Substrate Mix

[83jase]

HI all currently have black diamond quartz not exactly the best plant substrate but at time had plastic plants was scared off co2 and live plants and was visually appeasing was told to mix it with black iron sand so it's 50/50 and use root tabs

This is my first time planting would be worth while throwing some osmocote aqua underneath it all

Will this work lfs guy said will be fine they actually run co2 in there planted tanks. First I've seen

Or scrap the expensive mix
Not entirely sold on soil mix

4ft tank looking to light/med planted
Co2 pressurised with co2 reactor
4ft 52w AZ led light freshwater and plant spectrum light

 

[Discus-Tang]

Potting soil has manure in it which can leach tons of ammonia you can stop it from happening by capping it with 2" of gravel.

I would keep testing a lot to make sure it isn't leaching too much

 

[83jase]

Not really keen on the soil mix I thought would happen thanks for reconfirming makes me more against the idea

Is my current substrate black diamond quartz mixed black iron sand?
With root tabs be suffice for light to Med planted tank to me seems fine lfs seem to talk the talk but can he walk the walk as we know about these lfs

If not. what would be suitable and black pref
I see so many options out there not sure how many are just sales pitches gimmicks and what's actually beneficial very overwhelming new to planted tank

 

[Discus-Tang]

Your substrate mix will probably work, though to go no ferts no Co2 you will need a planted substrate soil thing.

I'm still sorta lost when it comes to fertilizer browse the web before you buy. Also do yourself a favour & steer clear of phosphate & nitrate fertilizer.

 

[83jase]

No ferts and no co2 keep it low tech I like

Thanks for the heads up on that with the fertz I'm in over my head ATM everything researched seems like I need co2 if I can get away sure I'm in on that not be cheap but one less chemical in the water body I'm down for

 

[Discus-Tang]

No ferts and no co2 keep it low tech I like

Thanks for the heads up on that with the fertz I'm in over my head ATM everything researched seems like I need co2 if I can get away sure I'm in on that not be cheap but one less chemical in the water body I'm down for

Co2 is natural so it's not too bad

If you can find it, read "Ecology of the planted aquarium" by Diana Walstad. She is renowned for her low tech techniques

 

[83jase]

This is true. will have a Google see if I can find it thanks again

 

[Jocelyn Adelman]

Few things...
1) entirely possible to have a stunning, moderately planted low tech tank.
2) sand substrate with root tabs is fine... as an FYI here in the US many use osmocote... but there is no such thing as osmocote aqua.
3) you can NOT have a healthy planted tank without ferts... independent of co2, you will need to feed your plants
4) make sure you have good lighting

To co2 or not... co2 tanks look better, greater selection of plants and colors. Need more ferts then low tech. I find co2 tanks easier to “dial in” (get it growing correctly), but also require more maintain energy.
Low tech tanks get off to a slower start, but growth picks up after a few weeks. Less maintain everything.

 

[83jase]

1. Excellent I'm All for minimalist but if co2 will yield best results seems like the way to go

2 I want to try and stick with a darker substrate don't like lighter substrates find it washes the fish colour out
And here in Australia the sell osmocote aquatic see screen shot

3 agree with root tabs not so sure on osmocote also have flourish excel here not sure on any others

4 I have strong spectrum led specific light bought few days back for plants

5 what's your thought on keeping the black diamond quartz substrate I already have mix in 50% black iron sand

I already have the co2 reactor just need bottle reg and solenoid

Just after what ever is going to produce best result and give the wow factor not just oh another fish tank

 

[barandemir09]

1. Excellent I'm All for minimalist but if co2 will yield best results seems like the way to go

2 I want to try and stick with a darker substrate don't like lighter substrates find it washes the fish colour out
And here in Australia the sell osmocote aquatic see screen shot

3 agree with root tabs not so sure on osmocote also have flourish excel here not sure on any others

4 I have strong spectrum led specific light bought few days back for plants

5 what's your thought on keeping the black diamond quartz substrate I already have mix in 50% black iron sand

I already have the co2 reactor just need bottle reg and solenoid

Just after what ever is going to produce best result and give the wow factor not just oh another fish tank

I use that osmocote aquatic fertiliser, and the thing is, it’s good and all, but I have come to the conclusion that you need a tonne of them to make a real difference. I have a black sand substrate as well and do have carpeting plants and such in there, I would put 1 every 5-10cm, the more the merrier in the case of osmocote. But you have to watch out as they tend to release some ammonia at the start, so start off with a little and gradually increase the amount or when starting a new tank, wait a little extra for the ammonia to leach out

 

[83jase]

Awesome thanks so be best I sort the aquascape out first prior stocking this tank with ammonia spikes wanted sort substrate out first the let's get some plants happening until cycle balances again the fish think I got it sorted now I think lol

 

[smee82]

Honestly if you want to do a planted tank with co2 I would get rid of your inert substrate and add aquasoil.

