My first (and best ) planted tank has a home made substrate. Made up of fine lime free gravel (maximum size of about 2mms), a small quantity of laterite, a small quantity of aquarium peat, a packet of activated carbon and then topped up about once a year with a packet of root balls (last used the JBL 7 balls). For my dosing regime I use Tropica Plant Nutrition + at about 7mls a day, with 2 break days a week for the benifit of my shrimp. This is in a 180 litre, highly lit (as in 4 39 watt T5 HO tubes) aquarium with pressurised CO2. I get phenomenal growth rates, including roots, and it is very easy to plant into and holds the plants down well.
In my daughters tank I have play sand and activated carbon (pretty good growth still), in my invert tank I have Eco-Complete (the only off the shelf plant substrate I have ever used) which is more for the shrimp than the plants (mosses, java fern, dwarf hair grass and echinodorus tennelus).
Ade
I just have medium sized gravel with riverstones on top in my tank. My plants all seem to do quite well, but they are hearty varities (amazon sword, lacey java fern..)
My first (and best ) planted tank has a home made substrate. Made up of fine lime free gravel (maximum size of about 2mms), a small quantity of laterite, a small quantity of aquarium peat, a packet of activated carbon and then topped up about once a year with a packet of root balls (last used the JBL 7 balls). For my dosing regime I use Tropica Plant Nutrition + at about 7mls a day, with 2 break days a week for the benifit of my shrimp. This is in a 180 litre, highly lit (as in 4 39 watt T5 HO tubes) aquarium with pressurised CO2. I get phenomenal growth rates, including roots, and it is very easy to plant into and holds the plants down well.
In my daughters tank I have play sand and activated carbon (pretty good growth still), in my invert tank I have Eco-Complete (the only off the shelf plant substrate I have ever used) which is more for the shrimp than the plants (mosses, java fern, dwarf hair grass and echinodorus tennelus).
Ade
Hi ADE,
where can I find laterite and lime free gravel?
Regards Darren