Fluval Stratum Substrate. Anyone use this stuff?

Seen it at the store, now doing some reading. Anyone use this product? What's your thoughts?
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Hi theChad!

What are you trying to accomplish?  The substrate has no nutrients and has properties similar to Montmorillonite clay.  If you want to try something different Tom Barr says good things about ADA AquaSoil (of course) and recently said he may be changing to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] which is made up of "colloid particles" which is a fancy name for clay.

10 gallon this week!
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Oh....

Looks like I have some extra reading tonight.

Currently researching different substrates for a new planted bowl (large). It will be planted, minimal waste produced by fish and inverts. I don't want to use "dirt" in this setup but looking for a substrate that will last years without regeneration (dirt minerals fade). There will not be much substrate so whatever is chosen must have longevity & porous enough to absorb deposits into the substrate (settle into).  The goal ultimately will be a self sustained ecosystem with occasional water changes.
A substrate like this should have minerals such as iron that the roots can use. Trace elements would be a plus. I have noticed that my planted tanks do better for sustaining plants after the substrate matures, after debris have settled into the substrate & plants have begun to use this as food. Both the Fluval & ADA products seem to have this porous attribute. Now I will read on both products to find out how they release the minerals & what types of minerals is being released.


Any more added info appreciated by anyone

Hi theChad!

Any of the Montmorillonite clay substrates (including Safe-T-Sorb) would give you that same porosity, high CEC nutrient absorption that you seem to be looking for.  The Fluval is basically a clay substrate while the ADA is more of a mineralized dirt substrate.  If you are looking for a clay substrate that is more dark, the aquariumplants.com aquadurt substrate [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] in the 'Black Diamond' color might be a good alternative.

I use the substrate what do you want to know about it?

hobbyorobsession wrote:I use the substrate what do you want to know about it?

Just your experience using it. Primarily from a plant growth perspective.

I have used it. Gets the job done but I didnt like it at all. The substrate is very light which makes planting plants very difficult. If you do use it I recommend mixing with eco complete

PlantedAquariumSeattle wrote:I have used it. Gets the job done but I didnt like it at all. The substrate is very light which makes planting plants very difficult. If you do use it I recommend mixing with eco complete

Thanks for jumping in! I have mixed substrates before & thought about doing it in this set up as well. The ADA substrate seems to be more of a specialized dirt. I do have a lot of eco-complete, & flourite gravel/sand mix. I could just scoop some out of my 140g & mix it. I have also mixed substrate potting soil with fluorite. I was searching for a good alternative to dirt/potting soil. As of right now the ADA substrate is at the top of the list for a good alternate .

Well,... let me preface this with the following. This is my opinion and what works for me may not work for you.

I get the same plant growth from it that I do from any other substrate I use. Those being eco complete, safe-t-sorb & sand. It's nice for shrimp as the substrate doesn't compact, but offers no water buffering properties to them. Being that it doesn't compact it can blow around the aquarium in any significant current. Plants can dislodge from it easily. I don't really think it offers any additional qualities to my plants. I like it aesthetically. (I base all my substrate purchases on aesthetics and cost now, as I find them to really only to be significant to my eye.) From time to time I will (rarely) supplements extra nutrients in to my aquarium but you can grow a lot of stuff without fertilizer dosing. More significantly I find that the depth of the aquarium in relationship to light and the abundance of co2 the be more of a factor than any substrate system I use.

I say if you like the look of it use it. But don't expect any one substrate to address all the needs of a tanks water parameters or plants health.

I appreciate that hobbyorobsession. Thank you for your input!

I'll throw in my two cents...

I also use Safe-T-Sorb & Eco Complete in different tanks and if you want to save money buy some Safe -T-sorb...it's "dirt" cheap. Ha! That being said you have to wash it quite a bit and it still will be chocolate milk for a day, but it does clear up and after that it's clear sailing. Also I will say it is light but not that hard to plant in. I know you can have corries with it too, it doesn't bother them.

Eco Complete is easy and just dump it in the tank and go, no washing really needed. Also if you want a black substrate like I did in one tank go with the EC, but if you want a nice natural look the safe-t-sorb looks great IMHO.

BallardFishGuy wrote:I'll throw in my two cents...

I also use Safe-T-Sorb & Eco Complete in different tanks and if you want to save money buy some Safe -T-sorb...it's "dirt" cheap.  Ha!  That being said you have to wash it quite a bit and it still will be chocolate milk for a day, but it does clear up and after that it's clear sailing.  Also I will say it is light but not that hard to plant in. I know you can have corries with it too, it doesn't bother them.

Eco Complete is easy and just dump it in the tank and go, no washing really needed.  Also if you want a black substrate like I did in one tank go with the EC, but if you want a nice natural look the safe-t-sorb looks great IMHO.

Isn't Safe T Sorb inert ? From what I gather has no real mineral leeching properties. I wasn't to worried about cost on this set up.

Roy has so much more experience here than me with safe-t-sorb but yes it's inert. He has used more substrates in his tanks than I even knew existed and his tanks are amazing. And he got me to try safe-t-sorb and he was spot on.