Getting Started In Sand

Hello all,

I am looking to swap to a sand bottom in the coming weeks and am wondering how to start new plants in that substrate?

I bought a few swords and such to play with at first in my gravel bottom tank. I just plunked in the plants and buried the roots under the rocks. They never really flourished so I'd like to reboot with the sand.

What is the best process to get new plants from my LFS into a sand tank and flourishing? Are there products I can use to keep them better rooted and fed? What would you guys recommend for a mixed tropical tank of corys, loaches and tetras?

Thanks!

 

Yes.
Use actual planted substrate for aquariums. (Eco complete, Fluorite Black, ADA Amazonia) then cap with sand. You could also put root tabs for a more successful set up. You don’t even need ferts.
With this setup, you could basically plant any low maintenance rooted plants and they’ll flourish.

 

I've seen little root buckets sometimes in LFS. Are those or similar things useful when planting or is just digging it right into the substrate best?

 

A successful planted tank starts at the base. How advanced of plants you could keep depends upon the quality of your substrate. Remember, plants absorb nutrients 40 to 4000 times more through their roots than anywhere else.

Getting into plants without changing substrate I think this post will help you.

 

While using aquarium soil is helpful, it is not a necessity for most easy/low light plants. I have 4 planted tanks with plain sand, I use root tabs to feed the plants. 2 if my tanks have BDBS, one has pool filter sand and another has National Geographic black sand.