Which substrate is best for plants?

[jazmine]

As mentioned in my post yesterday pertaining to overfiltration, I am setting up a 55 gallon planted FW tank. I am looking to purchase substrate next and have read many great things about PFS on this site. I am not crazy about the light color however. I am also considering Ecocomplete or Aquasoil. Do these kinds of substrates need to be replaced after awhile? I am sure that they lose their nutrients over time but can fertilizer be used to counteract that? I plan on fertilizing anyway but I don't like the idea of having to dig up all of my substrate in a year or so. Also, with high light plants, is one of these nurtient rich substrates better than PFS?

I have a CF light fixture that came with 4 65 watt bulbs, 2 10K daylight and 2 7100K actinic. I know that the actinic bulbs will not benefit my plants so I may replace them, possibly with 6700K bulbs. However then I will end up with over 4.7 WPG. I would like to do high light plants but is that still too much light? Should I just stick with the 2 10K bulbs? I can also overlap the lights but not have all 4.7 wpg on all day. I do plan on supplimenting CO2.

I know, lots of questions and thanks so much for everyone who responds. I want to research as much in the beginning to avoid unnecessary problems later.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I think that a nutrient rich substrate is better than PFS, especially for a high light tank. If you are new to planted tanks, go with Eco Complete. Its less messy and still has lots of nutrients in it. I think that eventually these substrates will lose their nutrients but no one knows how long. Dosing in the water column and using root tabs later on would make up for it IMO.

Aquasoil is my favorite plant substrate. It makes the water acidic which is a plus, but it is dusty and whenever you disturb it you will get cloudy water. It also leaches ammonia for a few weeks, which is good for tank cycling. Even if you are a beginner, if the fish you plan on getting like soft, acidic water, you could do some research on Aquasoil and consider it. It costs just a little more than Eco Complete.

You can use the 4 65w bulbs if you will have pressurized co2. I wouldn't try it with DIY co2. I would overlap and have all 4 bulbs on for maybe 4-5 hours a day and only 2 on for the other 4-5 hours...maybe do a midday burst of all 4 bulbs. You could still consider it high light.

Sounds like you are on the right track!

 

[jazmine]

Thank you for the quick reply! Why is it a plus to make the water acidic?

With replacing the substrates, I had heard that some of them break down after awhile, like lose their texture or consistancy.

 

[mgamer20o0]

only one with real nutrients is aquasoil. some people want the lower ph softer water. though you can make your own enriched soil. ada soil has its draw backs like being soft dusty and has to cycle.

eco is a good option but just has trace minerals. you can add root tabs to help out.

i often use in my tanks sms. draw backs is its light in weight and for some time it saps the hardness out of the water but it is cheap. 50 pounds was like $15 more then i need in a 60 gallon.

 

[Robert H]

Trace minerals are nutrients. There are two types of nutrients plants use that are equally important: Macro nutrients which plants use in larger amounts, and Micro, or whats commonly called trace minerals, which they use to a much smaller degree but are just as important. Just about ALL commercial substrates provide only trace minerals without ANY macros. Almost all substrates are made of clay and primarily provide iron.

Eco complete is fortified artificially with lots of minerals, but I don't think much in the way of macros. I don't believe Aquasoil has much macros either, although if it leaches ammonia then I am wrong.

Here is a break down:

Macronutrients Nutrients used by plants in relatively large amounts. They are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K). Micronutrients Nutrients used by plants in small amounts. They are iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo), cobalt (Co), and boron (B).

Nitrogen is the chief macro that is provided by decaying organic material such as fish waste and soil containing organic material. Clay provides oxidized minerals such as iron, but no nitrogen because it has no organic material to it.

Clay substrates are good to use because they not only provide minerals, but are porus so they can absorb nutrients from the water and hold them for the plants and they are inert and basically last forever. Organic soils decompose and eventually become void of nutrients. As they decompose they become anaerobic, void of oxygen, and can create methane gas, none of which is a good idea in the aquarium. There are ways to use soil and get around these issues, but there are dangers that have to be dealt with. Clay gravel substrates and laterite substrate additives are popular because they are SAFE. They contain nothing organic that can decompose.

SMS, trying to read his writing is hurting my eyes, thats Soil master Select? Don't let the name fool you. Its not really soil, but just clay gravel made out of fullers earth, which is a generic term for a type of clay. It mostly provides iron and some other minerals, thats it. These minerals are oxidized, which means plants have a hard time using them until organic acids in the aquarium break them down, so the plants will not be able to use the minerals immediately. Thats the only drawback to clay substrates

 

[247Plants]

SMS is indeed Soilmaster Select. The reason soil is in the name is because its a soil additive for sports fields, not aquariums, hence the soil in its name. But it works well for our purposes.

Any inert substrate can become mineralized either over time naturally, or by soaking it in a heavy fert solution so that the cation exchange will absorb them and release them over time.

If you would like to read up more on the organic soil method, google the name Diana Walstead. She is a real pro and has many in depth articles related to this style of layering substrates.

 

[mgamer20o0]

then I am wrong.

you are. ada soil has has N and P.

trying to read his writing is hurting my eyes

take your cheap shots where ever you want doesnt bother me at all.

Soil master Select?

yes it is. its made for baseball fields also goes by turface which is a tad different. anything you can find out side the trade will save you money. just like people use colorquartz in their tank. its made for pools. get something about the same such as moon sand its $20 for 20 pounds while the others are 50 cents a pound or cheaper.

 

[Robert H]

SMS is indeed Soilmaster Select. The reason soil is in the name is because its a soil additive for sports fields, not aquariums, hence the soil in its name. But it works well for our purposes.

LOL, thats what i just said! Its fracted clay, nothing more. I've been using Turface for over ten years. Currently I have it in 26 aquariums. Some of it is over ten years old and still going strong. Turface and Soilmaster are made by two different companies but are both made of clay and used for the same purpose.

I know Diana Walstad very well. I gave her her own forum a few years ago before I merged it with APC, and i interviewed her for FAMA magazine. Her methods of using organic soil do work, and they work very nicely, but she explains very carefully HOW to use soil safely and what sort of precautions to take. For example, she instructs to spread the soil out and let it dry out under the sun for a few hours. This releases excess ammonia in the soil. Using soil is very messy and has problems. Clay gravel doesn't. If you are not aware of the potential problems of soil before using it, then you are going to have some serious issues later on.

Any inert substrate can become mineralized either over time naturally, or by soaking it in a heavy fert solution so that the cation exchange will absorb them and release them over time.

Any inert substrate that has good cation exchange capacity. Normal gravel has no CEC. Quartz has no CEC. Sand has no CEC. Epoxy coated gravel has no CEC. High CEC media is clay, laterite, soil, vermiculite, perlite, things along that line.

Thank you for the quick reply! Why is it a plus to make the water acidic?

Natural acids help make oxidized minerals water soluable for plants. Iron for example in its oxidized form, Fe+3 is not easily used by plants. When the ion is binded by acid its turned into a form that plants can more readily use, Fe+2. These acids are called chelates or chelators. Liquid fertilizers that you add to the water include chelators, such as the one called EDTA.

Some plants grow better in acid water or acidic substrates. For that reason an acidic substrate can be beneficial. Most of the common plants that we grow do not have that critical of a need for acidity.