Substrate dilemma

[Chickadee]

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.

 

[Naughts]

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.

 

[GaryE]

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.