Dirt Dilemma

[kmayhew01]

Okay... My tank broke last night. I was able to save all of my fish and plants by putting them into a spare tank that I had in the house. However, I just kind of got all of the fish in there and there is no substrate on the bottom for me to put my plants in. What is the best way that I could add substrate to this tank that would give the fish the least amount of stress possible? And I want to have plant substrate and I know that can get kind of messy... Any suggestions?

 

[jcarlilesiu]

Move the fish temporarily to a large bowl, using the same water, add air stone... clean gravel to get out all the loose small stuff, put in tank reinsert fish

 

[kmayhew01]

Also, I was wondering what the best substrate is for a planted tank.

 

[TankGirl]

Lots of folks around here like Eco-Complete.

 

[macman7010]

hey lyz is there anything cheaper than eco complete??

 

[TankGirl]

You could opt for laterite covered in a layer of gravel, but the laterite does deplete itself over the years and needs to be replaced. Then there is Onyx sand and Fluorite, but I am not sure if one is less expensive than the other.

I know plenty of planted tank keepers that use garden soil, rabbit droppings, etc. covered with a layer of gravel, which I think would be the cheapest of all, but I have never done this.

 

[Itwasthisbig]

"garden soil, rabbit droppings, etc. covered with a layer of gravel"

I did'nt know McGuyver was a finatic.

Sorry I'm only 2yrs in and im just amazed at people's inginuity.

 

[Hara]

Are you going to be keeping everything in this tank? If not, then get the small clay pots that are like 50 cents a piece at walmart and plant the plants in them. Then set the pots back in the tank. I have done this in the past and it actually doesnt look too bad..

 

[CompMage]

IMO, I would not skimp on the price and just get some eco-complete. Most of the alternatives are less then 2 bucks cheaper. That and you don't need to rinse it. You can just slowly added it into your tank with your hands or pour the bag. You might scare you fish a little but you've just moved them from one tank to anther so I'm sure they are already pretty freaked out. But if you are worried, I might recommend a cheap 10G tank from your LFS for 10 bucks and keep them in there for a few days with your filter while you work on this new tank. Just make sure you change out a bout 1/3 of the water every day they are in the tank.

I've got eco-complete mixed in with quartz gravel and Onyx sand. Looks great (A black with a few white specks from the quartz gravel) and is great for plants. I used the cheap quartz (aka natural aquarium gravel from Wal-Mart) to make up the difference in mass for the base. Onyx Sand (black) has a nice PH buffer ability and helps if you are adding CO2 to your tank.

Laterite will turn your water red for a short, and I just don't know how good that is for fish when it's in the water like that. But it is an option. If you like Fluorite insted of Eco-complete, go for it. I've not used it so I can't really give you any advice on it. I know my plants have really tanken off since I added in the eco-complete.

HTH, good luck.