Planted tank substrate in mesh bags?

[IlhamSetiawan]

So i recently found a YT channel called MDFishTanks

I've seen some videos of him putting soil in some mesh bag and just place them under the gravel/sand

Can i tried it too?

And does it affects the plants too?

[Gwallace]

It works.  It's a fairly common method to both build height and contain what tend to be light and "fluffy" substrates to a specific area.  The bags also keep the planted substrate from mixing with whatever else your using.

[Pepere]

I have done it.  Rather than covering the entire bottom of the tank with flat mesh bags of substrate, I prefer to place long thin rolled up bags of a little aquasoil. Sort of like sausages strategically placed in the tank.  This allows me to places stems/ roots between the bags allowing less height of substrate over the bags.

yes the roots do migrate toward the bags and into them.

I like this as it allows me to keep my soil and gravel separate easier to repurpose if redoing the tank and uses oh so much less, expensive aquasoil, (A bag goes a long, long way…

By the same token, the vast majority of plants can grow exceedingly well without any active substrate or root tabs or such.

For inspiration, check out @Mmiller2001 build journal of his 120 gallon dutch style tank with no soil, or active substrate or root tabs.   I would love to have his skills and abilities with aquascaping and plant husbandry…  He has accomplished amazing things using cheap inert pool sand with no root tabs or soil…

I would take his tank over any of mine any dayso long as I could afford to hire someone of his skill to keep it looking like that for me, cause I am nowheres near that level…

 

photo from his build journal to whet your appetite…

 

 

 

[JoeQ]

If you aren't worried about separating it, and you want a different bottom layer of substrate, you can always dig a hole in your current substrate and backfill it using an empty soda bottle filled with your substrate of choice, then cover the added substrate. I'm doing this to add a layer of aqua soil under an existing layer of eco complete. 

Keep in mind though, over time your layers will rearrange themselves starting with the smallest grain size at the bottom. 

Edited January 31 by JoeQ

[IlhamSetiawan]

On 1/31/2024 at 8:57 PM, JoeQ said:

If you aren't worried about separating it, and you want a different bottom layer of substrate, you can always dig a hole in your current substrate and backfill it using an empty soda bottle filled with your substrate of choice, then cover the added substrate. I'm doing this to add a layer of aqua soil under an existing layer of eco complete. 

Keep in mind though, over time your layers will rearrange themselves starting with the smallest grain size at the bottom. 

That's a problem because i want a cory and kuhli tank

[knee]

i currently have my setup like this and it works. Plus if you decided to remove the mesh bags they won’t mix with the sand. I just removed a few bags on my tank and it came out clean 

[johnnyxxl]

Trying to figure out about doing this but also which I should use as the top substrate for my Cory cats and kulhi loaches.   Want things done right. 

[Pepere]

On 2/22/2024 at 6:06 PM, johnnyxxl said:

Trying to figure out about doing this but also which I should use as the top substrate for my Cory cats and kulhi loaches.   Want things done right. 

I have a tank with cories and kuhli loaches that has standard inert aquarium gravel for substrate and they are none the worse.

 

Initially I had a few areas of sand bed for them as well, but it continually got covered with gravel…. Gravel did. No stay put.

 

another tank has cories in it with a large sand beach to one side with a raised gravel bed beside it with a stone retaining wall.  That keeps the gravel clear.  To be honest though, I never see the cories frolicking in the sand.  They spend more time over the gravel…