Which substrate?

[Lord of the fish]

Hi

I'm slowly but surely buying up everything i need for upgrading my 90 litre freshwater tank. I've spent a couple of hundred so far and have just totalled up everything left on my list and need another £450.

I've therefore decided to look into what savings can be made and I think one of the bigger savings to be made could be on the substrate. I'd planned to get the full ADA system and I've priced up what I wanted at a total of £115. I realise the benefits of such a substrate but wonder if the cheaper alternatives are any good.

Does anyone have any good experiences with any cheaper brands?

The tank will be co2 injected with TMC grobeam X 2 for lighting. I'm still looking into plants but I expect I'll have a dwarf hair grass carpet, anubias, some red plants to be decided, mosses, and one or two other small leaved style plants.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[StandbySetting]

Spend as much or as little as you wish on subrstate, I'm currently growing hi tech plants in an inert substrate so it can be done, the cheapest way would be to use clay cat litter and cap it with gravel- though the ADA substrates really are worth the money, they are excellent and I would definitely recommend them, if you can affford to use them then I would for sure

 

[Lord of the fish]

Yeh, that's the thing, i can't really afford it. I really want it though. I'd costed it up as follows:

ADA bacter 100 £19
super clear £19
power sand £22
Amazonia Aqua soil 9l £28
Amazonia powder 3l £18

I wonder how successful a substrate it would be if I just got the aqua soil and power and forgot about the bacter, super clear and power sand?

I've always had love plants and always just had a combination of sand and gravel. Nothing specialist at all. While I can keep plants successfully in this I really want to step it up a gear.

 

[Demeter32]

For my little 10 gallon I used worm castings and chucks of natural clay mixed in and then had a flourite red cap, which was replaced with black/white sand after the tank started leaking. The worm casting were free because they were the left over bedding from the fish bait we had that year The clay was stuff that I dug up while camping a few summers back.

Pool filter sand or play sand is relatively cheap, and if you can find some place with good pesticide free soil that would be free for the taking. Of course I'm all for setting up tanks using natural/free materials, but you have to be careful of what you put in a tank.

 

[StandbySetting]

You could use just the aqua soil on its own, I have done in the last, just remember that it leaches ammonia

 

[Lord of the fish]

Yeh, I think I'll use the soil on its own and see how I go. I see ADA have some new products available that can be added later so that gives me options.

That's about £60 saved. Now to see what other savings I can make.

Cheers