Substrate Ferts.

[Nick16]

hi, what is the best ferts to go under the substrate, eco complete? laterite?. there are soo many products? do they make a difference to plant growth? is it worth the money? or should i mix two substrtae ferts? it would be nice to hear from people with 'practical' experiance who have actually used the ferts.

 

[Nick16]

bump, someone must know

 

[BINKSY]

If you post in the planted section you will get more response over there.

Cheers Gordon

 

[aaronnorth]

are you wanting a complete product which is used on its own or one that has to be capped?

 

[Nick16]

are you wanting a complete product which is used on its own or one that has to be capped?

whats capped? i want something thats like the gravel that goes below the substrate.

 

[aaronnorth]

capped means you put gravel or sand on top of the nutrient rich substrate, eg tetraplant then capped with sand on top.

also how much are you willing to pay?

 

[Nick16]

well i dont know anything about it really, yes it needs to be capped really. i think eco complete is about £15-20 a bag? preferably a bit cheaper than this as i have a large tank to fill.

 

[McG]

As with previous thread a wee touch of the "chicken orientals" so my apologies for butting in Syphoniera

 

[Syphoniera]

Hi, Nick16,
you probably know this, and I've no idea if you are considering a soil substrate, (which also provides not only nutrients but a boost re beneficial bacteria,) but just in case you're looking into the Walstad El Natural method, I thought I'd just mention that it's imperative to avoid topsoil to which artificial ferts or vermiculite have been added, cheapest usually being best - and that letting the soil air out for a few days, or even overnight in a thin layer, to outgas ammonia/nitrogen can make a major difference in algae avoidance during start-up.
(OK, I'm still Walstad-obsessed...)

 

[Nick16]

so what do you guys recommend? EC is very expensive so i see, is there anything cheaper, and eas, something like EC, where i put a layer of it down, and then my substarte over the top! also, does the fert (if in gravel form) have to be washed like normal substrate?

 

[McG]

Same again

 

[OldMan47]

I set up my El Natural tank using potting soil from the local garden center. I got the cheapest stuff that they had because I knew they would never add ferts to that grade. I spread mine out in a thin, about an inch deep layer and let it go overnight. Next day I put about an inch of coarse sand over the top to cap it and added my water carefully. When veerything was full and ready, the plants went in. It is now about a year since I setr it up and the plants are still doing fine with no chemical fertilizers being added. The plants do get fish waste but that is all that I feed them. The El Natural in my house is an experiment. I run lots of other tanks with more attention required but wanted to see what the excitement from people was about. I think the tank may be slightly easier to care for than some others but it doesn't explode with growth the way a heavily managed plant tank can.

 

[aaronnorth]

for cheap, use this then cap it with gravel or sand:

http/www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/tetrap...58kg-1055-p.asp

It usually retails at £18 so that is a good bargain.

To work out how much substrate is needed:

length x width x depth (of substrate) / 1000 = litres needed

if the bags come in litres, then you can add this on to work out how many bags you need: (10l bag taken as an example)

length x width x depth (of substrate) / 1000 /10 = bags needed.

 

[Nick16]

I set up my El Natural tank using potting soil from the local garden center. I got the cheapest stuff that they had because I knew they would never add ferts to that grade. I spread mine out in a thin, about an inch deep layer and let it go overnight. Next day I put about an inch of coarse sand over the top to cap it and added my water carefully. When veerything was full and ready, the plants went in. It is now about a year since I setr it up and the plants are still doing fine with no chemical fertilizers being added. The plants do get fish waste but that is all that I feed them. The El Natural in my house is an experiment. I run lots of other tanks with more attention required but wanted to see what the excitement from people was about. I think the tank may be slightly easier to care for than some others but it doesn't explode with growth the way a heavily managed plant tank can.

can you post a pic of your tank mate, as this sounds a really cheap method.

does the tetra stuff actually work or is it cheap rubbish? i xcould get some soil on the bottom, add some tetra stuff and then cap it with some pea gravel. or sand? which would be better? how do you clean the sand with a vac without sucking it up? hover gently over it suppose!! when you move the sand, does it majorly cloud up the water??

my last question, the sand from argos, it that fine sand or coarse? i like the sound of course stuff but not sure where to get it from ,as my lfs dont have it!

 

[aaronnorth]

tetraplant is fine, or similar is the JBL aquabasis. (i use that)

use soil or tetraplant, no need to use both.

You have got it right about cleaning sand.

The argos is fine sand (or at least it is IMO!)