A Few Substrate Questions

[matt_storey]

So here's the tank.....

Have seen a couple of tanks that use soil as a substrate. First question... What type of soil do they use?

Second... Does it benefit the plants at all? I'm tossing up the idea of a dark substrate and a "trunk" effect 3d background.

Regards Matt

 

[HAMBONE]

So here's the tank.....

Have seen a couple of tanks that use soil as a substrate. First question... What type of soil do they use?

Second... Does it benefit the plants at all? I'm tossing up the idea of a dark substrate and a "trunk" effect 3d background.

Regards Matt

dude get some pool filter media.. you'll also need nutrient rich clay to roll into balls to add to the substrate fer the plants.. do a youtube fer sand aquariums to get the gist..

I has two different kinds of substrate fer the tanks and my tanks are great..

I wonder what my stats are.. Is my tank cycled??

 

[prankster705]

HAMBONE, I'd say something about your reply, but I don't wanna feed the trol.

As for your question, OP, the answer is not so simple. Usually, soil is used under the sand, so as to give a more nutrient rich substrate that the plant roots can utilize. A method that's recently been gaining popularity in that field is mineralized soil as it's cheap and effective. Many opt for more expensive soil substrates that can act as stand alone substrates for the entire tank, such as ADA aquasoil. More on this topic is probably written in the planted section.

As for your particular situation; yes, soil does benefit the plants. However, you should always consider that plant growth is always slowed down by the one variable that is least available; be it light, nutrients in the water, CO2 or nutrients in the substrate. Also, different plants utilize different sources of energy in different extents. In your particular case, as far as I can tell from the picture, you would probably not see a massive increase in growth by adding soil. You would probably be cheaper off by just switching to black sand and utilizing root tabs or similar.

I'm not the greatest expert on the topic; however, I do believe that the above is a good starting point for your research .

 

[OldMan47]

Thanks for that Prankster. I wish more people took your approach.

Matt, I have a few tanks with plants that are based on soil-like substrates. In this one I used a potting mix, the cheapest that I could find covered with a layer about 1 cm thick of coarse sand/fine gravel.

The plants are thriving.
The reason I went with the cheapest potting mix I could find was that I was almost certain it would not contain any form of fertilizers. What you want is the organic component of a planting mix with no added ferts at all. That encourages the plants to root properly and begin absorbing things from the water. By using about a 1 cm cap of coarse sand, I do not need to deal with any floating material that would otherwise come from my potting mix.

 

[minnnt]

John Innes number 3 is often used Matt, but tbh, i would go with dark coloured sand.

Have you looked at cat litter?

 

[matt_storey]

Guys, thanks! Alot of great info!

 

[phoenixgsd]

is just basic cheap topsoil ok? soil was something i toyed with but wasnt sure if my corys and khulis would prefer it to the sand

 

[matt_storey]

John Innes number 3 is often used Matt, but tbh, i would go with dark coloured sand.

Have you looked at cat litter?

Cat litter??? Are you pulling my leg here?

 

[stu40]

is just basic cheap topsoil ok? soil was something i toyed with but wasnt sure if my corys and khulis would prefer it to the sand

you need to be very careful which you use, a lot of soil contains also sorts of added stuff that you're fish wouldn't like

John Innes number 3 is often used Matt, but tbh, i would go with dark coloured sand.

Have you looked at cat litter?

Cat litter??? Are you pulling my leg here?

No he's not.Certain brands of cat litter e.g Tesco low dust, are baked clay, and that's all it is.It starts inert, no goodness in it.
However it will act as a nutrient sponge or store over time, especially if you dose the water column.The nutrients then sit there waiting to be absorbed by the roots of any plants.

edit: seeing as you've already got the sand in, personally i'd try adding some decent root tabs under the existing plants.What's your lighting like ? (wattage)

 

[FishFanatic04]

Root tabs are working great for me if you are nervous about soil. I wonder what cat litter brand would work in the US.

 

[stu40]

Root tabs are working great for me if you are nervous about soil. I wonder what cat litter brand would work in the US.

The vallis & amazon swords would def like the root tabs.
Cat liiter needs to be 100% clay & brown coloured, the white stuff breaks down into mush.I've seen a thread on a forum about a US equivalent, i'll try and remember where......