Substrate Help Please!!

[BronteKate]

hello,

I have multiple plants, mostly ambulia, in my gravel bottom tank and am looking to pot them in little ceramic pots with substrate.
I would like to use this substrate and these pots

Aqua One Substrate Nano Activated Bio Beads Yellow 1kg (10445)

AquaOne Gravel - Buy Aqua One Substrate Nano Activated Bio Beads Yellow 1kg (10445) Today!

www.aquariumspareparts.com.au

https://www.kmart.com.au/product/3-pack-mini-terracotta-pots/963155

but I don’t know anything about substrates, so would someone be able to help me out?
root tabs?
liquid fert?


Thanks

 

[PheonixKingZ]

You can get regular play sand. Then you can use liquid fertilizers and root tabs. (Either or)

@Byron could probably explain better than I could...

 

[utahfish]

Get organic potting soil. Sift the wood and junk out of it, make sure the soil doesnt have any manure in the ingerdients then take your plants out of tank plant them in soiled pot and cap the top of the soil with gravel to keep it from getting into your water column. This is basically the same as "dirting" you tank except instead of doing the whole bottom of the tank its contained in pots. The soil will need to be changed around 1-2 years as it will lose its nutrients and become dead.
One can still fertilize with liquid ferts in the water as the leaves will use it and the roots the nutrients in the soil in the pots.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Are you suggesting setting up a Wasltad Method tank? People have mixed feelings about this method...

@Byron doesn’t suggest to use/get “Nutrient” filled substrate. The nutrients will eventually all cycle out of the substrate and then you will just have sand.

If you get play sand (like I have), you can just get liquid fertilizers or root tabs. I have never personally used fertilizers or root tabs, I’m just throwing out my two cents.

 

[utahfish]

Are you suggesting setting up a Wasltad Method tank? People have mixed feelings about this method...

@Byron doesn’t suggest to use/get “Nutrient” filled substrate. The nutrients will eventually all cycle out of the substrate and then you will just have sand.

If you get play sand (like I have), you can just get liquid fertilizers or root tabs. I have never personally used fertilizers or root tabs, I’m just throwing out my two cents.

Walstad method would be dirting the whole tank. This is just dirt in pots.
The biggest draw back to dirted tanks is that the soil uses up all its nutrients after a year or so and becomes dead and anaerobic. Just like a veggie garden the soil needs to be turned over.
The advantage of having plants in soiled pots is one can replenish the soil by taking the pot out and doing so, either with root tabs or replacing soil.
The poster is wanting to put her plants in pots so adding sand with root tabs to the substrate isnt going to help much which is why i suggested using soil in the pots capped with gravel to keep the soil from being disturbed.
Ive dirted a tank before. Best plant growth ive ever had but it lasted about 2 years then went dead and i had to replace it.

 

[Retired Viking]

I agree with @utahfish Using pots makes sense, easier to maintain and a lot smarter than putting dirt in the whole tank

 

[Byron]

I have never used pots for aquarium plants so I am commenting not from direct experience, just reasoning. While this might seem preferable to an entire substrate, I would be concerned that the same negative aspects would occur. The problem with any organic-rich "soil" whether dirt or something like the product linked in post #1 is what gets into the water column. And this is clearly a concern for fish rather than plants.

Soil as an under-layer substrate (capped by sand or fine gravel) can cause serious ammonia issues, and depending upon the organic level, algae and cyanobacteria. There is another current thread on a cyanobacteria issue and it came to light that there is one of these organic soils underneath the upper substrate. I'd reason this is certainly connected.

Confining the soil to a pot presumably would still allow organics to leech into the water. Using plain sand (which is a better rooting medium than gravel for plants) with substrate tabs seems a better option.

I know next to nothing about ambulia, but I gather the actual plant species is Limnophila and there are several distinct species. Kasselmann (2004) has six described in her book Aquarium Plants, and she mentions a nutrient-rich substrate being beneficial. If this were me, and assuming there are fish in this tank, I would use a sand substrate and insert nutrients via products like Seachem's Flourish Tabs. There are other brands, though I have no knowledge of their comparative effectiveness.

 

[utahfish]

I had a capped soil substrate and didnt have any ammonia issues or cyno bacteria in the 2 years i had it. In fact the only time i ever had cynobacteria oddly was with a sand substrate. The biggest issue i can see with potting any plant instead of planting it directly in the substrate is it becoming root bound and the pots taking up a lot of space.if one were worried about soil then i suppose one could fill the pots with sand and insert root tabs in the sand in the pots.