Substrate options

[BenA]

Hello

We are waiting for a 400ltr tank to be delivered and am wondering if someone can advise?

What is better for a planted aquarium, planting soil covered with sand or sand and fertilizer tablets by the roots? Also, is it beneficial to install an under gravel/sand heater for water flow by the roots? any benefits?

Thanks

[Brandy]

I have tried dirt capped with sand and found it really lovely stuff to plant in. It makes a mess if you have to move plants often, but it is pretty good for stable set ups.

I have also tried a bit of plain sand with some gravel on the bottom in the back of the tank. My goal here is to keep a shallow sand bed CLEAR of plants, while allowing them to grow in the deeper areas with gravel. I have found that also works. In that case I put the root tabs where the gravel is and the plants will hopefully stay there. However, I have found that if you do this you want the sand and gravel to EXACTLY match in color. I have tried a white sand "beach" in front of dark substrate and both end up mixed. It is shocking how well even a few snails and shirmp will move stuff around over time. 

The one thing about sand is that it can end up with fish waste collected on top, and that can be unsightly. for that reason I am about to add some cories to my larger tank, in my smaller tanks shrimp do a really good job of stirring the surface and breaking that down.

[FishyThoughts]

I have done the sand capped soil. As Brandy mentioned, works great and looks great until you move something and it gets all mixed up. I ended up tearing that tank down for moving the fish to a bigger tank. Which I decided to do sand only. Many of the plants were transferred over to the new tank as well, and seem to be growing as well. Maybe even slightly better since they’re not as crowded. I have not been using fertilizer tabs and only occasionally use liquid fertilizers. So wouldn’t say either is better, just personal preference. 

[Daniel]

I used to think of substrate as either/or mutually exclusive options like gravel and root tabs or soil with sand. But after conducting a currently on going trial comparing:

• gravel with root tabs
• soil with a dirt cap
• Eco-Complete

I have come to the conclusion that none of these methods is vastly superior to the others and in fact may be complementary.

The next time I set up a planted display tank, my plan is to put a sand or Eco-Complete cap over soil and then over time use a moderate amount root tabs to supplement heavy feeders like Sword plants or Val. Clearly this has the potential to explode into a pea soup green mess, but you never know until you try.

Given the many thousands of beautiful plants tanks that exist without an under the gravel or sand heater I think it is safe to say it can be done without one.