substrate

[Ricoch3T]

Have a new 55gallon tank i wanted to try and plant. Been searching for what kind of substate to use and of course everyone leans towards florite or eco complete. Checked it out and its way to expensive. I've seen some great results from people using playsand mixed with florite i think... what are your opinions? I don't mind the idea of getting playsand but i was leaning towards some type of black sand/gravel to help the fish/plants standout. Does the playsand look back?
Thanks in adv!

 

[Yeaulman]

The petstore where I got my substrate from had some fine gravel... like 1mm - 3mm in size. Its completly black and its a substrate for planted tanks. The brand was Hagen so hopefully you can get stuff like that at your store.

 

[enchanted]

I use Playsand with Seachem Flourish Tabs. In a 55 Gallon tank you would be looking at 3 packs of flourish tabs though. But they are only $6.00 each at Bigals Online.

So far I'm having seeing some good signs, but my plants are in "recoup" status right now after not having enough light, no CO2, etc..

Many people use Playsand or Eco-Complete, or Onyx Sand (seachem). I would recommend looking at pictures of others tanks to choose the color you want then base your substrate off the look you want for your tank.

 

[Ricoch3T]

Well I wanted to get a black substate, I knew that until I started seeing some prices. I could afford it if I really wanted to, but for some reason i can't make myself pay the 120 some bucks for the eco complete. heck I even thought about using the eco and moon sand but it wouldn't make it that much cheaper, 5 or 10 bucks only. Got so much other stuff going on right now (hobby wise) and didn't expect to get another tank yet. (got one of those I need to get rid of this fast deals ).. Anyway I can do with the color of the play sand especially if its cheaper. I'll eventually have to buy lights and stuff too, just wanted to get the right substrate for planting even if i don't plant right away. I hear changing the substrate later on is a P.I.T.A. Anyway, thanks for the replies!!

 

[Ricoch3T]

By the way ddreams, i saw a picture of your tank the other day when running through the picture forums, Look very good, and it gives me a little better idea of what playsand looks like!
Tell you the truth konrad05 posted in there also, when i was looking at his 55gallon tank (which looks awesome) i realized he has the exact same tank and stand I have. The hood he made also matches.

 

[konrad05]

thanks ricoch, the canopy was custom made by me but the stand was purchased at big als (I didn't want to take the responsibility of a disaster). I know your situation, I didn't want to pay the huge price for florite etc. So what I did was I went to the local plant nursery and bought a few 10 lb bags of somethign called "Aquatic Soil". It has a light brown color, is inert and works great with my plants. Per 10 lbs I think I paid about 9 bucks, CAD. You'll notice you'll save a lot of money if you buy things for your tank that are not labelled "for the aquarium", such as lighting etc. Good luck on your project.

-KP

 

[enchanted]

It is getting there. To be honest I really like the look of Play Sand, but I don't like the work. When I setup either the other 55 or the 45 in my Bedroom it will be with either Eco Complete or Onyx Sand so I'm not adding Root Tabs all the time. And, I am very definitely not going to to do the puffer tank with Play Sand. I made that decision when I realized I would have to put my hand in the tank all the time in order to insert and replace the Root Tabs.

 

[Ricoch3T]

What kind of stuff are you using konrad..co2 setup and shop lights?

Yea i know what you mean about putting root tabs in all the time, while i havn't had to do this yet I like to make things as maintenance free as possible. I'm sort of lazy unless it looks really bad which keeps me motivated to keep it up. Other than that I let it go until it looks like I have a problem. I'm hoping to start off slow with the plants since every other plant i've tried to plant (outside or in) usually dies.
but anyhow, hopefully I can eventually do the heavy stuff and keep em livin, Gots a lot of planning to do though..

 

[enchanted]

A recommendation then is to start with plants like Java Fern and Java Moss.

Go with a single two light shop light like what I am using, Konrad05 is using the same thing but he mounted his internally in his hood.

This way you are at 80W and you don't have to worry about CO2 yet... Get your tank setup and get those couple and maybe some anubias or crypt or other low light plants going.

Once you like these and your care for them is going good upgrade ot Power Compact or 2 shop lights (160W) and try to higher end with CO2.