LJ 100L Riparium

[Lalo J.]

What do you use in your other tank then? It can't be that bad the plants look ok despite the high pH, I would just mix that 50/50 and it'll be fine.

I use potable water in the 65G, but remember that I changed my water supplier because of the high pH, and it's still potable water but with a lower pH.

 

[Lalo J.]

You are allowed to get just as messy as you like, you have my permission.

the issue in an aquarium is that the soil will mix in the water column and make it cloudy and potentially cause algae blooms or green water.


the 'cap' is to prevent that by keeping the soil on the bottom of it, preventing it or the nutrients from entering the main part of the water.

you can use flourite, it might be too large of a grain, I'd use sand, or something finer, to avoid needing too deep of a cap to prevent muddying the water. you have the same risk whenever you plant something, or uproot a plant. aquasoils prevent this by being larger grains, that contain the nutrients within them until removed by the roots of plants.

But it all depends what is available commercially by you. in the US I would suggest using fluval stratum as a cheap substrate, rather than capping anything with flourite, or sand, or whatever.. MTS, or capped dirt, or whatever, is a cool science experiment, but if your objective is to spend your time growing plants and creating some sort of aquascape, you likely have enough on your plate than worrying about getting the water muddy too.

Great suggestions here, some local aquarists have warned me about possible algae blooms that could be in the tank due to MTS. Another person told me that the more plants I put in the tank at the time of placing the MTS then there will be a lower probability of algae appearance, is this true?
The issue is based on the fact that I want the visible layer on the surface to be sand, but as you said, there is no need to look for problems, if I could place Flourite under the sand it would be good news.

 

[the loach]

Another person told me that the more plants I put in the tank at the time of placing the MTS then there will be a lower probability of algae appearance, is this true?

yes

 

[dougall]

I'm a fan of a single layer of substrate... period.

if you have multiples, over time they are likely to mix, between planting, replanting, animals burrowing or hunting for food etc.

the reason for capping is to keep the nutrients in the lower layer from seeping into the water column. flourite is inert (but with a high CEC) there are no nutrients to talk of in it (maybe some micro nutrients from it being clay based) and then maybe for looks.

when you pull plants out of the substrate, or when you dig to add more plants, there's a good chance that nutrients from the MTS (or whatever) will end up in the water. hence the planting heavily initially.. removing plants, or planting new will invariably make a mess.

nutrients in the water + light are what causes the algae bloom (healthy growing plants will likely use nutrients before algae though, especially when there's enough CO2 available for the plants to use in photosynthesis) but there's going to be a balance there... if all your plants are rooted in the substrate, there is no need for nutrients to be in the water column.


If you want to use flourite as your main substrate for growing purposes, I wouldn't put anything on top of it at all.. but I would use it to cover some sort of fertilizer that will provide nutrients over time, say osmocote+ and worm castings would work well, and moving the flourite a bit for plants would not get deep enough to those nutrients. but that's a little bit different.

 

[Lalo J.]

I'm a fan of a single layer of substrate... period.

if you have multiples, over time they are likely to mix, between planting, replanting, animals burrowing or hunting for food etc.

the reason for capping is to keep the nutrients in the lower layer from seeping into the water column. flourite is inert (but with a high CEC) there are no nutrients to talk of in it (maybe some micro nutrients from it being clay based) and then maybe for looks.

when you pull plants out of the substrate, or when you dig to add more plants, there's a good chance that nutrients from the MTS (or whatever) will end up in the water. hence the planting heavily initially.. removing plants, or planting new will invariably make a mess.

nutrients in the water + light are what causes the algae bloom (healthy growing plants will likely use nutrients before algae though, especially when there's enough CO2 available for the plants to use in photosynthesis) but there's going to be a balance there... if all your plants are rooted in the substrate, there is no need for nutrients to be in the water column.


If you want to use flourite as your main substrate for growing purposes, I wouldn't put anything on top of it at all.. but I would use it to cover some sort of fertilizer that will provide nutrients over time, say osmocote+ and worm castings would work well, and moving the flourite a bit for plants would not get deep enough to those nutrients. but that's a little bit different.

Again, excellent information Dougall, thanks. Unfortunately here in Mexico we cannot access ADA or Tropica substrates, and the best I can get in their absence is Flourite, Onyx Sand from Seachem or Substrate h.e.l.p, in addition to JBL manado and Aquabasis plus.

 

[dougall]

I gave to admit to not being aware of what is available in Mexico, unfortunately.

A quick web search makes me think that all of those are inert, bug have high CEC so will store nutrients for plant roots if you can get them there.

So any should work about the same, if you have some sort of root tab available (look for a full range of macro and micro nutrients) I would use them and what looks best to your eye.

If you want to use MTS, I would likely go with the finest if the options (I think Flourite sand) as a cap

It's possible to 'preload' inert substrates like Flourite before it is used to avoid needing to add root tabs, but that involves soaking the substrate, and having access to the chemicals needed.

I am pretty sure that the process was outlined by Tom Barr on the Barr report if you need more info.

 

[Lalo J.]

Tom Barr's tank is awesome, I didn't know he had a forum and there's a lot of good information there. I am not sure what or which tablets can be found in my country, I will investigate.

 

[dougall]

Tom Barr was a member here also, many moons ago.

If you can get Flourite, chances are you can get Seachem root tabs, but I don't think they contain all needed elements, just mostly trace elements. But you can check the label to be sure. My favorites are from Nilocg (also an ex member) or there are ones made by Tropica.. but no idea if they will be available to you.

Another option from here in the forums would be DIY - it's a few years old, but still pretty valid if you can get the ingredients... https://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/threads/diy-root-tabs.169591/

 

[Lalo J.]

Thanks again for the contributions, excellent link, I will think well what the final work for the substrate is going to be, unfortunately nothing of the Tropica brand can be obtained here in Mexico, it's a shame, that's why many aquarists, including the aquascapers that represent the country in international competitions use DIY methods for their work.

 

[Lalo J.]

Some rocks collected yesterday, several pounds but only a few will go into the hardscape. It's a hard work, try to climb a 60 pound stone up a 15 or 20 meter sand slope in the sun, my whole body hurts but there is a lot of material to play with in the hardscape.