Planted tank no substrate

[rusilja]

Hello people

Lately I was wondering if it's possible to have a good planted tank without a substrate.

(You can see some pics of my tank at my tanks showcase and so on, btw)

I don't keep on the lights for more thank 5 hours a day, but the room is always good lighted.

Unfortunately I have no substrate, only gravel, in front: 3 cm, in back 5cm approx.

I do add Iron as a fert and DIY co2.

What else can be in handy?

If you do have some ferts, please advice them, becouse I see plants aren't at their best stage...

 

[meegosh]

You do have a substrate - it is gravel. Depending on your plant mass I would be tempted to tell you to start EI dosing or something similar. For ferts you will want KNO3, KH2PO4, and Plantex CSM+B. Also, depending on your gh you may want to add some gH booster.

You can google EI dosing and find out more about it. Most sites have a sample dosing regime that you can alter to fit your needs.

 

[BigJim]

That's a good looking tank. Did it come without a top frame or did you remove it? If you removed it, I'd put it back before the glass fractures.

What kind of lights do you have? It looks like you've got only low-light plants, so the ambient lighting is probably sufficient on an open-top tank. Check out Seachem Flourish. It's pretty potent stuff. My plants have exploded since I started using it.

 

[rusilja]

You do have a substrate - it is gravel. Depending on your plant mass I would be tempted to tell you to start EI dosing or something similar. For ferts you will want KNO3, KH2PO4, and Plantex CSM+B. Also, depending on your gh you may want to add some gH booster.

You can google EI dosing and find out more about it. Most sites have a sample dosing regime that you can alter to fit your needs.

Oh, I thought substrate was a special gravel thing with longterm-fertz for the plants, that makes it clear .

Then I'm going to get some ferts soon, do they sell all-in-one ferts, all those KNO3 and Plantex stuff in one fertilizer?

That's a good looking tank. Did it come without a top frame or did you remove it? If you removed it, I'd put it back before the glass fractures.

What kind of lights do you have? It looks like you've got only low-light plants, so the ambient lighting is probably sufficient on an open-top tank. Check out Seachem Flourish. It's pretty potent stuff. My plants have exploded since I started using it.

Thanks, there was no frame, but there is a lighting hood which is removeable, so this one won't crack, my last one cracked bcuz I tried to remove the upper frame, stupid thing to do. I have 1 bulb, it doesn't say the wattage or anything , it does say L 15W/840, that's 15W I gues?

 

[BigJim]

Flourish is a pretty comprehensive fertilizer. It's got all your macro ferts.

If that bulb is incandescent (normal light bulb), replace it with an 18W spiral CFL in the 6500L/daylight spectrum. It'll make a big difference. I suspect you might not have enough light.

 

[rusilja]

Flourish is a pretty comprehensive fertilizer. It's got all your macro ferts.

If that bulb is incandescent (normal light bulb), replace it with an 18W spiral CFL in the 6500L/daylight spectrum. It'll make a big difference. I suspect you might not have enough light.

Thanks for the ferts advice, but the bulb will have to wait, unless I find a cheap one

 

[rusilja]

Btw, I have above average lighting , Some DIY reflectors I have attached from the very beginning so light is increased (it's all over my top)[It's aluminium foil, and it does help !!]

 

[logansmomma1228]

I wonder, is it possible to plany without substrate... like the ones that just need to be attached to a rock... interesting.

 

[HeathB]

I wonder, is it possible to plany without substrate... like the ones that just need to be attached to a rock... interesting.

Probably, but I'd be worried about scratching the bottom glass with a rock, and I doubt it would look all that nice.

 

[meegosh]

You could try PMDD instead of EI dosing. It basically just adds all the ferts to some water so you can dose easier. I don't mind dosing with dry ferts, it is easy enough for me. I scoop a cup of water out of the tank, add the dry ferts, pour it back into the tank by the outflow of the filter so it gets spread.

PMDD info:
Practical PMDD Information

 

[BigJim]

I wonder, is it possible to plany without substrate... like the ones that just need to be attached to a rock... interesting.

Yes. You could attach plants to rocks or plant them in pots. The cheap terracotta pots work well for this.

 

[rusilja]

There was a slight misunderstanding, I thought substrate and gravel are two different things, that substrate was a special gravel with minerals for plants actualy it's the same, thanks.

