Substrate for planted tank with Corys?

[Shifty1303]

hi all,

committed to the idea of redoing my main 200l tank as its looking a bit worse for wear and i want to get a bit more advanced with planting and step up from crypts and java ferns finally.

already have a reasonable light source in the form of the fluval fresh and plant 2.0 but looking for advice on substrate given that i have a large family of panda cories living in there i dont want to move. they are currently on play sand as i know soft sand is best for them but im wondering how they fare on the typical aquasoil-esque subtrates? are any of them soft and fine grained enough for pandas to be happy on? i saw the black flourite sand on offer but have heard it is quite sharp still. my fish' happiness is the most important element for me of course but i would like to change things up if possible. happy to get using liquid ferts too. but sont fancy CO2 injection.

i also have seen a couple of people suggest cories prefer light colour substrates but nothing conclusive.

if aquasoil/ecocomplete etc is out of the question and they dont mind darker substrates are there any good soft black sands etc people can recommend? i really fancy a dark substrate for a change to make the colour of my praecox rainbows really shine and give me some different contrast in my living room where its my show tank.

thanks for any and all advice!

 

[Byron]

What you now have, play sand, is the best substrate, no question. I have this in all my tanks, and my plants thrive. And the fish are safe.

I tried a plant substrate once, Flourite black in fact, and nearly lost my panda and similis species cories due to the roughness. They lost their barbels and one even part of its mouth; I moved them to play sand and they recovered and now five years later I still have them, spawning. There are other fish issues too with most of these substrates.

A dark substrate is always better, no exceptions with freshwater fish. It is more natural to the fish, and it makes viewing the aquarium easier as there is less reflected light. "Dark" can be varied. My play sand is a dark gray mix, there is also a buff-tone mix. These are fine. You can add dried leaves, chunks of wood, all making the substrate area darker and looking even more natural.

Depending upon the plant species, you can use a comprehensive liquid fertilizer and/or substrate tabs. I can detail if asked. Some of these are excellent, some anything but good.

 

[Shifty1303]

Thanks byron.

Do you know of any black or otherwise very dark sand substrates that are safe? I see the caribsea black tahitian moon sand mentioned a lot?

Ive seen your advice to add oak leaves before so I'll look into that too. Best to boil them to sterilise before adding?

As for the ferts id love to know please been looking at the seachem range which appear quite good but I'd like to know what you use. I'd be keen to keep some red plants properly too as I feel my lighting is adequate now so just need to piece together the rest. I gather plant tabs and iron are best for these?

 

[Byron]

I have not handled the Caribsea sand so cannot comment reliably. But I would say that when I had the Flourite black, aside from the sharpness issue, the black was not very appealing. Under water and under tank lighting, colours look much different than otherwise, and I was quite surprised at how "blah" all-black appeared; it was more a dull dark gray, and every spec of detritus showed up, something I have never seen with years of using a mix substrate. By mix I mean a fine gravel or (now) play sand that is a mix of black/tan/white/gray or similar.

Leaves...collect them after they have fallen so they will be "dead," meaning free of sap/liquid. Provided you have a clean spot, there is no need to even rinse them. Do not boil, that will remove all benefits and likely cause them to fall apart. Benefits are thee organic decomposition that provides infusoria, a food that all fish love to eat, and if you have fry, they will grow faster with leaves in the tank. I collect my oak leaves in the back garden so I know there are no chemicals or pesticides involved. I make sure the leaf does not have bird droppings. I lay them out to dry, then bag in a plastic fish bag and use as needed. You could rinse them off in cool/warm water if you like, but nothing further. It takes them a few days to become waterlogged in the tank and sink, then I lay them where I want them. Some people remove them when they show signs of falling apart, but I leave them and just add more every couple of weeks.

Fertilizers...I have been using the Seachem Flourish line for several years now. The complete liquid is Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium. This is the only liquid I use now, though I have used a couple of the other specific products but found they were not necessary and did cause algae or fish issues. I also use the Flourish Tabs, one in the sand next to thee crown of larger sword plants, lilies. These plants take in more nutrients and the tabs provide these directly without getting into the upper water column so less algae issues. The tabs are replaced every 2 or 3 months, depending upon your GH and the plant species. GH is your prime source of calcium and magnesium, and I have very soft water with zero of both so the tabs replaced every 8 weeks has solved that problem. I experimented using more of the liquid, but algae increased; this has not occurred with the tabs and minimal liquid.