designing a medium sized planted tank setup and need a good substrate which i hope to cover with sand.im on a very tight budget. any recommendations??lots of talk about soil/peat on web pages.anyone had success/failure with this??cheers appreciate any good ideas!
cheap effective diy plant substrates????
- Thread starter odannyboy
- Start date
Not sure if they have anything like Soilmaster, Schultz Aquatic soil, or Turface (most commonly used on sports fields) in the UK but try checking a landscape and garden shop for a fired clay substrate possibly for pond use. They're usually much cheaper than specialty splant substrates like Fluorite or Eco-Complete, 10-20$ for a 50lb bag. There may be cheaper alternatives like laterite or vermiculite but these are easier to use, just like regular gravel.
Layering sand over another substrate don't last long, the sand will eventually sink under any larger grain substrate.
Layering sand over another substrate don't last long, the sand will eventually sink under any larger grain substrate.
well i have used sand and gravel bought from home depot. had great growth in my tank with it. 5 bux for 50 pounds.
I'm using sand and small pebble rock both from home depot. It was $3.50 for 50lbs of the play sand and another $3.50 for the 50lbs of rock.
Now The rock that I got had mud and all kinds of other crap on it. So I washed it very well before using it.
I layed down a layer of gravel then sand then a real thin layer of gravel then a decent layer of sand. I did not mix them before I put them in but any time you poke plants down in your going to mix it up some.
I just got this set up so I'm not sure how well its going to work but I'm using a liquid fertilizer and I've got 60 watts on my 29 gallon tall tank. I'm hoping it does really well.
I have anubus (which is supper hard to kill), Java Fern (supper hard to kill), Val's (just got these today so not sure), Crypts (hard to kill), And one more new plant that I got today and can not remember the name of. I will try and get a picture of the tank so you can all check it out.
Now The rock that I got had mud and all kinds of other crap on it. So I washed it very well before using it.
I layed down a layer of gravel then sand then a real thin layer of gravel then a decent layer of sand. I did not mix them before I put them in but any time you poke plants down in your going to mix it up some.
I just got this set up so I'm not sure how well its going to work but I'm using a liquid fertilizer and I've got 60 watts on my 29 gallon tall tank. I'm hoping it does really well.
I have anubus (which is supper hard to kill), Java Fern (supper hard to kill), Val's (just got these today so not sure), Crypts (hard to kill), And one more new plant that I got today and can not remember the name of. I will try and get a picture of the tank so you can all check it out.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...ll&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1
iron rich laterite.. its good for rooting plants especially swords.. add a bit of that in and you can skip the root fertilizers
iron rich laterite.. its good for rooting plants especially swords.. add a bit of that in and you can skip the root fertilizers
That looks like alright stuff. At least you just mix it with substrate. I'm going to see how mine do like this and if I think they need some help I will find some substrate ferts that I can put in.
I used to do the diy co2 system and it really worked well. Would have worked better if I had an active diffuser compared to filling up a bell and letting it defuse that way but it still worked.
This time around I'm going to see if I can rig me up a decent bottle system.
I used to do the diy co2 system and it really worked well. Would have worked better if I had an active diffuser compared to filling up a bell and letting it defuse that way but it still worked.
This time around I'm going to see if I can rig me up a decent bottle system.
Diana Walstad does tanks with potting soil covered with sand. She uses a lot of ambient light and no co2. Google her. Her methods are cheap.
There used to be a lot of folks here that used peat moss. I never heard any complaints.
A few folks use sand and jobs plant spikes for ferns. Tom Barr always yells at them. They do it anyway and it works but you have to be careful. I have used the spikes.
Shultz’s Aquatic soil is another one. You can find that at places that sell pond supplies. Around here there is also a soil product they make that is exactly the same thing but sold as a soil enhancer for clay soils. A few years ago Home Depot couldn’t sell the stuff and I was buying 25 lbs for a dollar which were worth a lot more back then.
Cat litter is another one. In that case you need to make sure it is nothing more than dried clay.
There used to be a lot of folks here that used peat moss. I never heard any complaints.
A few folks use sand and jobs plant spikes for ferns. Tom Barr always yells at them. They do it anyway and it works but you have to be careful. I have used the spikes.
Shultz’s Aquatic soil is another one. You can find that at places that sell pond supplies. Around here there is also a soil product they make that is exactly the same thing but sold as a soil enhancer for clay soils. A few years ago Home Depot couldn’t sell the stuff and I was buying 25 lbs for a dollar which were worth a lot more back then.
Cat litter is another one. In that case you need to make sure it is nothing more than dried clay.