Which is better in the long run.....?

[PheonixKingZ]

Hey guys! Which is better in the long run........

Root tabs?

Or

Nutritious Substrate?

This is a long lasting debate. Which is better?

I am looking into doing a “professional” aquascape (I plan to take my time with this one) and I have a question, “which is true lily better in the long run, root tabs (will regular sand) oorrrrr........nutritious sand?

FLUVAL, ADA, and, Seachem, all make excellent sand. Thank you for your time.

 

[Byron]

As for "which is better," that depends upon the goal and the method needed to achieve that goal. A natural or fairly low-tech planted aquarium with the primary focus on the fish with plants as "extras" is one thing, but a plant-centred aquascape without fish is quite another.

I can only speak for the Seachem Flourite and for Eco-Complete, and these are total wastes of your money. I have never tried the Fluval or ADA products, but from my knowledge of how plants obtain nutrients I would never waste money on any of them. I'm considering only the substrate here. Fertilization is a different thing.

Adding nutrients is achieved by liquid fertilizer or substrate tab fertilizer. Here I am assuming a high-tech method, with diffused CO2 and intense light. Daily fertilizing is generally part of this. I should point out that this is not in the best of interests of the fish, and many of the high-tech planted tank aquarists have aquatic landscape tanks without fish.

 

[Back in the fold]

I once used Schultz Aquatic Soil to plant water lilies in baskets to put in my pond. It looks all the world like cheap cat litter and it is really dirty. You have to wash it forever to get it clean. Out of curiosity I tried it as a planted tank substrate. It worked great. The best part is that it's cheap. I got it at Lowes. The only drawback I noticed is that it is very light weight. No gravel vaccing with this stuff. It will suck right up. Also the color is a sickly pale tan.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I would definitely not want to get that stuff @Back in the fold !!

@Byron , I plan to make a really pretty aquascape (no Co2), and have the as a “extra” (although, they are still important!). So you think just plain sand, and then root tabs, are a better way to go? I plan to use pool filter sand (cheap, effective, looks good, but.....it has no nutritious value whatsoever!).

 

[Byron]

I would definitely not want to get that stuff @Back in the fold !!

@Byron , I plan to make a really pretty aquascape (no Co2), and have the as a “extra” (although, they are still important!). So you think just plain sand, and then root tabs, are a better way to go? I plan to use pool filter sand (cheap, effective, looks good, but.....it has no nutritious value whatsoever!).

I would use play sand; nothing is less expensive, and to be honest nothing is better overall. Pool filter sand is often white, and that should never be used as it does bother the fish (the reflected light is abnormal). Quikrete make play sand in a dark grey (I happen to have this) and buff, either are better. It is also extremely refined, the most refined of all industrial sands, so safe for substrate fish. And my plants certainly thrive in it.

I use Flourish Tabs for the larger pl;ants like swords that have stronger appetites as this gets the nutrients to the plant roots and not in the water column, another fish-related issue.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Eeehhhh......sorry @Byron , I have to respectfully disagree. Play sand is usually very dirty, and takes a LONG time ton clean (I once had a friend who tried it, and it took forever!) Not all pool filter sand is white. And did you say white sand hinders fish? Not entirely true. I personally don’t like to use white sand, only because the waste of the fish, shows so much!

 

[Byron]

Eeehhhh......sorry @Byron , I have to respectfully disagree. Play sand is usually very dirty, and takes a LONG time ton clean (I once had a friend who tried it, and it took forever!) Not all pool filter sand is white. And did you say white sand hinders fish? Not entirely true. I personally don’t like to use white sand, only because the waste of the fish, shows so much!

First point--having more dirt in the sand does not make it any less useful as a substrate. Rinse it more if you like, or leave some of it in, it will not harm fish or plants. The play sand is probably the ideal substrate sand because of the positive aspects over many/most other sands: natural in appearance, very smooth so safe for all fish, good rooting medium for substrate-rooted plants, and inexpensive (nothing is less expensive).

There is black pool filter sand, sxo I have been advised, though I have never seen it. White sand is detrimental tro fish. There is plenty of evidence3 for this, and no reliable fish author will say differently. white reflects light from the substrate, something that does not occur in the forest streams where most of our fish live and for which they are "programmed" by evolution/nature. They "expect" it to bee dark beeneath them, which is why the dorsal surface of most fish is dark and the ventral is light. When the fish are swimming, predators below have more trouble seeing them against the lighter surface, while predators above have more difficulty seeing them because of the darker substrate below them.

Just one example...the "adolfoi" species of Corydoras all share a sand (buff) tone body, with an intense black dorso-lateral stripe, and an orange post-orbital fleck. Viewed from above over the sand of their habitat which is littered with twigs and branches and leaves, the fish if perfectly motionless cannot even be seen. Put a fish like this over a white substrate and it will be stressed, that is certain.

I also find white-substrate aquaria difficult to view myself, as the glare from the overhead lighting is strong. If it bothers me, the poor fish must be suffering even more. Read the profiles on Seriously Fish for forest fish; most if not all will suggest a dark substrate for the better health of the fish.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Ok, you have some fare points there, but I still think I'm going to use pool filter sand. I get mine from a reliable source, and it is a brown/dark brown.