[Blackheart]

Is there any particular kind someone could recommend to a beginner?

How is Fluval Plant Stratum?

 

[Jeffww]

Good. Don't rinse it. I hear. I use it, rinsed it and it was cloudy. Also don't disturb it and prepare for a diatom outbreak at first.

 

[Hoppy]

I have Fluval Stratum in one tank. I rinsed it, and used some MTS under it to get the depth I wanted. It did not cloud the water, and has worked very well for me.

 

[Blackheart]

Well, I was contemplating either this, Fluval Shrimp Stratum, Seachem Flourite, or Red Sea flora base.

And aren't all of these substrates cloudy when you rinse/wash them? i thought you were supposed to?

 

[freph]

If you're thinking Red Sea Flora Base, just get ADA Aqua Soil. It's cheaper...and I love it. I had a slight bit of clouding when I first set the tank up but it clears right up normally thanks to the Purigen I use.

 

[NewETown]

I purchased one of the Fluval Flora tanks a bit ago and loved that substrate so much that I'm redoing my 75 (was african cichlides, now going to be discus) with that as my main substrate. If you use it make sure to place something over the substrate when you fill the tank. I used a plastic bag when I filled my desktop aquarium. If you fill it too fast or fill it directly you'll cloud up your water, if you do it this way you *shouldn't* need to rinse it either. Good luck!

 

[AirstoND]

For the Diatoms

Get Nerite Snails (either Tiger or Zebra), the tiger nerite I have does an incredible daily job of getting rid of the brown diatoms and green spot algea.

 

[Miles]

I highly recommend Caribsea Eco complete, I used it in 5 of my tanks and it barely clouds the water at all and you don't even have to rinse it. Great stuff

 

[jcgd]

Well, I was contemplating either this, Fluval Shrimp Stratum, Seachem Flourite, or Red Sea flora base.

And aren't all of these substrates cloudy when you rinse/wash them? i thought you were supposed to?

I would pass on the flora base. It's expensive and requires replacing every couple years.

Eco-complete and flourite are very similar and get the job done well. They have no nutrients at first but get better with age.

The stratum is nice. It's similar to aqua soil. It will pull down the ph a bit making it more neutral or acidic. I had no issues with clouding unless I uproot. I didn't rinse it at first, just gently filled the tank. You might have an ammonia spike at first but I didn't notice one.

If you want flourite without the cost you can use turface or Schultz Aquatic plant soil. It's all the same thing with difference shades for tan, red.

 

[BMueller777]

I'm using the Stratum in my 20H tank, made the mistake of rinsing one bag, actually clouded the tank more then adding the other bag un-rinsed... Used Eco-Complete before it, ended sawping for the Stratum, much more happy... My Eco-Complete had a bunch of debris in it.. little hard, oddly shaped pieces etc..