Planted tank info

[Tbone112219]

Is it better to have sand or gravel for the planted tank? I Am seeing the phitos of the planted tanks And wow some of them look amazing. I have a 29 gallon tank

 

[Bottomfeeder88]

Between the two I would go sand.

 

[Tbone112219]

If I have sand I don't need to or really I can't use the vacuum pump to clean the substrate then right? But I can still do the water changes just by taking the water out.

Any issues changing from gravel to sand on e the tank has been up and going for 6 months now?

 

[Autumnsky]

Or something like Eco-Complete.

here's my newest one, planted using Eco.

The next one is getting an update using Garnet sand.

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Here is a cool close up where you can see the grains and coloring for the Eco.

 

[Tbone112219]

Like Eco earth like in a reptile tank

 

[Bottomfeeder88]

A 29 gallon is a relatively small tank, changing over would be a short afternoon. Might stress you fish out some losing that bacteria. eco/flourite are good options.^^

 

[Oohitsae]

It all depends on what you are looking for.

IMO- sand is really only for looks and you'll have to use root tabs for root feeders since its more compacted it's harder for any type of nutrients to get to the roots. Gravel is good for looks as well, nutrients get to the plants easier, but is kind of a pain to clean. Eco complete is great if you want built in fertilizers, but is a little too costly IMO. Soil with a sand cap is my idea of ideal, the soil provides tons of nutrients and the sand keeps it weighted down, plus keeps it looking pretty and more natural, but requires a decent amount of labor to start up.

There's so many options right now, it really depends on what you're most interested in. All have something good and bad.

 

[Autumnsky]

Depending on how soon you want it you can get a sale. I paid appx/17.99 if I remember right for the Eco-Complete when it was on sale at petco.com and with a certain amount of purchase it was free shipping. Before that it was about the same price through Amazon with free shipping with $25. or something but the price went up to appx $25. so I was about to scrap the idea when I found it on sale.

I liked it too because there was no rinsing.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Floramax is another option. Its exactly like eco complete but without the water weight so it could end up cheaper. Petsmart usually has it on sale for $10 per 12lbs bag.
Eco-Compete = no need to rinse.
Floramax = rinse well before adding.