Planted Tanks top substrates??

[aquariumdude]

Hey ladies/gents...i know this has been asked thousands of times and i've read several different opinions and recommendations but yet I'm still in need of some help.

My questions is what is the "best" substrate for a planted tank WITHOUT spending an arm and a leg. I went to the pet store and found a great product (cant remember the name) which basically is like black gravel but more fine than your regular gravel. Basically it turns the fish poo into nutrients which the plants can feed off of which in return means less cleaning the bottom of the tank. Have you heard of this and if so have you tried it personally?

Also does this make your fish's color stand out more (what i've been told with black)?

I am aware I will still have algae and things like that to clean but the goal is the keep the tank cleaner at the bottom so it looks more natural. What my goal is to have a nice planted tank that looks natural with maybe a few exotic fish that are easy to care for (I've had stingrays/eels and various fish that are annoying to feed worms daily to...not to mention in Indiana you cant find worms at local pet stores in the winter)...i was thinking a black ghost knife bc they get pretty big then I could also get a few angel fish or something.

Any recommendations????

Thanks Again!

 

[BettaFishMommy]

Basically it turns the fish poo into nutrients which the plants can feed off of which in return means less cleaning the bottom of the tank.

no matter what the substrate, fish poop will break down and be used by the plants.

what type of plants do you want to have? plants that are heavy root feeders (swords, crypts) will do well with root tabs (store bought or home-made) shoved into the substrate near/under their roots.

i've had good experiences using plain play sand in planted tanks. the fish poop doesn't sink down into it so it's easy to suck it off the top of the sand. i fertilize with flourish comprehensive and my plants do well - even the swords planted in sand without root tabs.

 

[aquariumdude]

no matter what the substrate, fish poop will break down and be used by the plants.

what type of plants do you want to have? plants that are heavy root feeders (swords, crypts) will do well with root tabs (store bought or home-made) shoved into the substrate near/under their roots.

i've had good experiences using plain play sand in planted tanks. the fish poop doesn't sink down into it so it's easy to suck it off the top of the sand. i fertilize with flourish comprehensive and my plants do well - even the swords planted in sand without root tabs.

I dont have any plants yet...i want something to cover most of the ground, maybe a moss or and small grass...then I'd like some taller type of grasses and a few bigger plants towards the corners but I have no idea yet. I tried this stuff at menards which worked great but it's white...therefor you see all the poo on the bottom. I just noticed while at nice pet stores you see the black substrate and you can't see anything at the bottom which is what i would like to accomplish. When I used sand it's very difficult to get it all clean bc it moves around so easily when you move your hand in the water. not to mention I can BARELY reach the bottom of my tank and thats with a step ladder!

 

[tanker]

no matter what the substrate, fish poop will break down and be used by the plants.

Yes, all substrate will do this.

I have attached a pic of my 100 and my 120. One has black gravel, the other plain. See which would you like.

 

[flowmsp]

Mineralized top soil capped with your choice of gravel, pool filter sand etc gets my vote!

 

[dbosman]

My questions is what is the "best" substrate for a planted tank WITHOUT spending an arm and a leg.

Swimming pool filter sand and root feeding.
The cheapest good root tabs are Jobe's plant food spikes for ferns and palms. 16-2-6 A package of 30 which will yield 90 root tabs, costs $2.29 at my local hardware store.

Break each spike in to 3 pieces and use each piece as you would one root tab.

 

[prober]

I bought a bag of Carib Sea sand for my 20 gallon but for a larger tank I would buy pool filter sand as it is cheaper. Any pool and spa place will have it, usually in a variety of colors, or at least light and dark.

There are a couple play sand varieties that say they are not for aquarium use so be careful if you get playsand.

I once lived near a sand and gravel pit and they had piles of sand sitting outside the gate with a sign that said "Free sand for kids and cats". You might drive by the local quarry and see if they have a similar program.

 

[aquariumdude]

Yes, all substrate will do this.

I have attached a pic of my 100 and my 120. One has black gravel, the other plain. See which would you like.

The black really makes everything stand out more but the other looks more natural. now is that just your regular cheap black gravel? There is this special kind of gravel the petstore guy told me that actually have micro organisms in it to help break down the poo. I used regular play sand and the poo was way too obvious...but the stuff he recommended is $26 bad and obviously having such a big tank it will cost me almost $200. I dont want to have to feed the plants regularly....

btw nice tanks

 

[aquariumdude]

like i said before i dont really like play sand...bc your plants dont get the nutrients they really need. I was told about a certain type of gravel that has stuff in it that specifically is designed to break down the poo to feed plants which therefor you never need fertilizer...also i was told fluorite works really well (i think that is what it is called). Plus in sand your poo just sinks to the lowest area and sits for weeks and weeks. When you go to clean it moves all around so its too hard to clean, not to mention i have white sand

 

[arachnar]

This may go against every poorly researched aquarium book that you've read but get organic potting soil. Plain washed gravel is going to be the worst thing for your plants also. I think sand would be okay if it had some mulm or fertilzer in it but wouldn't be ideal by itself.

If you want a low tech tank then buy a bag of Miracle Grow Organic choice potting soil and fill it at about a 1 inch depth and top it with fine gravel or sand. It has all the nutrients you'd ever need and decomposition will provide carbon dioxide. I think that is the best choice as you don't have to air out the soil just put it straight in.

A good book that has this and a lot more scientific info is Diana Walstad's Ecology of the Planted Aquarium. You'll feel like a fool, well I did when I spent 40 plus bucks on ecocomplete (two bags) when you could pay 4 bucks for the soil and get excellent soil for plants. I'll probably dismantle my 29 gallon hi-tech for this, I already have plants in a soil mix and they are now doing great in the bowl.

I had a suspicion the plants I got from liveaquaria were grown emersed or at least the cuttings I got were and therefore would do poorly in almost two feet of water when the leaves were clearly of an emergent plant =(.