Byron
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Posts posted by Byron
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5 hours ago, Bentley Pascoe said:
Busy thread! If you don't mind me putting in my two American pesos here...
You can combine a LOT of things for various results. If budget is a concern I highly encourage more people to look into Safe-T-Sorb. It looks nice, and when charged (literally just let it sit in a tub with enough water to cover it all and pour in a BUNCH of fertilizer... like a half a bottle of easy green or a 10+ root tabs, then let it sit and soak for a couple weeks) you can get some very long term growth. Just make sure you rinse the stuff really, really well before the soaking process to help get it clean.I personally prefer active substrates, specifically aquasoils like Fluval Stratum, Brightwell Rio Escuro, ADA Amazonia etc etc, because I'm so used to what I get from them and how to plant in them. You don't NEED to do this route, I just look at it as the shortcut version of something like mineralized top soil or charged safe-T-sorb without the work and potential negative side effects.
In the end, if you like the look of sands, try looking at something like the caribsea naturals peace river - its a really fine sized gravel that has a semi-sandy appearance, but it's just coarse enough to act as a nice cap without risking compaction.As many have mentioned, I have an on-going series I call Substrate 101 on my YouTube channel which I would highly encourage watching (clearly, I have no bias... 😅) and thank you to those whom suggested it earlier, but in the end, research is your best friend. Be willing to explore a LOT of options to find what will be best for you and your schedule of maintenance. Just because someone like me will say "I use X, it's the best!" doesn't mean that will be the same for you. There are plenty of people who preach one substrate over another and I prefer people look at every option, understand the pros and cons, then decide based on their water, goals, routine and budget.
Hi Bentley, I just started watching your substrate 101 and find very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to make it. Can I use caribsea natural peace river as a cap over Fluval Stratum?
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Hi David,
I appreciate your advice. It really helps. I am not ready to get into CO2, but maybe down the road. I will check out Bentley Pasco's videos. Thank you!
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1 minute ago, Brandy said:
It sounds like you were FAR from depleted, it was more that you had too many nutrients and had to keep light low to manage algae. I have not had trouble with clarity in a dirted tank with a thick sand cap, not have I had trouble with algae, but I stepped my lighting up slowly, waiting for the plants to catch up. I am not trying to convince you to go with dirt--I only have it in one tank, but I do really love it. I do not love eco complete, my vals, lilies, lotuses, and crypts like it though--not so much fragile roots, and it is annoying to plant it to me. ADA amazonia is highway robbery, but works ok for a monte carlo carpet, and is a little easier to plant in.
If you are looking to have a more precisely controlled nutrient load then going with an inert substrate makes sense, I think you have the best solution right in front of you--use the sand you like, and mix in a larger particle sand or small gravel in the bottom layer where your dirt currently is. You don't say what size tank this is, but economical options include regular aquarium gravel from a big box store, or play sand from building supply stores. I think once you go inert, you are really just looking for a particular look with at least some variation of particle size, best accomplished by mixing.
Hi Brandy,
Its a 55 gallon. I was actually toying with the idea of mixing my sand with larger particles. Thank you!
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21 hours ago, Streetwise said:
What makes you think your nutrients are depleted?
Check out Walstad, VIII. G. 5.
21 hours ago, Streetwise said:What makes you think your nutrients are depleted?
Check out Walstad, VIII. G. 5.
It is not completely depleted. I put in some wisteria lately and it rooted really quickly and is doing well. I've ran the tank for about five years, so I am sure its getting towards the end of its cycle. The main reason for the change is that I would like to try something new with higher light.
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21 hours ago, Diego said:
I fail to see the logic in this. You don't want ending up with a depleted substrate, so you start with one already depleted and work around it.
May I ask what was wrong with your dirted tank?
Nothing was wrong with my dirted tank. I just want to try going with more light and better selection of plants. With my dirted tank I had to go with low light or else the algae would go nuts. The reason for an inert substrate is that I would rather supplement with fert as opposed to having to redo the substrate once it is depleted. I also want to have clear water, which was hard to achieve with a dirted tank.
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I have been running a dirted tank with a pool filter sand cap, but I am going to tear it down and start over. I am going to go with a heavily planted tank with a Fluval 3.0 light and a new substrate. The problem is that I really like the look of the pool filter sand and the smoothness of it for Kuhli Loachs and such, but have read that it is not great for growing plants.
I don't want to go the route of having to replace my substrate because the nutrients are depleted, so I plan on using inert material and supplementing with fert and root tabs.
I'd like a sand like substrate that doesn't break my budget and will be good for bottom feeders and plants.
Any suggestions are most appreciated.
Thank you!
I'm having a hard time picking out a substrate
in General Discussion
Posted
I really like the look of your mix. I wonder how loaches like the texture.