Decent Substrate

[jamie2010]

hi all,iv been a keen aquarist for about 8 yrs now and recently upgraded from a juwel rio 125 to juwel rio 180(i say upgraded its not set up until you guys help me).i really want to get more into the planted side of things,iv been cuttng my teeth in my rio 125,adding co2,using plant food also.but my substrate was just your run of the mill gravel.
now before i get my new tank on the road to plants and fish id like some advice on a decent substrate that'll work for me.something that i can maybe use as a plant bedding and then add sand on top.
any words of wisdom,or even ridicule will be great.
thanks,jamie.

 

[RadaR]

Tropica Plant Substrate. New stuff and it supposed to be really, really good. 2nd best to ADA ive heard.

 

[George Farmer]

Tropica Plant Substrate. New stuff and it supposed to be really, really good. 2nd best to ADA ive heard.

Who told you that out of interest? I'm not denying it, it's just I don't know of anyone that's established a planted tank with it yet.

I intend using it in my Juwel Rio 125 when I eventually get around to setting it up again.

 

[RadaR]

Sorry George but i really cant remember. I heard it on here or on the aquaessentials forum. Ill root around and see if I can dig it up again.
Oooo yay, you're going to set it up again!



Edit: Oh i found it. Darn, it appears i mis-read the post.

There's a lot of interest in this in the US recently as it may be ADA's biggest competitor if it can be marketed properly

 

[jamie2010]

thanks for the link but im a wee bit worried now iv seen all the other additives you need on top of just co2 and plant food.but its so appealing when you see pics of the real healthy planted tanks,imjust hooked on the idea.
i saw some of your pics george,the ones of the plants "pearling" it looked fantastic.
just hope i have the time to spare to apply myself.is it very time consuming?

 

[Silverlady]

I have the Tropica substrate , I didn't like it at first because there were bits floating around the tank when i added the water but it quickly settled down, and i am getting good plant growth. it cost £13 for a small bag compared to the Tetra substrate in my other tank which was £18 for double the amount.
I did have yellow veins in one of the plants in the Tropica tank, and the leaves now look normal after about 3 weeks.