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planted tank with sand substrate


Jeff
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On 8/11/2021 at 6:46 PM, Patrick_G said:

@Seattle_Aquarist, are you running all three of those tanks with minimal water column fertilization? 

Hi Patrick G,

That is correct.  I am using Osmocote + DIY root tabs for my macro-nutrients, and Seachem Flourish (Comprehensive) 2X per week for my micro-nutrients.  I also dose a little extra potassium and phosphorus and a DIY iron mix of ETDA, DTPA, and ferrous gluconate once a week but no additional nitrogen. 

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Your tanks are an inspiration @Seattle_Aquarist. I'm starting a 55 gallon with a sand substrate this weekend; it hadn't even really occurred to me that it would be a problem for growing plants, so long as I added root tabs to the substrate. I'll try the minimal water column dosing along with the root tab method you've used!

Are your tanks all CO2 injected, too? Or are they low-tech?

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On 8/11/2021 at 7:52 PM, laritheloud said:

Your tanks are an inspiration @Seattle_Aquarist. I'm starting a 55 gallon with a sand substrate this weekend; it hadn't even really occurred to me that it would be a problem for growing plants, so long as I added root tabs to the substrate. I'll try the minimal water column dosing along with the root tab method you've used!

Are your tanks all CO2 injected, too? Or are they low-tech?

Hi @laritheloud

The three tanks above all have CO2.  However I have also done low tech planted tanks with good success.  Here is my 10 gallon, low light (PAR@40), no CO2 tank.  -Roy

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On 8/11/2021 at 7:35 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

Hi Patrick G,

That is correct.  I am using Osmocote + DIY root tabs for my macro-nutrients, and Seachem Flourish (Comprehensive) 2X per week for my micro-nutrients.  I also dose a little extra potassium and phosphorus and a DIY iron mix of ETDA, DTPA, and ferrous gluconate once a week but no additional nitrogen. 
 

Ok, that makes sense. Great thinking out of the box! 

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On 8/12/2021 at 5:23 AM, Jeff said:

@Seattle_Aquarist one more question about the HTH sand: is it difficult to keep plants in the sand? Or is it course enough, where you plant them once and they're good? Or, do you use weights on the end of your plants?

Hi @Jeff

No weights.  Plants stay put even with Corydoras rooting around them.  I do use 1-1/2 " to 2" depth and stem plants I put in deeper than rooted plants. -Roy

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On 8/10/2021 at 12:58 PM, Jeff said:

Is it just a matter of using lots of root tabs when it comes to using a sand substrate?

 

I do Crypts and Amazon swords in a sand substrate with no issues, sure it's not nutrient rich but they still grow well. I add a root tab for each sword once a month but the crypts are on their own.

 

Some pictures: 

 

 

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  • 9 months later...
On 8/10/2021 at 12:58 PM, Jeff said:

I'm curious about starting a planted tank with sand. Cory showed the sand he uses in the 800g in one of his videos before (attached here). I'm interested in using this sand. 

Is it just a matter of using lots of root tabs when it comes to using a sand substrate?

 

IMG_010.JPG

I am not sure if you are still interested in trying this, or if you have already tried this, but I ordered 25lbs of lapis lister sand and had it shipped all the way to NC because I loved the look of this sand(the sand was no longer cheap😅). This was my 29g that I setup. I had cO2 in these pics but absolutely no liquid ferts and only seachem root tabs underneath the sand. The dwarf sag carpeted and the planted flourished. I have to add a gh/kh supplement due to really soft water, but this tank was so simple and it was really rewarding. FF49DC39-F3C4-4CBB-A1F3-90AD9E5FBC27.jpeg.a94013b47dc8346ea96312c2a2dc8c17.jpegEDD9443E-6C0B-4EE8-A2AF-135118520E13.jpeg.0cc749f09a6996b2c5c33091d349bb75.jpeg03F9C1B9-C398-40A6-B4F5-D8073AFB6465.jpeg.a9bdc7fb8da9812a2d95e484baca969e.jpegB8548BEA-D25B-4DFC-AADF-67AD4E6D3E3D.jpeg.c938dafd29287ef469eafed89e3fe218.jpeg7468226A-73BA-4BA6-AC49-2C0288BD3391.jpeg.bbe80b63c831ccf70e47293ed4de2c63.jpeg467DA8FC-3171-43CA-8FCF-05AC305340C5.jpeg.d2694d5c7b18d7e207b21364fa847cf8.jpeg

