Substrate In New 55 planted???

[Dr. Scroggins..]

So i'm setting up a planted (low to medium light plants) 55 gallon tank (2x54w, canister filter, no CO2 at first will add in future) and i'm a little confused on the substrate issue. I was considering Aquasoil.. are these substrates like Eco Complete and Aquasoil used by themselves? Can I just purchase a few bags and dump them in, or should they mixed with other products then layed down, or are they layered in the tank on top of each other...? Any assistance on how i should apply my substrate and what to use is greatly appreciated.

this site is great,

thanks!

 

[Dr. Scroggins..]

just thinking... is it worth it to just wait and set up my CO2 at the same time as the rest of the tank? instead of adding it to an established medium light tank with fish in it.

 

[fishboy444]

You could use pfs and add fertilizer tablets and such.

 

[BigJim]

Some people use the plant-specific substrates by themselves. Others mix it or layer it with sand, gravel, etc. It's really up to you. I use sand and basic fertilizers.

 

[mgamer20o0]

aquasoil is top of the line. remember with aquasoil it has nutrients in it which others dont have but there is a draw back you will have to cycle the substrate. some will send out lethal levels of ammonia.

eco/fluorite has trace elements they have a good CER (i think thats right i could be wrong) basic it means it can take up ferts from the water and release them back for your plants.

aquasoil is best alone or with aqua powder for the bottom. eco and flourite you can mix up to 50% but make sure you get something that looks close or it will look funny.

there are also other options out there like 3m colorquartz but its inert so it doesnt do anything for plants... or turface which is cheap and has a high CER rating (again i might be getting the name wrong)

personally i dont like layer because if you are new or like me you like to move things around it ends up just getting all mixed up.

what kind of plants are you looking to get?

 

[Dr. Scroggins..]

thanks

i was hoping aquasoil alone was the way to go. thanks for the reply, that was the type of info i was looking for. i do plan on running a good cycle through the tank. and i'm thinking about starting with some of the low to medum light plants.. java fern, some rotala, jungle val, sunset hygro, and a few of the easier swords. graduate up to to CO2 and some of the high light stuff later.

 

[Dr. Scroggins..]

how much???

would you guys say that three 9 liter bags would be sufficient? 55gal..

 

[DragonFish71]

As for the 3M color quartz. I use this in our 80 brackish, and our plants are going crazy. All our jungle vals and dwarf sags are sending out runners, our tiger lotus has beautiful reds, and all this with no ferts. Because the tank is brackish, I didn't know if my regular ferts would work, and I can't use root tabs because the dragon gobys are sand shifters and eat pellets. I add nothing special to the tank at all, just salt. I doubt the lighting is making a big difference, 2 compact 6700k 55w bulbs, but tons of duckweed floating.

 

[mgamer20o0]

3 should be good though i would go with 4 better safe then sorry having too much vs too little.

 

[Dr. Scroggins..]

soil

where is a good place to purchase from? any recomendations?? i've only found one site out there.. thanks again for the info guys.

 

[mgamer20o0]

there is only 2 places to get it from.

has a store in jap so they are able to send the items here.
aqua forest aquarium

distributor for the USA
Aqua Design Amano USA/ADGshop.com- now available in the U.S.A, prouldy offered by Aquarium Design Group. The finest planted aquarium products.

 

[Robert H]

eco/fluorite has trace elements they have a good CER (i think thats right i could be wrong)

CEC Cation Exchange Capacity, is the ability of a medium to attract positive Ions and hold them.

If you have plants growing well in a substrate of quartz gravel or any kind of stone gravel, it has nothing to do with the gravel. Quartz gravel does not contain any minerals, or water soluable minerals, and has 0 cation exchange capacity. Your plants are growing from the sludge that is accumalating in the gravel. That is the source of nutrients, nothing else. Every living thing contains minerals, and when it dies and de composes it becomes available as nutrient uptake. Fish waste, fish food and tap water all contain minerals and nitrogen.

Clay gravels are most commonly used because they contain high levels of oxidized iron and other minerals, and have high cation exchange capacity. Eco complete, Flourite, Florabase and others are all clay gravels.

Aquasoil is top of the line only because it is the most expensive substrate product on the market. Don't waste your money. There are many ways and many products that may be used to provide plants the nutrition they need.

Lighting is far more critical in growing plants than substrates.

 

[mgamer20o0]

there we go.... i know why posting in the middle of the night isnt always a good thing.