Suitable substrate for a plant-only grow out tank?

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octanejunkie

Aquarium Advice Freak
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A friend is getting rid of a 20 gallon rimmed petco special with all the fixings, just come and get it

I want to set it up and get rid of the "grow" bucket in my kitchen. I will be staging plants in and out of this tank. Appearance will not be an issue as the tank will be in a closet.

Should I just dirt it with miracle grow, or what other inexpensive substrate can I use that will be good for plants?
 
You can do an organic miracle grow substrate capped with Floramax. It can get dirty when you uproot plants though.

Or just go all Floramax but use some DIY root tabs. Some people are still selling Osmocote Plus Tabs. Wilson (wphan) on SCAPE sold be some O+ tabs recently. He might have some left?

I read a suitable replacement to O+, since O+ has been discontinued, is dynamite plant food (red bottle)... you'd just need to get some 00 gel capsules or use the ice cube method (I think).

***On a side note, you're on a roll with all these tanks, Mike. Plus talk of a second 60P? Do we need to stage an intervention? LOL
 
***On a side note, you're on a roll with all these tanks, Mike. Plus talk of a second 60P? Do we need to stage an intervention? LOL

Thanks for the detailed response, and your concern!

What about EC for a grow out tank? I almost forgot about it :banghead:
 
EC and Floramax are essentially the same thing. Just go with what ever is cheapest to you. I got 12lbs bag of Floramax at my local Petsmart for $10. EC adds in the extra water weight in the bag (something to consider when comparing the substrates).
 
This is what was suggested by one SCAPE member:

Eco complete is a waste of money and hard to plant in just get mgoc miracle grow organic choice and cap it with play sand, very very cost effective and nutrient rich.​
 
You can go either way... that's why I mentioned the Miracle Organic capped. Rivercats would be best to chime in on that option... I believe she uses it in here 220g.

There's pros and cons to both...

But IMO, EC or Floramax isn't a waste of money. Sure it's not nutrient rich (it has some trace elements) but the stuff is durable and not messy. It will last forever. So to compensate for the lack of nutrients, DIY root tabs can super charge it or overtime with some water column dosing, the high CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) nature of that substrate should, in theory, absorb the nutrients and feed it back to the plants.
 
You can go either way... that's why I mentioned the Miracle Organic capped. Rivercats would be best to chime in on that option... I believe she uses it in here 220g.

There's pros and cons to both...

But IMO, EC or Floramax isn't a waste of money. Sure it's not nutrient rich (it has some trace elements) but the stuff is durable and not messy. It will last forever. So to compensate for the lack of nutrients, DIY root tabs can super charge it or overtime with some water column dosing, the high CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) nature of that substrate should, in theory, absorb the nutrients and feed it back to the plants.

I'm leaning toward a 2" MCOG base and 1" EC cap - which won't get as messy looking as a play sand cap.

I have everything above ready to go once i scoop up that RAOK tank tomorrow... good bye grow bucket

Now I just need a light fixture for that tank
 
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