F475FB0A-9B5F-49E8-AF1A-09F1C7202B31.jpeg

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On 5/24/2022 at 10:48 PM, TPolk said:

I am not sure if you are still interested in trying this, or if you have already tried this, but I ordered 25lbs of lapis lister sand and had it shipped all the way to NC because I loved the look of this sand(the sand was no longer cheap😅). This was my 29g that I setup. I had cO2 in these pics but absolutely no liquid ferts and only seachem root tabs underneath the sand. The dwarf sag carpeted and the planted flourished. I have to add a gh/kh supplement due to really soft water, but this tank was so simple and it was really rewarding. FF49DC39-F3C4-4CBB-A1F3-90AD9E5FBC27.jpeg.a94013b47dc8346ea96312c2a2dc8c17.jpegEDD9443E-6C0B-4EE8-A2AF-135118520E13.jpeg.0cc749f09a6996b2c5c33091d349bb75.jpeg03F9C1B9-C398-40A6-B4F5-D8073AFB6465.jpeg.a9bdc7fb8da9812a2d95e484baca969e.jpegB8548BEA-D25B-4DFC-AADF-67AD4E6D3E3D.jpeg.c938dafd29287ef469eafed89e3fe218.jpeg7468226A-73BA-4BA6-AC49-2C0288BD3391.jpeg.bbe80b63c831ccf70e47293ed4de2c63.jpeg467DA8FC-3171-43CA-8FCF-05AC305340C5.jpeg.d2694d5c7b18d7e207b21364fa847cf8.jpeg

F475FB0A-9B5F-49E8-AF1A-09F1C7202B31.jpeg

Really nice scrape love the combination of flame tetras and Bolivian rams

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On 5/24/2022 at 5:48 PM, TPolk said:

I am not sure if you are still interested in trying this, or if you have already tried this, but I ordered 25lbs of lapis lister sand and had it shipped all the way to NC because I loved the look of this sand(the sand was no longer cheap😅). This was my 29g that I setup. I had cO2 in these pics but absolutely no liquid ferts and only seachem root tabs underneath the sand. The dwarf sag carpeted and the planted flourished. I have to add a gh/kh supplement due to really soft water, but this tank was so simple and it was really rewarding. FF49DC39-F3C4-4CBB-A1F3-90AD9E5FBC27.jpeg.a94013b47dc8346ea96312c2a2dc8c17.jpegEDD9443E-6C0B-4EE8-A2AF-135118520E13.jpeg.0cc749f09a6996b2c5c33091d349bb75.jpeg03F9C1B9-C398-40A6-B4F5-D8073AFB6465.jpeg.a9bdc7fb8da9812a2d95e484baca969e.jpegB8548BEA-D25B-4DFC-AADF-67AD4E6D3E3D.jpeg.c938dafd29287ef469eafed89e3fe218.jpeg7468226A-73BA-4BA6-AC49-2C0288BD3391.jpeg.bbe80b63c831ccf70e47293ed4de2c63.jpeg467DA8FC-3171-43CA-8FCF-05AC305340C5.jpeg.d2694d5c7b18d7e207b21364fa847cf8.jpeg

F475FB0A-9B5F-49E8-AF1A-09F1C7202B31.jpeg

Awesome pics and set ups! Thanks for bringing my thread from the dead back 😂

Anyhoo, yeah; when I set up my Discus tank, I'm going to go with this sand. Another great nugget I found out about this sand, from a Bob Steenfott vid, working on Cory's 800g tank; is that this sand is pre-washed as well!!!

Im going to use plant weights on my plants in this sand. It's possible Cory doesn't use them; but a) I've never used sand, and b) I don't trust a soft substrate like sand to hold plants. 
 

 

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On 8/10/2021 at 9:58 AM, Jeff said:

Is it just a matter of using lots of root tabs when it comes to using a sand substrate?

I would suggest a lot of stem plants or epiphytes in a sand tank for "best success".  That being said, a lot of rivers and other natural environments are going to have sand as the substrate. I don't have a photo with it all grown in, but here's what my sand tank looked like.

Scarlet Temple
Dwarf Sagittaria
Bacopa Caroliniana
Staurogyne Repens
Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus
Anubias
Java Fern
Mosses

I also had no idea what I was doing with stems when I had this tank and it was a massively fun time for me.  That is why a lot of these look barren when they are towards the bottom from melting and converting to my water.  I have since learned how to care a lot better for stems and working on a new tank with sand here shortly.


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Edited by nabokovfan87
fixing links to store
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