Substrate? Completely lost...

[zephyr]

I'm working on starting a small (~5g) planted tank.

I want to do it properly, but I'm somewhat lost on how to do the substrate.
From my research I've found that putting laterite or clay under gravel, as well as peat is good.
Whats the benefits of these? Where do you purchase them? Can you use clay cat litter? What is the best way to make the substrate?

Thanks in advance!?
J.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

some of it depends on what kind of fish and if you want live plants, the other part is how it looks to you.

 

[zephyr]

well, yea, i want live plants.
i'm thinking anubias nana and java moss for the driftwood, and dwarf hairgrass and normal hairgrass, as well as small swords and some others i haven't decided on for the background.
fish will be a small shoal of forktail rainbowfish, 3 small corydoras and a small algae eater.

the gravel layer is going to be black.

i just want some ideas on substrate design, what works best for planted tanks, so it'll have a decent cec and aid in plant growth.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

well the best I've seen is mineralized soil, using regular topsoil + other things and following a process, heres some info on it:
http://www.gwapa.org/articles/soilsubstrate/

now for a 5g you'll have lots of extra stuff so it may be easier to use something different like eco complete. Also that sounds like a lot of fish for a 5 gallon tank.

 

[new2betas]

fish will be a small shoal of forktail rainbowfish, 3 small corydoras and a small algae eater.

That sounds like a lot of fish for a 5g...jmho, though.

 

[fearlessfisch]

Agree with new2betas. That is waaaay too many fish for a five-gallon.

 

[Purrbox]

Don't try a sword in that aquarium. It'll be a tank buster.

A substrate is just whatever is covering the bottom of the aquarium that you can root the plants in. It can be a simple as a small grain gravel or a courser sand. You could also go with a specialty plant substrate but this isn't strictly necessary.

 

[zephyr]

yeah, i know what a substrate is.
i just wanted to know if putting another type of substrate other than gravel under the gravel would aid plant growth, something to provide iron and nutrients, although i will use a liquid fertilizer.

well, we don't use imperial measurements here in australia, we use metric..
i'm not sure what the conversion factor is so i guessed.. its a 60 litre tank, but the driftwood, potential substrate and equipment probably reduces the capacity by several litres

thanks for all the help so far

 

[Purrbox]

Adding laterite, clay, or peat under substrate is really just supplementing your substrate which is the gravel. You can do the same with root tabs. All would work, although if you go with the kitty litter you have to be careful of the ingrediants. If done properly and your other plant needs are met, then yes supplementing your gravel substrate would be beneficial.

This is a great little calculator that I like to use for conversions. According to it, your aquarium is actually 15-16 gallons. This will give you more plant options, but I'd still avoid the majority of swords as they get extremely large.

 

[zephyr]

thanks for the help : )