallower rooting plants would have a better chance of staying put and surviving, I think.
 
In my Rio 240ltr I put sand on the bottom then JBL Aquabasis + (1 and a half bags of) then Oliver Knott Nature Soil on the top (1 and a half bags again) So substrate ended up costing in excess of £125 :crazy:

Cricky! I'm not liking the sound of that!

I have a feeling that it's gonna cost me similar and I''ve not even started on hardscaping, plant and even fishies!
 
well i dont know on your side of the pond, but over here we have Eco-Complete from CaribSea. i've been using that for a while and i think it's pretty neat. it already comes clean, it's pretty heavy so it doesnt make a mess, and it's easy to plant in.
a 20lb bag costs about $20...so i spent about $100 total in Eco-Complete...and it can be used on its own too, no capping needed :shifty:
 
Gents,

As long as there are enough ferts in the water column you can quite easily have a cheap substrate made entirely of sand or gravel. :good:

Dave.
 
Gents,

As long as there are enough ferts in the water column you can quite easily have a cheap substrate made entirely of sand or gravel. :good:

Dave.


I was gonna say a similair thing to dave, is it really nessersary to say one substrate is better than others?, have a look around at other peoples tanks and see what substrates people use ive seen some better planted tanks using just plain old cheap gravel than i have using the most expensive substrate on the market.

If you want to use a substrate that is purposley made fair enough, but as dave says if there is enough nutrients in the water itself im sure the plants will grow perfectly well and more than like just as good.

Other option i was tempted in was bonsai substrate called akadama, what ive read it's actually really good and gives very good results, cheaper than most PURPOSE made substrates and does pretty much the same job.


anyways just thought i would comment lol

jen
 
I would get eco-complete substrate. Its basically plant dirt but for aquariums and loaded with nutrients. I think its about $20 for ten pounds.... 1 bag per 10 gallons of water.
 
EC contains virtually no nutrients. It is the CEC that gives it the capacity to grab nutrients out of the water and make them available to the roots.

Go with whichever sand or gravel you prefer the look of.

Dave.
 
IMO, a lot of people spend far more than they need to; I bought a large tub of Tetra Complete Substrate, covered it with a couple of inches of fine gravel and use 5ml of AE liquid carbon a day and have 2x38 watts in an Arcadia Overtank Luminaire over a 4ft tank. I've never had trouble with either algae or lack of growth. As long as you don't want to grow the really difficult stuff that needs over 2wpg, you don't really need the second mortgage substrates. Just my 2p.
 
EC contains virtually no nutrients. It is the CEC that gives it the capacity to grab nutrients out of the water and make them available to the roots.

Go with whichever sand or gravel you prefer the look of.

Dave.


Well it works great for me! :lol:

Honestly I kinda wish I would've gone with some kind of sand. (and its WAY cheaper)
 
Go with whichever sand or gravel you prefer the look of.

Dave.

I like this answer. :)

I have sand or gravel, or a mix, depends on the system. There's laterite in it too, but it's so old now, that I'm sure it's useless. :lol:
 

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