What plants can I grow in pool filtration sand

What plants can I grow in pool filtration sand

 

Staurogyne repens is one choice. you can also get a nice piece of drift wood and add some anubias or java fern

 

Pretty much anything as long as you add root tabs. I'd recommend the osmocote plus homemade ones off eBay or another website, they're way cheaper than the flourish or other aquarium brands. They're also safe and work as well as the expensive stuff.

 

Java/Asian/African ferns and anubias would all be fine, since they do best when attached to stuff rather than in the substrate. If you want other plants though, as long as you have the right lighting, definitely get some root tabs and you should be fine. I found out the hard way that sand does NOT grow plants very well without them.

 

Would you ever have to replace them or like do you just add them and they stay forever cause I know brands like carib sea substrate you have to change yearly and I just wanted to know if it was the same case

 

You'd only need root tabs if you have root feeders like Amazon swords. What kind of plants are you going to have?

Root tabs will need to be replaced about every 3 months.

 

Here's some pics of my sanded 20 gallon:




The first 2 are older pics when my tank was at its best, that was before I had rust leaking into my tank which killed most of my java fern on the driftwood and staurogyne repens

 

The sword would benefit from root tabs so I would insert a couple near them. Also, you'll want to raise the crown above the substrate as it's far too buried in.

 

I would like a lot of African fern

 

I would like a lot of African fern

I'm in the same boat as you there. Maybe this is just the case where I live, but in my experience, it's pretty tough to come by and it's usually not cheap for the amount you get. The reason is that it grows VERY slowly. I got lucky earlier this year and found a big clump of it for 40 bucks at a swap after trying for MONTHS to find some (even then I had to drive to out of state to get it.) If you find some for a decent price, pick it up for sure. It's one of the absolute best looking plants out there and it's really easy to care for.

The best advice I can give you if you still want some is to try talking to people from local aquarium clubs or at swaps if there are any near you. You're more likely to get some from someone who grows it at home than you are to find it at a store. You can get it online, but you won't get much at all for your money that way.