And I'll just buy ferts from the store, and see how they do, then I'll try to make DIY one's

 

[HeathB]

There was a slight misunderstanding, I thought substrate and gravel are two different things, that substrate was a special gravel with minerals for plants actualy it's the same, thanks.

And I'll just buy ferts from the store, and see how they do, then I'll try to make DIY one's

Thats what I'm doing right now too.

 

[mgamer20o0]

Flourish is a pretty comprehensive fertilizer. It's got all your macro ferts.

if you buy all the bottles i can be. though the same price as you paid for a couple months supply you can get dry ferts for a year or two.

 

[rusilja]

if you buy all the bottles i can be. though the same price as you paid for a couple months supply you can get dry ferts for a year or two.

Hmm, I've read that liquid ferts are much better and do not lose their concentration as ferts as time goes by. While dry ferts become more and more "useless".

 

[meegosh]

I've never read anything like that. Not sure how ferts can loose any nutrients if stored properly. To me, dry ferts in the long run are the way to go. I priced out liquids and it just didn't seem to make cents... or is it sense?

 

[mgamer20o0]

Hmm, I've read that liquid ferts are much better and do not lose their concentration as ferts as time goes by. While dry ferts become more and more "useless".

I've never read anything like that. Not sure how ferts can loose any nutrients if stored properly. To me, dry ferts in the long run are the way to go. I priced out liquids and it just didn't seem to make cents... or is it sense?

i have never heard of that also. its a dry powder not sure how it would lose anything.

Bulk Nutrients Uncovered

Why would you want to use bulk nutrients. Well here are some numbers.

• If you are dosing 60gallons of water with Flourish Potassium you would need 100 ml to get to 20 ppm.
• If you are dosing 60 gallons of water with Flourish Phosphorus you would need to dose 48 ml to get to 1 ppm.
• If you are dosing 60 gallons of water with Flourish Nitrogen you would need to dose 30 ml to get to 10 ppm.
• Flourish Potassium is $6 mail order for 500 ml. So if you dose once a week that bottle will last you 5 weeks. Cost would $1.25 a week to dose potassium.
• Flourish Phosphorus is $7.50 mail order for 500 ml. So if you dose once a week that bottle would last you 10 weeks. Cost would be 75¢ a week to dose Phosphorus.
• Seachem Nitrogen is $7.50 mail order for 500 ml. So if you dose once a week that bottle will last you 16 weeks. Cost would be 47¢ a week to dose nitrates.
• Total cost for one dose a week with Seachem $~2.75. Note there is no shipping factored in here and there are some rounding errors.

To dose the same tank with bulk nutrients.

• Nitrates 2¢ a dose.
• Phosphates .2¢ a dose. Note that is 5 doses for a penny.
• Total cost for one dose a week with dry nutrients 6.2¢

Seachem products cost 44X as much per week. Note these prices do not include shipping charges and there are some rounding errors. So that pretty much settles that one.

http://www.rexgrigg.com/ferts.htm

 

[rusilja]

Oh I see, so you people advice dry ferts?
Well if that's what you advice then that's what I'll use.

Well, Just got back from store, I asked for my Ph, it was 7.5, bit too high for Cardinal Tetra's, so it has to be dropped by 0.5 atleast.

Then I bought EASY-LIFE ProFito fertlizers, becouse they didn't have dry ferts... :s

Well I dosed 5ml (as it needs 10ml for 100l, I have 54l), well let's see how it will end.

Btw, any idea's for dropping the Ph, as I can't get rain water...

 

[Ged]

Btw, I have above average lighting , Some DIY reflectors I have attached from the very beginning so light is increased (it's all over my top)[It's aluminium foil, and it does help !!]

I know this really has nothing to do with your question but when I saw the foil I thought I would pass some info that was passed on to me by a biologist I know which is, white (apparently)reflects better than foil does. I don't know the science behind it but it has to do with the foil refracting light instead of reflecting it. Please don't take this as criticism just passing along a suggestion given to me

 

[rusilja]

I know this really has nothing to do with your question but when I saw the foil I thought I would pass some info that was passed on to me by a biologist I know which is, white (apparently)reflects better than foil does. I don't know the science behind it but it has to do with the foil refracting light instead of reflecting it. Please don't take this as criticism just passing along a suggestion given to me

Lol, are you serious?
Becouse I tested my tank without the foil, and when I attached the foil the light spreads more and brighter, so...

More testing I guese