Small River Stone Pebble Gravel

32Bit_Fish · 07-21-2012, 01:04 PM

Guys,

I guess I have to say my tank is old school with small river pebbles as the substrate.

I have currently some easy lowlight plants with T5 and DIY CO2. I want to add more plants probably some medium high light plants.

Would my substrate pose any issues in terms of keeping those high light/delicate plants alive and thriving?

Thanks

Diana · 07-21-2012, 02:29 PM

The tiny ground cover plants will not do so well, but the others ought to do fine.
I might try some fertilizer tablets in the deepest part, but gravel has more water movement through it, so do not put too many tablets in there until you see how it goes. Test for all the common forms of nitrogen (if the tablets have nitrogen) to see if the fertilizer is getting into the water column.

AirstoND · 07-22-2012, 05:52 AM

Post a pic, small is relative but depends also on how deep and which plants. Cabomba is what came to mind as a high light, delicate hardwater plant but there are high light plants that prefer soft water or a substrate with less mineral and more organics (amazonia substrate).

Diana · 07-22-2012, 04:25 PM

Eventually a gravel substrate accumulates organic matter from fallen leaves, dead roots, fish waste and so on. The gravel itself is not very active (some bacteria grow on the surface) but the organic matter is highly active and many plants seem to do well in such substrates. The gravel is heavy enough to hold the plants down, and the organic matter is part of the fertilizer cycle.

32Bit_Fish · 07-22-2012, 06:01 PM

Pics of my tank attached. I have been using these gravel for 5 years.

I've seen most planted tanks (in store or someone's home) has one of those black substrates and I've heard good things about them. However, they need to be replaced with news one at the end of their life. Is it true? That would be PITA.

zankotsu · 07-29-2012, 04:42 PM

It appears we have similar setups. What kind of fish do you recommend keeping? I need something to eat the algae, but a cory would become injured rooting through this large gravel, I think.

In general, will stem plants be fine in a stony substrate like this?

07-21-2012, 01:04 PM	#1
32Bit_Fish Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NYC Posts: 56	Small River Stone Pebble Gravel Guys, I guess I have to say my tank is old school with small river pebbles as the substrate. I have currently some easy lowlight plants with T5 and DIY CO2. I want to add more plants probably some medium high light plants. Would my substrate pose any issues in terms of keeping those high light/delicate plants alive and thriving? Thanks

07-22-2012, 06:01 PM	#5
32Bit_Fish Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NYC Posts: 56	Pics of my tank attached. I have been using these gravel for 5 years. I've seen most planted tanks (in store or someone's home) has one of those black substrates and I've heard good things about them. However, they need to be replaced with news one at the end of their life. Is it true? That would be PITA. Attached Thumbnails

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

07-21-2012, 02:29 PM	#2
Diana Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Contra Costa CA Posts: 5,013	The tiny ground cover plants will not do so well, but the others ought to do fine. I might try some fertilizer tablets in the deepest part, but gravel has more water movement through it, so do not put too many tablets in there until you see how it goes. Test for all the common forms of nitrogen (if the tablets have nitrogen) to see if the fertilizer is getting into the water column.

07-22-2012, 05:52 AM	#3
AirstoND Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 1,190	Post a pic, small is relative but depends also on how deep and which plants. Cabomba is what came to mind as a high light, delicate hardwater plant but there are high light plants that prefer soft water or a substrate with less mineral and more organics (amazonia substrate).

07-22-2012, 04:25 PM	#4
Diana Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Contra Costa CA Posts: 5,013	Eventually a gravel substrate accumulates organic matter from fallen leaves, dead roots, fish waste and so on. The gravel itself is not very active (some bacteria grow on the surface) but the organic matter is highly active and many plants seem to do well in such substrates. The gravel is heavy enough to hold the plants down, and the organic matter is part of the fertilizer cycle.

07-29-2012, 04:42 PM	#6
zankotsu Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Walla Walla, WA Posts: 102	It appears we have similar setups. What kind of fish do you recommend keeping? I need something to eat the algae, but a cory would become injured rooting through this large gravel, I think. In general, will stem plants be fine in a stony substrate like this?