Substrate for planted tank

[imagirlgeek]

Okay guys, I'm really getting pretty interested in the whole planted thank thing.  We've got some new fish coming in on Tuesday, so we'll be doing some rearranging of our tank space.  I figure this is the right time to set up the planted thank the way it should be set up.

I know I could google all my questions, but why do that when I've got the big brains here on the Box to help, right?  So, here goes...

Here are the plants we've got so far.  We wanted to start out easy....

Anachris
Ludwigia repens
Microsorium pteropus
Rotala rotundifolia

Right now we have regular masonry sand as the substrate, but since we are going to have to get more substrate anyway, I wanted to know what I should get.  Is the sand okay?  I don't think we are ready to go the route of putting the actual soil in the tank yet, but if you can convince me this is the best way to go, I'll consider it.

Also, I stir the sand in the other tanks pretty regularly to release any gases that get trapped...how does this work in a planted tank?  Do the plants actually take care of this for me?

Any other advice anyone wants to offer will be greatly appreciated.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

I did the sand thing and it does not work that well....the plants will take root in the sand but as it compacts it will kill off the roots which if you disturb it too much the roots would not become established.

Something simple to use would probably be Seachem Flourite or Eco-Complete....I have used the later and didn't like how it grew plants but it is an option for those that are rough with the substrate since both are hard substrates.

I have used quite a few different substrates and will say that soil has grown plants like no other so if it is a full blown planted tank then soil is what you should go with! RedSea flora base worked great.....ADA aquasoil was cheaper then the red sea stuff and works even better!

[imagirlgeek]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

Thank you for the information EK!

So, if it's not going to be a full blown planted tank, would we still go with the ADA?  Could we do, like, ADA around the edges and back of the tank and fill in the front and center with sand?  Or would that shift around and become all mucked up anyway?

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

If you don't plan on tearing things around then you can go with the split substrates which will work out good....if you have the time use some plastic sheeting to seperate the different substrate to keep sand sand and plant substrate plant substrate.

I love how Aquasoil grows plants so I would use it whenever plants are involved....or fish that require the soft water/low pH. You could always go with the potted method...if there is gonna be a lot of other substrate or decorations you could use some pots/baby food jars/etc. and put the soil in that along with your plants.

[imagirlgeek]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

I love that idea!  And guygeek likes the look of pots in the planted tank.  That would give us more variety and let us take some baby steps, instead of just diving in head first, making a big mess, and killing everything.  :)

So, do we get the Aquasoil at any LFS?  Any chance we could get anything at Home Depot?  We have to go there today to get lumber to build a couple of stands.  

I heard you were the 'go to' guy for planted tanks, EK. Glad we got to pick your brain on this one!

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

Aquasoil is probably best bought from CityPets or ADG......Fish Gallery carries it as well but the cost is stoopid higher then the other two which doesn't make sense cause they all come from ADG.


There is SMS.....soilmaster select found at home depot but I think that stuff is inert compared to aquasoil.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

Careful about what people tell you ..... I thump fish and feed my anemones fried chicken.

[imagirlgeek]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

  Good point.  

[rrocket2002]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

Hey...I fed some nuggets to my Fronts...and they went ape over it.  FYI

[imagirlgeek]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

What kind of nuggets?  Chicken Nuggets?  We don't really give our Fronts fast food.  

[rrocket2002]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

Go for the lemon pepper grilled chicken bites.

[rrocket2002]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

FRom Chili's?

[fishlady]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

traci i'm no expert as ek is.....
but i used aquasoil i bought at home depot and it worked great for me in my 75 planted.....and it settled in hours where the ada soil took forever . i liked how when i did disturb the substrate it didn't muck up the water either.....when i messed with ada soil it took hours to settle for some reason....and it's cheaper than ada soil......the ferts i fed once a week and my tank looked good....the root system on the plants remained stable too.....

[imagirlgeek]

Re: Substrate for planted tank

Good!  Because that's what we ended up picking up today while we were at Home Depot.  We figured we'd try that and if it didn't work out, we'd hit the LFS for some ADA.