Cheap Substrate

[NewbieFish]

In an effort to save money what would be a cheap substrate for a planted tank? Would play sand be "good enough" for most but the pickiest plants? Would play sand be safe for fish? Could I layer play sand under some regular aquarium gravel? Thanks.

Those plant dedicated substrates were $30 CDN for 7kgs at the LFS and if I wanted to fill a 72g it would be quite pricey.

Oh and if its an issue of not having enough starting nutrients would using fert tabs compensate enough?

 

[tanker]

Those plant dedicated substrates were $30 CDN for 7kgs at the LFS and if I wanted to fill a 72g it would be quite pricey.

You can always put normal substrate over the "dedicated" ones, or mix it.

 

[NewbieFish]

You can always put normal substrate over the "dedicated" ones, or mix it.

Well I would like to avoid the use of specialized substrates entirely.... No matter how you look at it, its kinda expensive for crushed rocks. Even if it is special rock. :irked:

 

[midiamin]

Kiddy play sand compresses too tight. A much larger grain of sand will work fine. ask your lfs for the size and go to your neighborhood garden supply. It's cheaper.

 

[Plecosterone]

I use play sand in all my tanks with no problems. Cheap and very effective, especially for plants with fragile roots like dwarf hair grass etc. Just make sure you wash it well before using. It will still make the water look very dirty for a while but will eventually settle.

 

[NewbieFish]

Judging from here and other forums I've read I guess the opinion/experience is split. Its either too compact or it totally fine. I guess I will simply have to make a decision of $$ vs THEGOODSTUFF

 

[Fishy_Fun]

i have silica sand in my aquarium and it looks great.i have heard play sand is really dirty though

 

[jflng]

Soilmaster Select, Turface Pro League, or Shultz aquatic plant soil..

 

[Canuck]

I'm with jflng, with the addition of Schultz Clay Soil conditioner (its the same thing as aquatic plant soil, except cheaper. Complaints I've heard about the clay soil conditioner are that because its so light, its hard to keep plants down (though once they root, they do really well), and the color. Here's a pic of my tank with Clay soil conditioner.

ps. I just cleaned the tank out, so forgive the sparseness. And I have been working with it for a number of years, so I can attest to long term (5 years) success. I think I paid about $10 (cdn) for a 44 lb bag which was enough to do a 20 gallon and a 33 gallon.

 

[BoredAgain]

Play sand here, no issues with plants.