chris_irl Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 I've a 220l that I intend to run a tropical setup in, looking to plant it fairly heavily. I have a bucket of 5-10mm rounded gravel that came with it but intend to use sand as substrate. Is there any benefit to a layer of gravel as a base and then top up with sand, or just go all sand. My previous effort I just used sand and it turned out ok but I changed things several times before I got it right. Want to make sure this time I get it right first time, it's a much bigger tank to change up. Will probably obtain some of the black beach sand from around here, and pickup a nice bit of wood as a centre peice. Plants will very much be a case of picking them up here and there depending on availability and what looks nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Be careful with the beach sand as it may have bits of shells in it, and also wash it thoroughly to remove the salt. I would also recommend some sort of nutritious substrate underneath the sand or gravel, like peat moss and clay or laterite. You could also just use JBL balls and replace them when they have been used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_irl Posted February 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Be careful with the beach sand as it may have bits of shells in it, and also wash it thoroughly to remove the salt. That's the plan, thoroughly wash and dry it a couple of times to remove all the nasty stuff, or try and source elsewhere if easier and cheap, maybe mitre10 may have something suitable for example I would also recommend some sort of nutritious substrate underneath the sand or gravel, like peat moss and clay or laterite. You could also just use JBL balls and replace them when they have been used. can you just use garden centre sourced peat moss for example, again once washed (or mircowaved to zap any beasties???). Again with the limited supplies in pet shops around here it's not something I can source from them without paying an outragious amount for a one off order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 No you do not wash the peat moss, just mix it with clay and wet it and put it on the bottom and cover it with sand. Also if you microwave it then it would probably catch fire. It won't have any beasties in it, and just make sure that you get the stuff with no added mould or fertilisers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 I use JBL Flora Pro. One bag should be enought. Its $27 i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_irl Posted February 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 No you do not wash the peat moss, just mix it with clay and wet it and put it on the bottom and cover it with sand. Also if you microwave it then it would probably catch fire. It won't have any beasties in it, and just make sure that you get the stuff with no added mould or fertilisers. ok, no need to be so over catious so :slfg: Sounds like the best plan then, a layer of peat / clay and cover it in sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 Yep So you can use JBL Florapol and maybe some laterite, and just mix it with the peat moss. The Hauraki Gold stuff is what I use, and it's really good. You can get it from Mitre 10, and it has no additives. Also you don't need to pick out the little twigs and stuff in it - just use it stright out of the bag I use peat moss and JBL balls with a top layer of sand in my pots and the plants do really well, although growth is restricted because they are confined to the pots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
showtime Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 Just adding to this thread, I'm shortly going the whole pressurised co2 way. I put down a base of Aqua Basis 6 years ago and am wanting to do a good replanting of my 4foot tank. Presumably the substrate is well and truly past providing any benefits, but is it still necessary to put down a new substrate layer if using co2? I thought if I did I'd use the Hauraki Gold Peat Moss as mentioned earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 Why cant you use just the sand by itself, along with the JBL Root Balls for the Plants. That's all I've done and plants are doing fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 In a natural planted tank you can use topsoil from the back garden, and cover it with some fine gravel. No CO2 injection required. The substrate gets replenished with fish food, and products of fish digestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 23, 2012 Report Share Posted March 23, 2012 In my experience topsoil or potting mix becomes a disaster as it ferments and puts a lot of uncontrolled nutrients in to the water. Better to use a micronutrient source and add CO2 and macro nutrients in a measured way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 In my loach tank I have a layer of rounded gravel around the edges where the plants are and then the sand poured over the top. I felt that the roots had more chance of moving about in gravel and sand compared to plain sand, and it seems that the plants get started a little quicker too. There are also JBL balls and root tabs mixed in. Plain sand worked alright too as long as the plant roots were pretty sturdy to start with. The smaller ones didn't do well in plain sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 The black ironsand compacts alot as a substrate. With its fine grain size and high weight I would expect anaerobic to form in shallower sand than with other sand. I use this sand in my 400l native tank (no plants) and the anaerobic layer looks to start at about 30-40mm. I don't know if this will have an effect on plants :dunno: but might be something to consider - any plant people want to comment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 I have used sand (greywacke) up to 150mm deep and had no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.