[Ryan Mosby]

I've been working on a biotope based on the betta smaragdina habitats in Thailand. I read that the substrate would be a sandy loam. I'm using ADA aquasoil but I thought I'd top it off with something more authentic. Does anyone know how to do a sand+clay mixture for aquarium substrate? Or is there any vendors/brands that sell it?

 

[Fishly]

Do you mean you want to put the clay on top of the aquasoil? Clay is basically extremely fine sand. If mixed with water, it takes forever to settle out. You'll have clouding for weeks if you don't cap it with something.

 

[ElleDee]

Sandy loam has a very specific definition, generally it's at least half sand, a good bit of silt and very little clay. There are a range of proportions, and if you fall outside you end up in other soil types - look up the soil texture pyrimid to see where the boundaries between types are. There is a very small range where it's just sand and clay, but the clay must be between 15-20% or it's a something else like a sandy clay loam, or loamy sand, or sandy clay. They sound comically similar, but they all have different properties.

But I'm not sure if these soil types will make a great cap in an aquarium, even if it's authentic.