substrate question

[dorryswife]

Hi all

i am considering changing my substrate to pool filter sand, do i need anything under the sand ? i have read somewhere that someone put peat under there sand should i do this?

also will plants grow in sand or should i leave them out, i only really have Wisteria in there at the moment.

thank in advance

[ILLUSN]

Sand has no nutrients, so something underneath, be it peat, laterite, or a plant substrate (this would be the best option) would be a good idea.

If you decide to go with a layered substrate, be very carefull with your gravel vac, if you go too deeo you'll disrupt the layers and get a mess, if you dont go deep enough the organics can build up and you'll have constantly high NO3.

[dorryswife]

or a plant substrate (this would be the best option) would be a good idea.
dumb question but what is the best plant substate

thanks Illusn

do i only put a little under the sand?

cheers again

[ILLUSN]

the more the merrier, but an inch or 2 will be plenty!!!!!!!!!!!!!

as for the "BEST" thats personal oppinion, i like Red sea flora base, but it might crush under the sand.

Eco complete is VERY good, but it would be a real shame to hide that nice dark substrate under all that sand, I've had good luck with JBL Aquabasics under sand.

[dorryswife]

thanks so much for that :D

will have to go hunting on the internet as Darwin has none of those things

thanks again

[DiscusEden]

Illusn is the master of the planted tank, but it might be worth mentioning that I put red sea flora under the sand, and as it got older & mixed (as it inevitably will), the sand filled the gaps between the substrate & the whole thing went anaerobic. It sent up noxious gasses that I think was the cause of death of a pile of cardinals & 2 discus. I had to pull the lot out & start again.

Are you planning to put any other plants in there? 'Cos the wisteria aren't root feeders I think?

I've gone the eco-complete by itself now.

It took 18 months before there were any problems, and the sand does look great. Who knows, I might have done something else wrong, or just have been unlucky, because I haven't heard about it happening a lot. And it does look great. But I think if I'd heard about the possibility before starting I might have made different choices, and I thought you'd want the information.

[keVerns]

before ada was sold locally in au, i used 1" of clay patted down, then mix of laterite with pool filter sand, then clean sand on top totaling about 3" depth...cheaper home made method i guess...whilst there other ppl with top soil, peat, kitty litter, etc.

and that was 3-4 years ago, atm doing a tear down and moving onto ADA AS, ive done a small experiment on my nano tank and it seems to have a good effect for my plants. only downside is.. that ADA products aint cheap...just depends on your budget.. for a 3x18 tank its setting me back about 200-250 just for the soil.

theres actually no best substrate for tanks as everyone has had a different experience with each product, like for me eco complete... just had a nasty muggy cloud probably cause i got some crappy batch of soil.. ADA has worked fine for me though.. whilst others had problems with ada, clouds, ammonia spikes etc.
just a game of trial and error...

i also had the same problem like discus eden with the pool filter sand, though did my fish not die, but plants deteriorated after 2-3 years as the sand got compacted too much, i'd say its way to fine, create too much pocket gases.

plants would grow in sand, just that its inert.

depending on what type of plants you decide to plant, there are different methods you could choose from. probably best to give us an idea of what type of plants you are thinking about putting in the tank. then other could help you with opinions.

also using co2 tanks for all my setups as well...so have you thought about that?

buying stuff online is probably the best way to go if u cant find shop locally... few sponsor on here have them postage aint too step as well