Laterite and substrates

[houndour]

Hello,

I went to my LFS this weekend, got a big bit of bogwood for a centre piece and some Laterite.

Now I read somewhere (can't remember if it was a post or an article) to use Fluorite or Laterite for a planted tank. It also recommended entirely using it as a substrate but said use half that and half sand if it proved too expensive.

The laterite was £20 for 50 onzes so using half is not an option! But on the instructions it says to use (sorry if I'm wrong I'm quoting from memory) 1 oz for every 4 litres. So for me about 30 oz. It says to put a thin layer spread over the tank, then add 1 inch of substrate, mix in, then add the rest of substrate.

Should I go by these instructions? Or should I use the whole 50 oz I have bought?

I am going to get sand substrate. I'm off to B&Q tonight to get some play sand. How will I know if it's safe to use in my tank? I actually went yesterday but the bag was too heavy for me so I'm going back tonight with my boyfriend! I couldn't see any ingredients on it, although it may have been on the back.

I used the substrate calculator on practicalfishkeeping.co.uk and calculated for my 30x15x18 inch tank (29 gallons approx 26 after displacement) 30kg of substrate.

Sam

 

[kenneth_kpe]

woah... too technical !!

IMO you could get away with the laterite mix with your lets say normal itsy bitsy sized gravel or size, im not sure if laterite will leech your water red but be carefull

IMO in planted tanks lighting is still the biggest problem more then substrate... somebody correct me if im wrong

 

[houndour]

Should I rinse the laterite then?

Now you got me worried. My lighting isn't very good. I only have room for one lamp. And my poor tank is also at risk of being in direct sunlight Algae here I come

I know absolutely nothing about plants and last time when I researched plants a lot and picked out ones "suitable" it didn't quite work how I wanted and some plants died and others took over (i'm not too good at the pruning). I was going to go for a combination of 70 cuttings (about 15 different types of plant) and go for trial and error to see what does well.

 

[abstract]

every type of laterite i have ever seen says that you MUST rinse it thorougly or you'll have red water....

as for how much you use, its up to you....pure laterite will be better than a mixture of sand/laterite in most cases....some people will mix in the sand just for looks too...it's up to you

 

[George Farmer]

I use API First-Layer Pure Laterite in my tank. I have 2 large packs (about 2 kg total I think) mixed in the lower third layer with 25kg of fine gravel. My tank is 125 litres (34 US Gallons).

Play sand is fine, non-toxic. Bear in mind that sand may compact over time creating unsuitable conditions for plants. You may need to "prod" it occasionally to loosen it.

edit- laterite is more concentrated than flourite, that's why you need less.

 

[houndour]

I purely wanted sand for Corys. They are my favourite fish and I plan to have mainly them (with some cardinals for the mid/top layer).

Thanks for the tip though, I will prod every now and then.

May I just add, gf225, you have a gorgeous tank. I love seeing the photos you put up.

 

[jimbooo]

how funny i have just this weekend gutted my 10G to redo the plain gravel with a laterite mix.

in answer to the rincing question it's an absolute must. it took me 30 mins to rince the 50oz bag. and then the water was still slightly red. as to how much to use i measured out the 12.5oz recommended for a 10g. took one look at the tiny pile and dumped 1/2 the bag in.

plants seem happy but it's too early to tell i suppose.

 

[George Farmer]

I purely wanted sand for Corys. They are my favourite fish and I plan to have mainly them (with some cardinals for the mid/top layer).

Thanks for the tip though, I will prod every now and then.

May I just add, gf225, you have a gorgeous tank. I love seeing the photos you put up.

Thanks. You do need to rinse laterite thoroughly, I forgot that bit! I doesn't need to spotless as the covering layer of substrate should stop leeching. Be aware though that prodding occasionly may bring some laterite to the surface. I've heard this may cause excess iron to enter to water column but personally I have had no trouble. I have bits of laterite all over my surface. I can only assume that my plants are sucking up any excess nutrients.

 

[houndour]

I filled my tank last night! It took forever to rinse the laterite. I've already got some on the surface...it doesn't say on the box that this matters. Might have a search on google about it.

I bought way too much sand! The stupid bags didn't have weights on them and noone at B&Q knew what they weighed so I got 2 bags. But I didn't even end up using one bag in the end.

I had a little prod of the sand (just to test) it's very soft. And proding doesn't stir things up too much.

I tried out all my equipment. Everything works apart from the filter I'm not sure if it's just a trapped air bubble or something though so I will have a play tonight and see if I can fix it.

When I've got all the equipment working I'll start my fishless cycle and order some plants.