lduncan Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 I've been toying with the idea of setting up a planted tank for a few months now, and I've taken the plunge and committed to a tank. I've been out of the freshwater game for several years now, so my first question is about substrates. I think they can make or break a planted tank so, who has some opinions, recommendations, or thoughts on the various clay based substrate products like JBL's Aqua Basis Plus, and Red Sea's Flora Base? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoandWilly Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 i would personally use Seachems Florite or laterlite, as both of them never need to be replaced. Bonus with florite is that if you overdose iron, rather than the iron staying in the water fuelling algae growth, the florite will absorb the excess and slowly realease it as iron as the iron in the water is used up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 Thanks. Is there any real difference between the different substrates? They are all clay based, and other than superficial grain size, shape, and colour they all seem much the same. I've seen a lot of hype about ADA products, is it just that - hype? Or are there some real distinguishing features? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 I use jbl aqua basis plus, and mixed with jbl floropol which is red clay. All work great. i found you still have to add fertilisers, so i add seachem excel and flourish. looking to hook up the dosing pump and dose daily. Plants growing out of the tank. Metal halides is also a big plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 Got any updated pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 if you overdose iron, You know not what you say, or who you say it to :lol: Long story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 ?? I thought the ability of some clays to absorb Iron was governed by water flow through them = under gravel heating to create water movement through the substrate.?? No under gravel heating = pretty much a waste of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 No under gravel heating = pretty much a waste of money. That statement is very un-true. You dont nee dundergravel heating to have a very successful planted tank. just look at some of the tanks out there, and see if they have it. Antwans tank springs to mind; it was an amazing tank, no UG heating.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 No no no thats not what I meant at all evilkieval69. An expensive CLAY substrate for absorbing iron is a waste of money if no under substrate heating is employed. I have seen some VERY VERY impressive tanks over the years that do not use under substrate heating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 caserole is saying there is no point buying the JBL stuff to absorb the iron if you dont have undergravel heating. I'm using Daltons Aquatic mix ($9.95 for 10Kg), I wasn't happy about the mess it creates when first setup but now that its cleared its fine and the plants love it, although now I have a cyano problem starting :roll: I'm guessing the JBL mixes for aquariums dont have the muddy water problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 oh very sorry caserole. My mistake. I use ferts that i bought from the LFS (sandy mixture, not sure whats in it) and sand on top in my planted tank. Next planted tank i setup will be daltons aquatic mix + sand as daltons is cheapest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 No need to apologize, sweet as. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 I'm using the Daltons Aquatic Mix and Daltons Propogating Sand in my tanks and have only had one muddy set up - didn't pour into a container and therefore disturbed the bottom of the tank. All the tanks are going great and my unrooted cuttings are taking off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Well I ventured around almost all the shops today to see what substrates are available, and the answer seems to be disappointing. Almost none. Organism was closed (being Tuesday) but I'm hoping John's got some there. (I know Redwoods does have a little) Also, I haven't really payed too much attention to the freshwater / plant sections at the various shops for a while, but I was really disappointed with the low standard in virtually all the shops! John at Organism would be the exception, he really has got things looking good there, a really high standard, in a league of it's own. It would be great to see other shops around town raise their standards to match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Im scared i will find the same thing when i go up to auckland this week, as i only really see what is available internationally since i very rarely visit the LFS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 This is going to be an Amazon biotope tank (that's the plan anyway), i'm only looking at two species of fish, cardinal tetras, and rummy nose tetras. I'm planning on large schools of both, and nothing else. So, what amazon plants are available in NZ? I like the swords and crypts mainly. Are there any good plant sites where you can search by origin? Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 I may be miles off the mark here but I don't think there are many if any Amazon crypts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 I don't know. I've had planted tanks many moons ago, but never really got into it like I have the marines side. I'm surprised there aren't many opinionated freshwater keepers chiming in. Must be more mellow than the reefers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 the crypts are not amazon. Plants selection is pretty crap in NZ. I started off with amazon plants and gave up and added a few craps. My tank is about 80% amazon plant species. Who said you cant get discus to grow in a planted tank My discus have grow so much during the past 2 months that i am really surprised how they are growing. will post some pics in 5 mins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 So what are the most common amazon genera? I've come up with these Echinodorus Hydrocotyle Myriophyllum Heteranthera Mayaca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Echinodorus seem to be most common but most of the plants on your list are available. I'm about 80% Amazon as well. The extra 20% are specialised plants for a bit of variety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 In a day or so I can go through my books to see what is Amazon and cross reference with what I know is available... Will let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 That would be great thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Here are some photos, not the best as the glass needs a clean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 gere is some pics with my old camera, olympus 5050. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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