Substrate?!

Ok, I am starting my first planted tank. Thought I should have some expiernce on it since there are sooo many questions on it..... I have heard soooo many different opinions on what substrate to use with a planted tank... Let me know what YOU are using in your planted tanks. and what are the pros and cons of the decision you made?

All good questions.

I use this method in my aquarium with great results.
Hope it works for you.

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"Earth worm casting for nutrient enriched sediments, how to
The use of earthworm castings requires some prep-work but offers excellent results: lush, healthy plant growth.

Materials:

- A bucket for rinsing the castings
- Earthworm castings (without additives) - tap water
- a stove and pot for boiling the castings

Preparation: 1) Obtain 100% pure additive-free earthworm castings 2) Rinse the castings in your empty bucket - allow water to flow slowly thru. Turn the material over with your hand to distribute water throughout. Eliminate all that floats. 3) Boil the castings in a pot. There should be plenty of water so that the castings do not dry out. Boil 10-15 minutes, stirring occassionally. 4) Allow to cool. Deposit the castings back in your bucket, repeating step 2. Once again, eliminate all floating debris. 5) After thorough rinsing, the bucket water should become relatively clear. 6) Drain the bucket and place the castings in shallow pans or on sheets of cellophane in thin layers under the sun, allowing them to dry completely. The dried castings can be stored in ziplock bags for future use.

Usage: Earthworm castings should be used in moderation, and do not need to be completely dry for usage. They should be diluted with washed sand in a 50-50 ratio. The combination of earthworm castings and sand should approach 1kg of mixture for every 50 liters of aquarium water (for example, in an aquarium of 100 liters I recommend to use between 2 and 4 kg of earthworm castings). It is best to use the mixture as the first, bottom-most layer of your substrate. If you plan to build an extremely deep substrate, it can be used within the middle layers.

This is the protocol from Mr. Vladimir Simoes' method."

That is awesome! but sounds like waaaaaay too much work! lol...... anyone use soil for a bottom layer, gravel for an upper layer? I heard it has some success but there is problems with CO2????? dunno though, Im the beginner... and how about someone just using gravel? anyone use just really small pieces of gravel as substrate? Let me know.

I'm using an approx 50/50 mix of flourite and regular aqua gravel in the tank below.
(2) 65x CF's and press. CO2

The only thing I've had trouble with is HC, doesn't want to stay rooted.

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For a simple set up is it, necessary to have a c02 reactor???

by 'reactor' you're referring to the method/mechanism by which one diffuses CO2 into the water I believe . . . yes, I believe this it's critical to use a reactor to allow the CO2 bubbles to maximize their contact time with the water . . . how else would it diffuse into the water? There are a plethora of options here, I run my CO2 line into my RenaXP2 intake line so it gets diffused in the canister filter . . . seems to work well although I toy with the idea of fabricating a "reactor" like Rex Griggs shows on his site and plumbing it into the canister effluent hose.

Oh man all this sounds super confusing lol

sidekicking wrote:Oh man all this sounds super confusing lol

it can be at first but once it's set up, you're golden!

what about the gravel looking stuff called first layer in the plant section in stores???? how about this as a bottom layer, then go sand/gravel on top????? I will get a co2 ladder thing going next week..... I got a easy and cheap way of doin it.

i hear there are lots of different 'substrate' option, I'm not familiar with that one . .. I have an old RedSea CO2 "ladder" you could have if interested, I don't have the tubing or suction cups for any longer though

My 29 in wall has regular oatmeal san from the pet store with seachems root tabs every month or so. And my 10 gallon has 100% flourite from seachems. I like both meathods. And they both get nice growth.

ok, went with flourite as a bottom layer, about 25lbs... then a thin layer of brown crushed gravel for the top.... looks awesome... and hopefully plants will love it.... we will see!

ooh i tried layers, didnt work out for me. the best gravel for cheapest price is pond gravel, surprisingly high in nutrients and i filled my 55gallon with 1 bag, about $16. you do understand you dont need Co2 for a good planted tank, i dont use any and ive gotten great growth. of course i got the tank and the preasure gauge, PH monitor, and difuser, but honestly i cant figure it out so i dont use it (if any of you guys wanna help me figure this out i would love it btw). if you want the cheapest for a large tank, go to a river, but honestly, man made/collected cheapest items is playsand. go to home depot and buy a jiant 40lb bag for around 5 bucks. this stuff is great, just add some fert tabs or liquid fert every so often, and if you got the right light almost any plant will grow, ive gotten, baby tears, dwarf hairgrass, and much more hard plants to grow rapidly in my tanks.