Substrate dilemma

[Chickadee33 53]

I think I'm starting to drive myself crazy with the planning of my 20 gal long. Since I want a planted tank, I ordered some Caribsea Eco-Complete in black. I chose black because it said that the black was slightly smoother than the red, and I'm keeping this in mind for certain fish and snails that don't like a rough substrate. Then I just watched a Father Fish video on YouTube, and he said gravel is one of the worst things you can do. He said to use dirt and top it with sand. Ugghh! Everything I buy ends up being the wrong thing. Well, I've already purchased it so I'm going to use it. I'll try a dirt & sand substrate on another tank in the future.

However... the 20 lbs of Caribsea that I purchased is inadequate for my tank. It's only an inch deep, so I need to purchase more. Keeping in mind Father Fish's video, what if I topped the gravel with black sand instead? Would this be okay for plants and fish? Or should I buy another bag of the same gravel? Am I overthinking all this? I feel like I am.

 

[Naughts52 124]

No one should be watching/ listening to father fish!
Your Caribsea will be fine for the plants, you may want to use aquatic plant fertiliser too, liquid and/or root tabs.
I’m not sure whether Caribsea is suitable for sand sifting fish species. Depending on your intended fish species, you may want to add a sand section of substrate. If you placed sand on top of the gravel it could work through to the bottom (finer grains) leaving the gravel on top.

 

[fishthatfit]

An inch is thin for the look, not for the plants. Roots do fine in it; it's diggers and big swords that care about depth. Buy the second bag if you want the two inches, not because the plants are short.

And you didn't buy the wrong thing. Dirt-under-sand and Eco-Complete are aiming at the same target, a layer that holds nutrients down where the roots are. Yours just came in a bag.

 

[GaryE13 11]

Father fish is, speaking as someone who has debated with him, a bit of a fool. His knowledge is limited, and his confidence is unlimited. Some of his ideas have a degree of grounding, but the dogmatism and rigidity he holds to is extreme. In a system where you had to prove your credentials and defend your research, he'd never get past the first editor/peer reviewer, but on youtube, all you need is confidence and a camera. He says what a lot of people want to hear. That sells.
I never thought we could have aquarium extremist thinkers.

I use pool filter sand or playground sound. I've never bought the expensive options, but have found black sand here and there (it's great). I'm a cheapskate so I tend to seek do it yourself solutions. I don't do dirted tanks as they are a bit complex to maintain and I go with basic plants and root tabs.

 

[Jennet32 90]

@Chickadee I have been driving myself daft in a similar way to you. I however started by throwing things into my aquarium like I used to in the 70's and 90's before finding this forum.

I have now thrown out plants as they came with snails, which I abhor, so treated the water to get rid of them. I am in the middle of doing a 50% water change and will be moving the gravel to cover approx 3/4 of floorspace in order to add sand in 1/4.

I am now getting plants around me that I can can soak to get clear of snails and willl then put them in tank, alongside some decor.

Choices, choices. Then, and only then, when we get that how we want it, comes the fish. First testing of course to make sure our water is still on target for the fish we think we are going to put in there. Fish and other live things must come first, last and always in this hobby of ours. It may be a bit of a longer road than we were hoping, but we will get there.

 

[seangee23 3]

Mixing sand and gravel rarely works well. Like @GaryE I just use cheap sand. My tanks do have black river sand in them (just plain sand). I use root tabs for those plants that need them and liquid ferts occasionaly for those that don't. You are paying for an expensive nutrient rich substrate but in a year the nutrients will be gone and (IMO) they are more trouble than they are worth.

 

[Jennet32 90]

I understand this thanks, but am placing rock between the two in order to keep it as separate as possible. Is this likely to cause any unforeseen issues that I may not know about please?

I am thinking of planting a couple of the plants I have coming in smallish terracotta pots. Thinking of just using plain old aquasoil under gravel topping??

 

[Rusty_Shackleford52 167]

I use Black Diamond Blasting Sand. It's inert and $12.99 for 50 lbs.

 

[Jennet32 90]

I use Black Diamond Blasting Sand. It's inert and $12.99 for 50 lbs.

When I put that in to UK search engines, all it brings up over here in aquarium websites is 'black sand'. Not sure I trust enough the websites that are possibly just pushing sales for it to be the same thing. And I have already bought some plain old aquatic sand that is normal light brown sand colour, so may just as well go with this, as it is a nice contrast to the gravel I already have in there.

 

[MattW52 168]

I understand this thanks, but am placing rock between the two in order to keep it as separate as possible. Is this likely to cause any unforeseen issues that I may not know about please?

I am thinking of planting a couple of the plants I have coming in smallish terracotta pots. Thinking of just using plain old aquasoil under gravel topping??

If your making a wall to separate two substates remember to plug any gaps. Most aquascapers either use filter sponge or filter floss. I just used a vast range of pea pebble sizes to back fill the gaps.

My 60L uses 3 different substrates

 

[Rusty_Shackleford52 167]

When I put that in to UK search engines, all it brings up over here in aquarium websites is 'black sand'. Not sure I trust enough the websites that are possibly just pushing sales for it to be the same thing. And I have already bought some plain old aquatic sand that is normal light brown sand colour, so may just as well go with this, as it is a nice contrast to the gravel I already have in there.

It may or may not be available in the UK. If it is they call it something else. Definitely manufactured by some else. Black Diamond Blasting Sand is coal slag. Tiny little bits of coal. It is used for Sand Blasting, so you might try searching for it that way.

 

[Chickadee33 53]

Thanks all, this is reassuring. I'll just stick with the gravel I bought. It's barely an inch, so I may buy a bit more. It is rougher than I thought so corys are probably out of the question?
Good to know about Father Fish . He did seem pretty unyielding in his ideas. He said he's never cleaned a tank...?

I'm going to set up the tank today and start cycling it. The second-guessing and indecision is driving me crazy. It will be awhile before I add snails and fish anyway, so I have lots of time to change my mind. Is it okay to add plants during the cycling process?

 

[Essjay52 167]

It will be awhile before I add snails

Is that a typo? I thought you hated snails...........

 

[Chickadee33 53]

Is that a typo? I thought you hated snails...........

I believe Jennet said that. I'm crazy for snails. I got a few on plants once and kept them as pets. One was a lynmaeidae, grew to an inch long, and had the cutest little face. Not that I intend to have a tank full of pond snails. I do have my limits

 

[Essjay52 167]

I got mixed up with both of you posting in the same thread