Substrate for planted tank ?

[alpine]

I keep all my tanks bare but my wife has shown an interest in plants (has two small tanks w/ plants) and I would like to hear what you all recommend for substrate. I have seen the whitish sand in some show tanks , spoke to someone in an Ohio show and he showed me some gravel he sells that was pretty small in size and it look good , he said it was good for plants..another person told me to use half lateralite ??? compound for half and then gravel for the rest ??????
I like to hear your opinions.
thanks,
roberto.

[Vinny]

I use Aqua Soil Amazonia II in both of my current planted tanks, and am by far pleased with the product. Especially for planted tanks, it is important that you provide plants with a nutrient rich substrate; plain gravel is not recommended for planted tanks.

What type of plants were you planning on keeping, and what is the tank size? Another factor you might want to think about is the lighting, for different types of plants require different amounts of lighting. Along with the lighting and substrate, Carbon dioxide is needed by plants in order to use photosynthesis, so you may have to accommodate the lighting by injecting pressurized CO2. It is crucial to have a balance of light, CO2, and fertilizers (the substrate, along with additive fertilizers) in the tank. Good Luck!

[alpine]

Vinnie, thanks . For now I am just worry for her to make the right decision on the substrate. I have heard some of substrates are too rich in nutrients , so they are detrimental to the plants. I see some people even use cat Litter...
We will look at your suggestion.

roberto.

[Blackwater Aquaria]

I keep all my tanks bare but my wife has shown an interest in plants (has two small tanks w/ plants) and I would like to hear what you all recommend for substrate. I have seen the whitish sand in some show tanks , spoke to someone in an Ohio show and he showed me some gravel he sells that was pretty small in size and it look good , he said it was good for plants..another person told me to use half lateralite ??? compound for half and then gravel for the rest ??????
I like to hear your opinions.
thanks,
roberto.

Hi Roberto I am having very good luck with Eco Complete with some of the subtrates I have used in the past you need to rinse them but I would still have problems in my filters getting clogeing up. Good luck . Mike

[Silent Running]

I use Eco Complete as well and have had good luck with it. I find it easier to plant in than flourite because of the mix of sizes in the eco complete (the plants stay planted easier). I haven't tried other substrates than these 2, though. HTH

[pcsb23]

Roberto, a lot depends on what type of plants - if there will be root feeders, swords for example, then laterite, flourite type substarte will bnefit, stem plants it can be anything like sand, gravel etc. Larry is always telling me about soilmaster which looks good, is cheap and seems to do the busineess may be worth a shot, it also comes in different colours too. In my tanks I tend to use a mineral rich substrate, currently using seachem flourite, because I have a lot of swords. An SR is right planting in flourite isn't as easy as in sand orf ine gravel!

[KJoFan]

I tried gravel mixed with flourite once and it worked ok but not great. Now, I use Eco-Complete in my smaller planted tanks and soilmaster in my large planted tanks (72 and 92). The soilmaster works well for me, it's a bit light so you may have trouble keeping larger plants rooted, like swords, I'm not sure as I don't have any in my tanks. Also, vacuuming the soilmaster can be tricky due to it's lightweight. But for the most bang for your buck, especially on larger planted tanks I'd recommend it. I've been pleased with mine so far and I'm using it in both a high light and low light tank.

[alpine]

Thanks for the posts , keep the opinions coming ... I just brought the wife to see the posts and we will be making a decision soon . I got her a nice Sanibel stand for the 75 and have to pick up the tank for her this week. Then she will have to decide how much lite will she want for it. I will let her use one of the 2026 eheim canisters . She is looking foward to set it up.
thanks again,
roberto.

[pcsb23]

Roberto, get you good lady to browse through some of the threads here, better still get her to create her own account! There are plenty of really nice tanks, if she sees something that she like, you could always pm them and ask what they used....

[Harriett]

Roberto,
One other possibility if you want to go on the cheap is silica sand. You can buy it at a pool / spa supply place for about $7-8 for a 50 lb. bag. I've been using it in my 180g planted since last May and I like the look alot. The silica is heavy so it doesn't float around--when I use the python to clean the substrate, it falls instantly back to the bottom. The plants root very well in it. It is inert. The crud sits on top of the sand and doesn't fall thru into the cracks as with gravel substrate so you can vaccuum easily. Occasionally stir up the substrate [python] so you don't get any anaerobic pockets. You can get different grain size and slightly different colors. I got a slightly courser sand that is buff colored. The color of the discus is brighter since I switched off the medium tan/brown gravel.
Best of luck.
Harriett

[Dolphin Dip]

hmmm... where are scolley and darter when you need them?

[alpine]

Harriet, that sounds like a good idea. Tomorrow I will go to a pool outlet close to my shop and see what they have . How many pounds do you think it should take to get 3 1/2 or 4 inches in a 75 ?
Thanks,
roberto.

[Harriett]

A little less than 2 bags, probably. For my 180g I threw in 5 bags and the substrate averages 3.5" to close to 5". I have it sloped--higher in back and graduating down in front to only 2" for a good portion of the tank.
One other thing: when I got it, I started by thinking I'd clean the sand in a 5g bucket a bit at a time in the usual rinse forever method. What I found real quick is that pool sand is already cleaned. I ended up just dumping all of it into the tank, filling the tank and stirring without the filter running, and waiting an hour. All the dust settled back down, I vaccuumed it out, stirred it again, and it was pretty good. Turned on the filter [with a fine prefilter] and it cleared real quick. Planted it up, threw the discus back in from their holding tank, and called it a day. One of the best changes I've made in that tank.
Best regards
Harriett

[cranford]

hello all , i also have had my tanks without plants , but now am intrested in planting , but i have one question do i really need it inject co2? or fertulization is suficente.

[Harriett]

Yes you can do a low tech tank without CO2: just remember it's all about BALANCE between light intensity and duration, Nutrients [consider both fish waste and artificial fertilization by you], and CO2 uptake, among other things. BALANCE is what will give you success....it is individualized for every tank through trial and error; read up on the basics.
I have a low tech planted 72g angel tank with a silica sand substrate; I ignore it completely except for water changes. No ferts, no CO2, don't exactly track the light hours but probably 10 a day. It has a low bioload [5 adult angels and a couple BN, cories, etc]; it never has algae problems, the plants look good, and everything grows very slowly, which is fine by me. Just crypts: retrospiralis and some of the common low growing ones for the most part. Go figure.
I have had way more challenges with my high tech tank, though it is in one of its trouble free cycles and I am enjoying it quite a lot.
Just read and then start experimenting!
Harriett