Substrate question.....

[Walker_]

Hey there guys, I finally picked up my new 90 gal... I am planning a freshwater planted tank.... The main goal is to have great looking plants... IE fish are an afterthought.... I am planning to light it HEAVILY, scrub it wih UV/diatom and run Co2 etc... the question is, what is the best stuff to use for substrate? the guy at the LFS tried to sell me something called "florimite?" at $30 per 2kg..... needless to say I am not willing to spend $800 on "dirt" does anyone have suggestions as to what to use? preferably a DIY solution, something that has good results....


Thanks in advance...
-walker

 

[ergo sum]

It is good stuff. Where are you?

Look at this.
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=28673;category_id=3145

 

[RTR]

Seachem's Flourite is one of the best if not the best aquarium substrates avaialable today for planted tanks. Certainly there are lower-cost options and I still use some of them, but IME they are not as good or as easy to maintain long-term as is Flourite. If you are going high-tech planted you might as well opt for a good substrate as well.

 

[beviking]

Ditto...if you're spending the $ on all the other stuff, spend it on the substrate too...or rather, spend it on the substrate first!

 

[john_doe101274]

Also, do some research to see if you really want to use a UV light in a planted aquarium. I believe George Booth and others suggest against it as the UV will ionize many of the nutrients plants will need.

 

[Timmain42]

Flourite does indeed rock. It's a big expense, but it'll last for frikkin' EVER.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

While fluorite is an excellent plant substrate, I am not all that enamored with its appearance (personal taste). I am a big fan of bits of walnut gavel (a small, natural colored gravel). Since I dislike mixing fluorite with smaller sized substrate, I prefer using laterite. This is mixed into the bottom 1 to 1.5 inches of whatever substrate you use. The manufacturer recommends using an oz. of laterite/gal. of tank capacity. I tend to use slightly more. It works well and gives you the freedom to use smaller gravels and sand and still provide what your plants need. I use laterite in several planted tanks which range from 1 wpg to 3wpg w/ pressurized co2.

 

[RTR]

Laterite mixed with a bottom gravel layer under plain washed gravel is one of the lower-cost options I have and do use, but to me it is not nearly as good or easy as Flourite, nor is it eternal. Eventually everything is likely to be Flourite. (I don't care for Onyx Sand).