Good Substrate

[Bex]

Hi guys

We have just got our new tank - it's a Rena Aqualife - it's 120 UK gals and deep! We want to plant it nicely but I don't know anything about substrate. I know we should get some Laterite but not sure which stuff to get or whether to go with sand or gravel - if we go gravel, is the fine stuff better?

I don't want to get ripped off by any LFS trying to sell me expensive stuff I don't need so can anyone name some good stuff?

Also, how deep should it be layered - laterite first and then the sand or gravel?

All suggestions much appreciated!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

don't buy your substrate from the LFS, get fine gravel or play sand from a garden centre, it'll be much cheaper.

Personally I've found gravel a little easier to keep looking clean, sand is almost like a white carpet, you only need to spill something little and it stands otu a mile, that said when it is clean I prefer the look of it.

If you want plants and decide to go for gravel, get the smallest you can get, larger lumps can crush the stems and roots of some plants.

 

[Bex]

Thanks Miss Wiggle! I was thinking fine gravel might be better.

I've read that if I want my plants to grow well then I should use a nutrient rich laterite as a first layer and then put the gravel on top? I don't really know what this is or what it looks like though? Any suggestions on what is a good brand?

 

[Dubby]

Hi Bex,

Welcome to the planted community

To keep your plants happy you need good lighting, nutrients and substrate.

For the substrate I would recommend a base layer of laterite (or clay) - around 1inch and around 1.5-2inches of sand or fine gravel. Laterite is a brownish red clay which is available at the LFS. Laterite is rich in iron (hence the red colour) and has a good CEC (ability to store nutrients).

As Miss W has suggested, buy the sand/gravel from sources such as B&Q, etc. It works out less expensive. Play sand, silver sand are all good for the tank. I prefer sand to gravel as its easier to clean - the poo remains on the top But you need to look at the types of fish you have as well and their preferences.

 

[Chris_Wood]

Laterite is a great substrate for use with sand, but wash it several times otherwise the water will cloud terribly!

Aquagrit is also very good.

My base subtsrate (below my sand/laterite mix) is Tetra Complete Substrate (peat based) and my plant growth is relentless In fact I will have to conduct another pruning session tonight!

Also if you follow the EI (estimative index) rational (plently of postings regarding this, one very good one pinned) you will see fantastic plant growth and little to no algea problems!

Remember as well as substrates and fertilization you will need CO2 injection and good lighting to maintain lush plant growth (you may have to change the supplied tubes).

I love the Aqualife tanks! Only the Eheim (eP) European Wave beats them IMHO!

Cheers

CW

 

[Bex]

Thanks Dubby!

I don't have any fish that specifically need sand and wasn't planning on getting any to be honest!. I have seen some nice fine gravel that I like. Can't remember how powerful the lights are that came with the tank - there's 4 of them, i'll check when I get in. What's the WPG rule I should be looking at, just in case I need to upgrade?

We've got plenty of time to plan and design the new tank so I'm in no hurry and I'm not gonna just chuck everything in. When you spend a lot of dosh on a big tank, might as well take your time and spend the cash to get it looking right!

 

[Bex]

Laterite is a great substrate for use with sand, but wash it several times otherwise the water will cloud terribly!

Aquagrit is also very good.

My base subtsrate (below my sand/laterite mix) is Tetra Complete Substrate (peat based) and my plant growth is relentless In fact I will have to conduct another pruning session tonight!

Also if you follow the EI (estimative index) rational (plently of postings regarding this, one very good one pinned) you will see fantastic plant growth and little to no algea problems!

Remember as well as substrates and fertilization you will need CO2 injection and good lighting to maintain lush plant growth (you may have to change the supplied tubes).

I love the Aqualife tanks! Only the Eheim (eP) European Wave beats them IMHO!

Cheers

CW

Hi Chris!

So do you have Tetra Complete plus laterite and then sand? Will defo look into the CO2 injection and I have just read the lights post so think I will have to upgrade my lights as well.

Should I plant it before putting my current fish in? I was planning on filling and planting, then putting my old filter media in with my new filters (got 2 Rena filstar xP3's), and hanging some of the old gravel in the tank as well to help the cycle, and then putting all my current fish in the new tank. Good or bad idea?

 

[Themuleous]

A borrom layer of laterite mixed with 1 to 1.5" of sand/gravel then a layer of just sand/gravel over the top would work well. If you want gravel don't get anything over 3mm in size the plants have trouble growing roots in larger gravel.

For a tank of this size and also (if you will pardon my assumption ) your abilities I would stick with laterite and take things from there, anything else is going to be hugely expensive (such eco-complete) and just plant with easy plants. I wouldn't upgrade the lighting at the moment, just get plant specific light tubes for it thou, check out the pinned lighting article for suggestions.

Sam

 

[Bex]

Hi Sam

You correctly guessed my, ahem, abilities! Don't want to get out of my league here!

Defo getting nice easy plants to start with. My 30 gal planted ok in pea gravel and they did ok but want to do a lot better this time round!

Think my lights are already plant specific - at least that's what the manual says! But will double check tonight.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[Chris_Wood]

Agree with Themuleous (again! )

Just make sure the lighting tubes are plant ones and take it from there (this planted tank thing gets addictive though... ...be prepared to spend more money).

Substrate - mine consists of Tetra Complete at the bottom (which covers my heating cable), and then a laterite and sand mix above. I also sprinkle a few grains of laterite and aquagrit (from an old tank) over the top for good measure (although me Cory's always move this out of the way and leave me with bare sand!)

CW

 

[Themuleous]

Just make sure the lighting tubes are plant ones and take it from there (this planted tank thing gets addictive though... ...be prepared to spend more money).

I'll second that one! Just converted my second tank to a planted one! got my brain working overtime on how I can do the third one cheaply now!

 

[Chris_Wood]

Just make sure the lighting tubes are plant ones and take it from there (this planted tank thing gets addictive though... ...be prepared to spend more money).

I'll second that one! Just converted my second tank to a planted one! got my brain working overtime on how I can do the third one cheaply now!

Just don't look at your bank balance.... ....i find that helps in the short term!

CW

 

[Bex]

Thanks guys!

the new tank has already ruined our bank balance anyway so might as well go all the way! If your gonna spend big money on a tank, might as well spend big money getting it to look nice!! Don't want an expensive tank to look cheap!!! (that's what I keep telling the hubby anyway lol!)

 

[Dubby]

Thanks Dubby!

I don't have any fish that specifically need sand and wasn't planning on getting any to be honest!. I have seen some nice fine gravel that I like. Can't remember how powerful the lights are that came with the tank - there's 4 of them, i'll check when I get in. What's the WPG rule I should be looking at, just in case I need to upgrade?

We've got plenty of time to plan and design the new tank so I'm in no hurry and I'm not gonna just chuck everything in. When you spend a lot of dosh on a big tank, might as well take your time and spend the cash to get it looking right!

The thumb rule for lighting is 2W/gallon (US). I use a combination of plant lights and ordinary daylight tubes. Plant lights give off pinkish light that is not very attractive to us humans. The daylight tubes need to be high intensity (lumens/lux) and have a high CRI over 98 so its pleasing to the human eye.