Substrate

[IceH2O]

What would be the best substrate for a 75 gallon moderately planted tank with 2- 2.5 wpg. I haven't gotten the lights yet but thats what I'm shooting for.

I don't plan on using injection just yet. I figure I could get away with Flourish Excel and the substrate to suppliy most of the nutrients. Most of the plants that I start with with be of the easier type (Swords,Java fern and moss,some stem plants).

I have clown loaches and senegal birchirs so I was planning the top layer to be pool filter sand. I was wondering if it'll benefit me to use eco and fluorite under the sand. Would one be better than both?

If all 3 would work together what order would you put them?

I figured eco,fluorite,sand or maybe mixing the fluorite and eco and then topping with the sand.

Any ideas and experiences would be a great help.

 

[danski]

sand on top would be ok ,but i think that the bottom layers will sometimes start to mix.i had a bottom layer of laterite and a sand top which eventullly mixed.i now use eco-complete and besides looking great my kuhli , clown ,and cory's all seem to love it with no problems. its beneficial to my plants and was easy to use,just put it in with no rinsing.

 

[IceH2O]

Just straight Eco?

How deep of a substrate did you use?

Is it heavy enough that when the fish dig in it that it doesn't float alot?

 

[danski]

ok sorry i should of said that...yes i use just eco which is perfectly fine but a bag is bout 20usd each. i have a depth of 2inches.mines doesnt seem to float at all.

 

[Misskiwi67]

I would avoid fluorite unless you plan on spending a LOT of time rinsing it. I spent well over an hour rinsing enough for my 2 gallon tank....

 

[IceH2O]

ok sorry i should of said that...yes i use just eco which is perfectly fine but a bag is bout 20usd each. i have a depth of 2inches.mines doesnt seem to float at all.

How many lbs is a $20 bag? according to this site

http/www.plantedtank.net/substratecalcul...=2&substrate=96

I'll need 96 lbs of it.

I found a site that says 20 lbs so I'd need 5 bags, $100 isn't to bad.

I would avoid fluorite unless you plan on spending a LOT of time rinsing it. I spent well over an hour rinsing enough for my 2 gallon tank....

Yeah I've been warned about it and is partly the reason I asked about if it was worth it or not.

 

[danski]

actually i got mines off ebay
http/cgi.ebay.com/Eco-complete-Planted-A...1QQcmdZViewItem
but it tok a looooooooooooong time to get it.about a month..if you can find it closer like an lfs i would do that.its 20lbs for bout 20somethin dollars...i would highly reccomend it if you can afford it..plus the black color adds contrast imo..

 

[IceH2O]

Price isn't much of a problem. I believe I saw it at one of my LFS. I'll know tomorrow as I'm about ready to setup the tank. The stand will be built tomorrow and the tank purchased tomorrow or Sunday.

You using HOB or canister filters? May I inquire to what brand?

I planned on using the Filstar XP3 for the 75

 

[danski]

2 aquaclear 20s..a little overkill but works for me..my xp-1 never kept my water as clear so i went back to HOB..

 

[Misskiwi67]

For a large order, check out this website. We'll be orderin 200 lbs for our 125 gallon aquarium here shortly. The shipping costs from this place REALLY make a big difference in the price.

http/aquariumplant.com/cgi-bin/cart/SS695.html

 

[IceH2O]

I'd have to pay 64.67 through that site and wait on it. I can get it for basically the same price and walk out the store with it in hand.

Plant selection sucks in this area so i will need to order most of them online. Any good sites, I have a few bookmarked already.

Aquariumplants.com is one of them.

 

[Misskiwi67]

You can get ecocomplete at your local petstore??? I am soooo jealous. I had to drive 30 miles to get fluorite, and I only did that because it was better then waiting a week for eco-complete.

 

[danski]

yah if can find it at your lfs your lucky....i couldnt find no one with the stuff...

 

[IceH2O]

I just left the local LFS and they were out. They could special order it for me but I told them I'd let them know. going to check the big city for some on Sunday.

The Petsmart carries Fluorite. But I decided against it, they also have Onyx sand which I'm going to get tomorrow because i plan on doing CO2 injection sometime in the future and need all the buffer I can get, very soft water here.

 

[IceH2O]

Ok I decided after looking at my wallet to go a cheaper route.

I decided to go with Laterite and sand.

Now the question is which is better, pool filter sand (which grade) or play sand( which grade)?