Taco Playz Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Does anyone have any good ideas on substrate for a three gallon on Amazon that is cheap. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 For 3 gallons you’ll hardly need any so anything you like shouldn’t be to much money. What kind of tank are you going for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 More of a natural setup as are all of my tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GameCzar Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 I personally really like the Pisces line of substrates. Very natural, great size, one of my favorites! My favorite of theirs is Midnight Pearl. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 Okay sounds cool! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 I heard from someone that you could use Organic potting soil. Is that true?? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 It is true that you can use potting soil as substrate, and it's great for growing plants. When I had a tank with potting soil, I used a top layer of pebbles/gravel above the soil to help keep the water clear. If you look up Walstad methods or natural planted tanks, you will find lots of info on this. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HH Morant Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 I us potting soil in pots for my plants with some gravel on top. That way I don't dirt the whole tank and the plants get the benefit of the soil. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 For a three gallon it might make sense to try an Aquasoil. They’re generally expensive but a small bag isn’t to bad. I use it as a base layer with a sand cap. here’s my three gal. You can see a little aquasoil under the sand. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingFishKeeper Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 On 8/5/2021 at 9:32 AM, Taco Playz said: I heard from someone that you could use Organic potting soil. Is that true?? Absolutely! My 5.5 gallon is Miracle-Gro "Nature's Care Organic and Natural Potting Mix with Water Conserve" just from the shelves of a Home Depot. My plants love the stuff. I've capped it with an aquasoil (Fluval Stratum) but I've heard that capping it with sand works as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 For a 3 gallon you could get ADA soil for $20. A 3L bag would probably be plenty. I consider that the most expensivest on the market so anything under that should be cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 Should I get gravel on the top of the miracle gro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmedByFish Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 On 8/5/2021 at 8:07 AM, GameCzar said: I personally really like the Pisces line of substrates. I just looked that up on Amazon. Is the 2-4 mm size more like gravel or sand? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 Is this okay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 What type of critters are you planning on housing: shrimp, snails, fish, and are you planning on plants. All of that would influence my choice of substrate, and whether I would layer, or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 I honestly don’t know. I will definetly have some ghost shrimp. Any ideas on 3 gallon fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 On 8/5/2021 at 9:53 AM, Taco Playz said: Is this okay? You’ll want the organic potting soil. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 On 8/5/2021 at 10:17 AM, Taco Playz said: I honestly don’t know. I will definetly have some ghost shrimp. Any ideas on 3 gallon fish? Right now I’m into Sparkling Gouramis. I have two females and a male in my three gallon. They do like to hide in the greenery but they also have tons of personality. They’ll come to the front for food and will eat from the tongs like a Betta. Before the Gouramis I just kept snails for a month or two. That was fun too. Before that I had two three gallons set up for Shrimp. They were under planted and over fed so sort of a disaster. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GameCzar Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 On 8/5/2021 at 11:50 AM, CalmedByFish said: I just looked that up on Amazon. Is the 2-4 mm size more like gravel or sand? Gravel for sure, smooth gravel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingFishKeeper Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) On 8/5/2021 at 1:18 PM, Patrick_G said: You’ll want the organic potting soil. Agreed with @Patrick_G from what I've heard organic soil is usually used since manufacturers aren't able to add ammonia into their soil and still call it organic. As for gravel and soil I personally haven't tried that. However Fluval Stratum has been working great for me which has a diameter of about 2-4mm so I imagine if you went with gravel it would work well at least in terms of size. @Streetwise has a lot of experience with dirted tanks so he might have some better answers. Edited August 5, 2021 by FlyingFishKeeper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 On 8/5/2021 at 11:17 AM, Taco Playz said: I honestly don’t know. I will definetly have some ghost shrimp. Any ideas on 3 gallon fish? Ghost shrimp sounds good, are you planning on plants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 @Jungle Fan yes ALWAYS PLANTS! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 Would this be okay? https://www.amazon.com/Mosser-Lee-ML1110-Desert-Cover/dp/B000QGNRR6/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Sand&qid=1628191693&sr=8-3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 If you want to use sand then I would advocate for using the diamond blasting sand that many forum members have used. Personally I'm not a fan of sand because it easily compacts and many plants don't do so well with it. I would go with the aquasoil as @Patrick_G and @Biotope Biologistadvocated, if you are not comfortable planting in straight soil, then you could always top it with some sand as @Patrick_G indicated. If you want to go the Walstad route then @Streetwise in one of his recent posts had posted a link to his source for organic soil, and his results speak for themselves, and I would recommend his journals In a 3 gallon for ghost shrimp I would use aquasoil and several pieces of driftwood with Phoenix and Christmas moss, a Staurogyne repens carpet, and maybe some Anubias, or Bucephalandras, and either two, or three Cryptocoryne, or Helanthium quadricostatus. Maybe a Java fern, or some Dwarf sagittaria. Just be aware that a lot of aquasoils have ferts added so that when a tank is new they release quite a bit into the water column so at the beginning frequent water changes are a must with those. The one I use did not do that, and it differs in that it is more stable, and quite a bit pricier. If budget is a concern you can also always go with gravel, maybe even add a layer of laterite underneath, worked for me like a charm for many years as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 Okay I actually think I might just go to petco and see what they have on Saturday. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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