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What substrate to use for growing tank

3K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  discoveringmypath 
#1 ·
Hello All,

I currently have a 10G tank that I'm using to grow plants (new to the plant part of this hobby). I used soil and then topped it off with play sand.

I put Water wisteria in the tank and planted it. The roots grabbed hold fairly quickly and today when I up-rooted one, I ended up pulling up some dirt and made quite a mess. I'm finding that the sand is a pain to keep clean, especially in this tank because plants aren't in a permenant location.

I'm wondering what other options I can go with as far as substrate goes. I'm eventually going to get a couple 40B tanks for growing.

Would gravel and root tabs be a good option?

- I have never used root tabs, so I don't know how good they are and how cost effective they are.

I like using the organic potting soil, but it can get messy if I keep moving and replanting plants. Is the soil going to help the plants grow faster as apposed to using root tabs?

I will be dosing EI, using CO2, and high lighting as well, so I'm really only concerned about the substrate portion of this.

Thanks in advance for the help!
 
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#7 ·
Thanks for all the responses.



I've seen this alot on a bunch of tanks. It does make a difference.

roadmaster said:
Soil based tank's in my view are not suited for those who frequently uproot plant's or move them about.
Best to treat these tank's like you would house plant's.Place the plant's ,and leave em alone.
Sand will stay more tidy this way.
I'm learning this from my recent experiences. I figured plants would grow faster with soil?

Will plants grow just as fast with gravel and root tabs as they would with soil?

Seattle_Aquarist said:
+1 for roadmaster's comment; a 'dirted' tank is not necessarily the best choice if plants will be moved frequently. Here is a thread I did on a 10 gallon that I use for 'experimentation' with some of my emersed grown plants so plants get planted and/or moved.
Thanks for the comment. I'll check out your thread, I like to see what others have experienced.


jbrady33 said:
I've grown really fond of EcoComplete. A lot of people knock it, but I've found that I can pull up anything I want a re-arrange without a problem, and everything I've tried grows great in it.

I have the standard Eco, now there is a "fine" grained version that sounds even better.
I'll check it out. When I first started I wanted to stay away from pricey substrates, bit it is another option.

Do plants grow better in these types of premium substrates compared to organic potting soil?
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hi discoveringmypath,

+1 for roadmaster's comment; a 'dirted' tank is not necessarily the best choice if plants will be moved frequently. Here is a thread I did on a 10 gallon that I use for 'experimentation' with some of my emersed grown plants so plants get planted and/or moved periodically.

10 gallon; no CO2; low tech; Montmorillonite clay substrate
 
#6 ·
I've grown really fond of EcoComplete. A lot of people knock it, but I've found that I can pull up anything I want a re-arrange without a problem, and everything I've tried grows great in it.

I have the standard Eco, now there is a "fine" grained version that sounds even better.
 
#8 ·
Nothing fast about low tech tank's in my view.Soil can provide nutrient's a bit quicker than plain inert gravel, but unless you mix in some clay with the soil to help hold onto nutrient's a bit longer,,,the soil's can peter out after a year or less.
Fine gravel with root tab's,water column fertilzing,is much less messy than soil and plant's can do fine with this approach.
So to answer the question,, does soil = faster growth? I have tried both way's and growth for me was about the same over the long haul, with perhap's a bit better growth intially from the soil depending on it's content (peat,clay, plain old top soil,Miracle Grow Organic potting mix.)
My biggest detriment is lack of CO2 injection or supplement's such as Excel,Glut,Easy carbo ,etc.
I am limited by low light, low tech method to less light demanding plant's which thereby require less CO2 to do well.Is the light being used that drives the demand for everything else.
 
#9 ·
I think I'm going to try a few options to see what works the best. I like the idea of the root tabs though, seems a lit cleaner, but dirted tanks seem to grow really nice.

I'm going to setup a rack of 4 40B tanks for growing eventually. I'm waiting for the next $1 per gallon sale though.

In the meantime, I'm going to test out different combinations of substrate to see which works the best and/or is the cleanest.

So I will have six tanks setup (4 10G's, a 20G, and a 29G). I think I'll do something like this:

Play sand and root tabs
Gravel and root tabs
fine gravel and root tabs

Play sand and dirt
Gravel and dirt
fine gravel and dirt

Since I have everything, it won't be that hard to do. I won't really be testing the same plant in each tank, but I think I will get a good general idea of what is working and what is not. All tanks will have high lighting, high co2, and dry ferts.

Just waiting for my CO2 tank to come in next week and then I can get started.
 
#10 ·
Try STS(saf-t-sorb) and root tabs. Over the long run root tabs can get expensive unless you make them yourself. A plus to STS is that it doesn't make a huge mess when uprooting plants if done carefully, and it has great CEC.
 
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