Best Plants For Sand Substrate

For pool filter sand substrate, I am guessing the best plants for it are anubias, java fern or floating plants, like elodea or hornworth because each of these species of plants don't require being in substrate.Rather, they can get all their nutrients from the water column.

Is that your line of thinking too that the best plants for non fertilized substrate are one that require they not be in substrate? Given, with sand substrate, one could add osmocote or root tabs; however, such species would not thrive like those that don't need substrate.

 

I would think any plant would do fine in sand if you supplied root tabs and injected co2 if needed.

 

Plants can do well in any substrate with the correct dosing of the needs of the plants you choose. Most stem plants are water column feeders so using something like NilogThrive would help them do well. Plants like Swords are heavy root feeders and while they will take some nutrients from the water column it's always a good idea to put a root tab on either side of them. And you can also cut a root tab in 1/2 and place on either side of them. Even placing root tabs around your stem plants will help them along but try to put the tabs close or under them seeing sand is dense and having the tabs as close will allow the plants to feed off them.

 

The whole root feeding and water column feeding thing is totally overblown. Plants aren't going to not take in nutrients just because they're in the wrong location. Swords and crypts are perfectly capable of effectively absorbing nutrients from the water column, and stem plants take in nutrients from the substrate just as well as the water column. Also, it varies species to species, we can't really use a blanket statement for all of our aquarium plants. The only exceptions are probably rheophyte plants, which develop roots for gripping onto hardscape because they come from turbulent waters, and floating type plants/plants that don't really grow roots.

This person did an experiment with a divided tank: EI in water column and then osmocote only in half of the substrate.


The side with osmocote did do better, but the side with EI was healthy and fast growing too, including so called root feeders. I think the takeaway is that any plants can absolutely thrive with proper fertilization, but double fertilization in both the water and substrate will benefit plants even more. Which makes sense, more nutrients is always going to make the plants happier.

The difference between the experiment and a lot of hobbyist tanks is they don't dose the water column enough, and whatever's there isn't enough to support nutrient demanding plants without the addition of root tabs.

 

For me personally, with my pool filter sand, after reading that posted plantedforum thread, it would be helpful if I use a water column fert except for swords, like amazon swords, so I will look to buying ThriveS in the future. In addition, I will take off the surface of my sand and scatter osmocote again before topping it off with that moved sand. Using ThriveS and redoing my osmocote should be helpful towards my plants rather than just accepting sand substrate as a not well in having plants in the first place.

 

These are all in sand and all I use is liquid co2

Hydrocotyle japan Ludwig repens staurogyne repens and rotala sp Pearl

How do I post a question? I need to ask something about a ram I have?

 

Click aquarium forum, then the fish forum, then there will be a small box near the bottom right that you can click to make a new thread.

 

Ok thank you