best substrate?

[Bill109]

in your oppinion.. what is the best substrate?


have a good night

[Sponsors]

[josh1604]

mine is carbi sea eco complete, my plants have grown like crazy since they have been in it

just my .02

[Adhlc]

I'm hooked on Sera's Floredepot.

[MiSo]

best is whatever you're happiest with.

[NeonShrimp]

I am happy with my ADA Aquasoil. My shrimp seem to do well in it and the plants are growing well too.

[mgamer20o0]

prob have to go with ada soil but for me it isnt cheap. it really depends on how much you want to spend. also can ask your self if you need great or can you live with something thats good or just works.

[ColeMan]

Good point, mgamer. Though I must say that I think AS is comparable in price to many other enriched planted tank substrates. If I had to go with either EcoComplete or AS, I'd go with AS because it's cheaper (eco is packed in water, remember). Depending on what part of Cali you live in, you could always go to AFA and pick up some AS to save $$ on shipping...

[emrextreme]

I think there is no "best substrate" but a good mixture of substrates. Mine is from bottom to the top;

1- Peat
2- Seachem Florite Red
3- Zeolite
4- Volcanic Tufa (Lavalite)
5- Local Creek Sand

[Homer_Simpson]

Originally Posted by mgamer20o0

... also can ask your self if you need great or can you live with something thats good or just works.

This is true keep but keep in mind that you just have more "wiggle" room to screw up with AS with respect to ensuring a balance of nutrients. Although it is generally recommended that to get the most out of AS, you should water column ferts, many people get away with not dosing water column ferts as AS is so enriched with bioavailable nutrients. It is like taking a time released multivitamin and mineral supplement that continually releases nutrients over a long period of time in your body at regular time increments and at smaller amounts which are more readily used. Bottom line, if you are a noob who get be bothered monkeying around with and constantly tinkering with your tank to find that magical balance, with AS, you are more likely to achieve and maintain that balance without a ton of effort, unless you go totally low tech where nutrient uptake is not so important and likely would not make a huge difference. Many of the nutrients in fluorite and even eco complete are locked into the substrate and not readily available to plants. You can still get decent results using these substrates with a high tech tank, but you really have to be on top of your water column fertilization as any deficiency can lead to serious problems.