Old School Planted Tank Substrate

After about a 12 year hiatus from planted tanks to focus on reef tanks I'm back to planted tanks. Just getting back into the hobby it seems like one of the things that has changed the most is the availability of so many new substrates that either werent available 15 years ago or I didnt know about them. My favorite substrate was laterite (clay). Typically I put down layer of good time release fertilizer, cover it with a couple of inches of laterite (nice and cheap too) and cap it with some color of gravel. It seemed to really do a great job and anything I planted in it grew really well, although I did the DIY CO2 and high lighting along with it.

I was just wondering if anybody still uses laterite? Ive got a build now with eco complete that is cycling and I'm thinking about doing another set up and using the laterite just to kind of compare the two. I think it may be for the price, one the better options.

 

I'm in the same boat. I got back in the game and used Tropica soil....WAY less messy than laterite!

 

How big of a tank? Sorry you bought eco. Hope it works for you. It didn’t for me . It is inert and pretty much just crushed lava rock. Many use one of the aquasoils available now. I grow plants with just regular gravel much better than with the eco.
As to the clay some do use safe-t-sorb (also a clay) as their substrate with good results and not that messy. Me I would add some of both the eco and the sorb to just plain gravel. I think that may give some good results.

 

All my tanks have pool filter sand other than my 29 which has organic soin capped with PFS and I have to say its my favorite tank. The plants all grow from the substrate right to the top where as the other tanks the plants do very well but they kind of more run to the light in thinner stems and bunch up at the top. I would definitely do another tnk with organic soil capped with PFS in a heartbeat.

 

How big of a tank? Sorry you bought eco. Hope it works for you. It didn’t for me . It is inert and pretty much just crushed lava rock. Many use one of the aquasoils available now. I grow plants with just regular gravel much better than with the eco.
As to the clay some do use safe-t-sorb (also a clay) as their substrate with good results and nA[/QUOTE

Actually I have been very happy with the eco so far. Plants are growing like crazy but I am using root tabs which I knew going in. The good thing for me about the eco is that it will never break down and does a good job of holding bacteria and nutrients. The worst problem I had over the years with planted tanks was the breakdown of the substrate. But time will tell on the eco complete. Not so sure about the break down of the laterite. Ive used it for two years in tanks without much problem but even that took root tabs after several months when the initial layer of ferts were depleted.

 

My problem with eco is once depleated it seems the bacteria is eating the root tabs faster than the plants. Sword plants that are doing great in my other tanks struggle in the eco tank. I will be replacing it soon. I have it 2 years with no results .