I gathered the following information while listening to a talk from reknowned fish expert Dr. Herbert Axelrod. You may know him from the fact that several fish are named after him, and also as the founder of Tropical Fish Hobbyist and author of numerous best-selling fish books.
As the title says, this is for substrate only. Lighting is obviously a very important matter, but it will only be loosely discussed in this thread. CO2 will not be discussed except for this sentence, since co2 is for the most part not required with this substrate unless you are trying to grow really difficult plants. Other general tips will also be given at the end of the thread.
The substrate consists of 5 layers. The lowest layer is often seen in pet stores as "Tex-Blast Gravel". It is essentially sand-blasting sand, and can often be found at auto-mechanic stores, hardware stores, etc. This layer should be about an inch thick.
Layer 2 is plain ole play sand. This gives the plants something firm to root into. The thickness of this layer is not extremely important, but a half inch will suit your tank well.
Layer 3 is the most important, and surprising, layer. Layer 3 is potting soil. The potting soil MUST be phosphate and nitrate free, however. I have used Ferti-Lome potting soil in the past and have had really good results with it. This layer should be anywhere from 1.5 to 2 inches thick.
Layers 4 and 5 are repeats of layers 2 and 1, respectively.
I have always set up my tanks to make them look like the entire tank is only one subtrate when viewed from the front, but I leave the sides looking like several layers so I can explain the process to customers at my pet store.
Other important notes:
*When filling the tank with water, be careful not to mix the layers! I place a towel or something over the gravel, and then my hand over the towel, and put the water onto my hand in order to prevent any layer mixing.
*Use RO water! Tap water is usually way off in many aspects from what kind of water the plants need.
*Driftwood, rocks, etc. should be added prior to placing the last layer in the tank.
*Place the plants in the tank prior to filling the tank with water. Be sure to try and keep the plants wet as your are placing them in the tank, and filling the tank with RO water.
*Use ghost shrimp to help keep plants clean. For reference, I keep a couple dozen in my 29g tank.
*Find and purchase malaysian snails!! This is very important as malaysian snails keep the substrate from going anaerobic! If the tank becomes over-populated with those snails, throw in any botia or loach member for a day or two.
*Most of your planting should be done at the setup, with later plantings only being used to fill in slow growth areas.
*Be careful if you ever move plants as to not mix up the layers.
*Use a liquid supplement to help give nutrients for your plants. I've had great success with Tetra's FloraPride.
Feel free to ask if you have any questions. As far as lighting, the more light you have the better. Unfortunately I only have 1 planted tank setup due to the size restraints of my pet store. But on this 29g tank, I have 2 strip lights. One strip light has an actinic bulb in it, while the other strip light I gutted and put incandescent sockets in it. In those sockets I have a total of 4, 25-watt compact flourescents that I bought at Wal-Mart for something like 5 dollars a bulb.
Again, most of this information was obtained from a lecture given by Herbert Axelrod, and I in no way claim myself as the discoverer of this information. Like I said, co2 should not be required, especially if you use plants like swords, cryptocornes, etc, etc. More difficult plants, such as anacharis, or most plants with red coloring in them, may require the addition of co2.
Good luck with your plants!
As the title says, this is for substrate only. Lighting is obviously a very important matter, but it will only be loosely discussed in this thread. CO2 will not be discussed except for this sentence, since co2 is for the most part not required with this substrate unless you are trying to grow really difficult plants. Other general tips will also be given at the end of the thread.
The substrate consists of 5 layers. The lowest layer is often seen in pet stores as "Tex-Blast Gravel". It is essentially sand-blasting sand, and can often be found at auto-mechanic stores, hardware stores, etc. This layer should be about an inch thick.
Layer 2 is plain ole play sand. This gives the plants something firm to root into. The thickness of this layer is not extremely important, but a half inch will suit your tank well.
Layer 3 is the most important, and surprising, layer. Layer 3 is potting soil. The potting soil MUST be phosphate and nitrate free, however. I have used Ferti-Lome potting soil in the past and have had really good results with it. This layer should be anywhere from 1.5 to 2 inches thick.
Layers 4 and 5 are repeats of layers 2 and 1, respectively.
I have always set up my tanks to make them look like the entire tank is only one subtrate when viewed from the front, but I leave the sides looking like several layers so I can explain the process to customers at my pet store.
Other important notes:
*When filling the tank with water, be careful not to mix the layers! I place a towel or something over the gravel, and then my hand over the towel, and put the water onto my hand in order to prevent any layer mixing.
*Use RO water! Tap water is usually way off in many aspects from what kind of water the plants need.
*Driftwood, rocks, etc. should be added prior to placing the last layer in the tank.
*Place the plants in the tank prior to filling the tank with water. Be sure to try and keep the plants wet as your are placing them in the tank, and filling the tank with RO water.
*Use ghost shrimp to help keep plants clean. For reference, I keep a couple dozen in my 29g tank.
*Find and purchase malaysian snails!! This is very important as malaysian snails keep the substrate from going anaerobic! If the tank becomes over-populated with those snails, throw in any botia or loach member for a day or two.
*Most of your planting should be done at the setup, with later plantings only being used to fill in slow growth areas.
*Be careful if you ever move plants as to not mix up the layers.
*Use a liquid supplement to help give nutrients for your plants. I've had great success with Tetra's FloraPride.
Feel free to ask if you have any questions. As far as lighting, the more light you have the better. Unfortunately I only have 1 planted tank setup due to the size restraints of my pet store. But on this 29g tank, I have 2 strip lights. One strip light has an actinic bulb in it, while the other strip light I gutted and put incandescent sockets in it. In those sockets I have a total of 4, 25-watt compact flourescents that I bought at Wal-Mart for something like 5 dollars a bulb.
Again, most of this information was obtained from a lecture given by Herbert Axelrod, and I in no way claim myself as the discoverer of this information. Like I said, co2 should not be required, especially if you use plants like swords, cryptocornes, etc, etc. More difficult plants, such as anacharis, or most plants with red coloring in them, may require the addition of co2.
Good luck with your plants!
