plant substrate

[fort384]

Certainly.

You may want to start looking into dry ferts instead of liquid flourish products, if you are in for the long haul. It is much more economical that way. Liquid ferts work great, but you are paying for about 99% water.

 

[mfdrookie516]

yeah... sounds good to me. Just go easy on the ferts. Dont over do it

 

[fishfanatic]

Do you use any dry ferts that you like that you would recommend to me?

 

[fort384]

Well, they are all chemically exactly the same...

KNO3 for N
K2SO4 for K
KH2PO4 for P

CSM for trace


Planted Aquarium Fertilizer - Home sells some good packages.

 

[fishfanatic]

I am going to go to home depot tomorrow and get 50 pounds. 50 pounds should be good for a 12 by 36 are right?

 

[mfdrookie516]

50lbs filled my 40 breeder just perfect... 36x18 so you'll have a little deeper than me which is probably better for rooting plants

 

[fishfanatic]

That is great to hear... I have a big project on my hands. Thanks for your help I am going to go now. Ttyl

 

[meegosh]

Attached is a picture comparing play sand to pfs. Play sand is the bottom left one in my hand. Hope it helps!

 

[mfdrookie516]

^There ya go! That's a great comparison picture!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Attached is a picture comparing play sand to pfs. Play sand is the bottom left one in my hand. Hope it helps!

You posted that pic on another thread, it's what sold me on PFS .

 

[meegosh]

Glad I could help! I'd say to those that have problems with PFS turning green - it is not the sand that it causing that. You more than likely have other issues, nutrient imbalance, overfeeding, excessive amounts of light, etc.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Glad I could help! I'd say to those that have problems with PFS turning green - it is not the sand that it causing that. You more than likely have other issues, nutrient imbalance, overfeeding, excessive amounts of light, etc.

I appreciate it and agree that people having issues with it have something else going on in their tanks. Easy to plant in and cleanup are the biggest benefits to PFS. It sure makes my Java Fern covered DW pop in my 8g and the ghost shrimp seem to love it too .

 

[royta]

Attached is a picture comparing play sand to pfs. Play sand is the bottom left one in my hand. Hope it helps!

The PFS I checked out at a local pool supply store this last Saturday was much finer than the PFS you have in your hand. I was told it was 20-grit. The bag didn't say "pool filter sand" on it anywhere. I talked to another store today and they had some that specifically said that it was PFS. I'm hoping to get there on Wednesday.

 

[meegosh]

The stuff I have in my hand is #20 type AquaQuartz pool filter sand. Not sure what the means or if that translates into 'grit' or not. The playsand is Quikrete's Premium Playsand.

 

[fishfanatic]

Is this substrate any good, it is 15$ a bag?

 

[mfdrookie516]

It looks to be about the same as eco complete.... but I've never even heard of it until today.

 

[fishfanatic]

I am at the store now. Should I buy it yay or nay?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Might as well give it a go. What color is it? The red or black?

 

[fishfanatic]

Red with some black. So you think it would be a good plant substrate?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Yeah, looks to be almost identical to eco complete.