 

[83jase]

Like amazonia soil? Just watched vid of it guy put powerd ferts underneath looked size of gravel looked good yielding good results as well how many litres would think I'd need to properly do a 4ft

 

[barandemir09]

Yeah I would use aquasoil but everything in Australia is double the price compared to US. $50 for a 10L bag or $300 for a Fluval 2.0 light is jut too much for your average aquarist, going DIY here is probably your best option unless you are willing to spend the $

 

[83jase]

Yea Ive noticed the price here in Australia quiet expensive compared other countries no worries will look into DIY see what that is about. It took 40kg black diamond quartz for 4ft 1.5" thick so I'm dreading the cost Of amazonia at $65aud for 9ltr bag at lfs I think that's gonna hurt the wallet but I'm still convinced enough to chase the end resulting wow factor

 

[Butters510]

Hey guys! So, I'm super smart and had the genius idea that I would use 2 different substrates. Naturally, when I filled my tank (even though I used the saucer method) I completely trashed my substrate and mixed the white with the black. Any suggestions for separating them?

 

[MEWaters]

mix them into a blend of the 2

 

[KingJamal2]

Hey guys! So, I'm super smart and had the genius idea that I would use 2 different substrates. Naturally, when I filled my tank (even though I used the saucer method) I completely trashed my substrate and mixed the white with the black. Any suggestions for separating them?

Is it sand? Gravel?

if sand, I don’t think you could separate them.

if gravel, just pick out the individual pieces of different colors. Time consuming, but it’ll work.

 

[rhyan]

Does gravel and sand works out? I haven't see any tanks that uses both only sand, gravel or bare tank.

 

[qquake2k]

Does gravel and sand works out? I haven't see any tanks that uses both only sand, gravel or bare tank.

Sand will work its way down through the gravel, and you'll be left with the gravel on top.

 

[rhyan]

Sand will work its way down through the gravel, and you'll be left with the gravel on top.

I see! I thought it would be like what the OP's substrate would look like pretty mixed up but then logically the sand will sink deeper than the gravel since it's finer than it. But mixing different sand colors would be a great idea but separating them is impossible like sand and gravel am I right? I'm also want to try the mixing substrate for my betta's tank since he had a snail tank mate and would like to give the snail a smooth surface to scour around.

 

[MissPanda]

I see! I thought it would be like what the OP's substrate would look like pretty mixed up but then logically the sand will sink deeper than the gravel since it's finer than it. But mixing different sand colors would be a great idea but separating them is impossible like sand and gravel am I right? I'm also want to try the mixing substrate for my betta's tank since he had a snail tank mate and would like to give the snail a smooth surface to scour around.

Sand and gravel can be separated by sifting. The only one that would be hard to separate is anything with the same size granual. I had larger sand that I sperated from thin sand with sifting.

 

[rhyan]

Sand and gravel can be separated by sifting. The only one that would be hard to separate is anything with the same size granual. I had larger sand that I sperated from thin sand with sifting.

I can't imagine myself sifting sands because I mix them and decided to separate them again :-D anyway larger gravels are easier to handle than the smaller ones right? I wonder if mixing does have any benefits to the tank or is it just the owners preference?

 

[MissPanda]

I can't imagine myself sifting sands because I mix them and decided to separate them again :-D anyway larger gravels are easier to handle than the smaller ones right? I wonder if mixing does have any benefits to the tank or is it just the owners preference?

Haha well the other option is throwing it out and buying new... I'm a big money saver though, so I'd rather take the time and do it.

It's just preference, I always have multiple substrates myself.

 

[rhyan]

Haha well the other option is throwing it out and buying new... I'm a big money saver though, so I'd rather take the time and do it.

It's just preference, I always have multiple substrates myself.

hehe sadly I only had one type of substrate I was hesitant to try and mix some of them because I only had 2 types of fish and now mt tanks are back to using plastic and silk plants.

 

[Butters510]

So I totally just decided to mix them, thanks to the advice here. Here's the result. Excuse my rotting shrimp.

 

[rhyan]

What kind of shrimp is that? Do it help to clean the tank? :-D sorry I can't resist it. Anyway cool setup!

 

[Butters510]

What kind of shrimp is that? Do it help to clean the tank? :-D sorry I can't resist it. Anyway cool setup!