# Best newbie substrate for low-light moderately planted tanks?



## gryffin (Jan 1, 2008)

I have 3 tanks that I want to convert to live plants and I'm looking for advice on a good substrate to start with. I want to stay low-tech. I'm planning to upgrade my lights from the stock hoods to the AH Supply kits (36 watts for two 20H's and 55 watts for the 28G).

Here's are the plants that I ordered (several are rhizome plants or floaters so substrate doesn't matter):

Crypts: 1 Wendtii Green, 1 Wendtii Red, 1 Lutea
Stem Plants: Ludwigia Repens, Rotala Indica, Water Wisteria, Camboda, Anacharis
Swords: 1 Amazon Sword, 1 Marble Queen Sword
Floaters: Hornwort
Java Fern: 2 Lace variety, 3x3 mat of standard variety
Anubias: 1 Nana, 1 Hastafolia, 1 Barteri (growing on driftwood)

I want to try a few things and see what I like and what grows well.

One of the 20H's has not been set-up yet. One is in operation with a 1in layer of natural colored aquarium gravel from Walmart that I can either add to or remove. I bought regular Este natural-colored gravel for the other 20H, but I can return this. The 28G is in operation with just a scattered layer of 1-2 in diameter riverstone covering the bare bottom (it houses goldies)- I'd like to keep the stone, but would put substrate under it for the plants.

So, my question is, with these types of plants, should I go with plain aquarium gravel, should I invest in something specifically for plants (and if so, Flourite or Eco-Complete?), or should I try to find some kind of finer particle in a presumably cheaper, non-plant specific substrate (play sand?).

I've read so many opinions online that I am not at all sure what to do!! My plants will arrive tomorrow or Saturday- and I can't get anything plant-specific locally- I'd have to mail order it (I could set up a 10G holding tank for the plants while I wait).


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## deftones2015 (Dec 7, 2007)

Personally I use black sand. It's great to plant in and looks nice. I've seen friends and various people use plain aquarium gravel. I have a 20 gallon that I use eco complete in. I'm not a big fan of the look of eco though. You can use whatever you have as a substrate as long as you like it. I've heard bigger rock substrates can be a problem though bc the weight can crush new roots. I don't know how but thats what I have read.

In my opinion plant in what you like. If you like what you have then use it. If you don't use eco or what not you can always use flourish root tabs etc. for the plants that are heavy root feeders. Personally I just use dry ferts and mix it into my water. Eventually the fertilizers will get into the substrate.

If you want you can use flourite or another plant based substrate, just put about 1/2 inch to 1 inch layer then put your stones on top.

I say just use what you have unless you want to invest more money. Do what you like and see what happens.

We'll see what others say though since I'm still rather new to planted tanks.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Except for ADA Aquasoil, I think substrates are all about the same as far as results go, so it is the appearance that counts. As long as you don't use fine sand, most everything used in aquariums works ok. Pool filter sand is a good choice for ordinary sand.


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## seaj (Jan 13, 2008)

gryffin said:


> I have 3 tanks that I want to convert to live plants and I'm looking for advice on a good substrate to start with. I want to stay low-tech. I'm planning to upgrade my lights from the stock hoods to the AH Supply kits (36 watts for two 20H's and 55 watts for the 28G).
> 
> Here's are the plants that I ordered (several are rhizome plants or floaters so substrate doesn't matter):
> 
> ...


I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. All those plants that you mentioned above are the plants that I want to get for the 20 gallon that I am setting up simply because they are easy to take care of. I was also interested in getting a substrate just for plants especially after I found out about the new black flourite but I'm still unsure if I am going to need flourite or if the plants will do fine in plain gravel.


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

seaj said:


> ... or if the plants will do fine in plain gravel.


Sorry to hijack this thread. While I am still learning and don't profess to know all that there is to to growing plants, from the time that I have been in the hobby, I can honestly tell you that unless you cap a 1-3 mm gravel or mix same with some laterite clay you may experience problems growing heavy root feeders like crypts and swords. It probably can be done with 1-3 mm gravel alone, but you will have to have your water column fertilizers fine tuned and tweaked to perfection. From my own testing and what I have seen from other members (re: best results), your best bet is to have a decent substrate with good water column fertilization like EI.

Why mix laterite with gravel when a bag of fluorite or eco-complete will give you more bang for the buck than the laterite. If cost is an issue, opt for something cheaper than fluorite or eco-complete that will give you good plant growth - pool filter sand capped over Seachem Root Tabs is a cheaper option as is Schultz Aquatic Soil and Seachem Root Tabs capped with pool filter sand, or even Soil Master Select which members are raving about. These are all far better options than just plain gravel.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I have had a totally different experience with Crypts and Swords than Homer_Simpson and don't find them to be heavy root feeders at all. They have grown very well for me in both high and low light tanks in a plain sand substrate. If you fertilize your tank very lightly or not at all then substrate might make a difference for the plants. 

In the past, I have seen very little difference in root structure of most of the common Crypts I have grown (I don't grow most swords since they just get to large for my 75g tank) regardless of what substrate they were grown in. Crypts grown in Soilmaster Select "seemed" to have a slightly larger root system possibly due to the weight difference between the two substrates. I suppose it could be attributed to the CEC difference also. 

In my experience, leaf growth "seems" to be the same whether the Crypts are grown in sand or other substrates and that is what I am most concerned with...I'm not growing them to look at their roots


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I've had the pea gravel mixed with flourite from Petsmart in my tanks for decades. I've grown all kinds of plants (crypts, swords stems, bulbs...), except for the fine rooted/high light plants. I once had a sword that was over 3 feet in length! I did use root tabs, but that's all. It worked for me.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I had a couple of sword plants in a 29 gallon tank, with Soilmaster as the substrate, no root fertilizing at all. I used EI fertilizing and about 3 watts per gallon. The swords grew very fast, with very nicely colored leaves, and quickly outgrew the tank. The major advantage of a rich substrate is that you can miss a couple of days of water column fertilizing and the plants will not be affected too much. But, you can grow any plant with water fertilizing only, in my experience.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Just to add to the confusion, I think that about any substrate will eventually become loaded with organic material from the aquarium. Crypts seem to really like this stuff and in my aquariums it always seems to take a few months before they take off. On average, I'd guess that crypts will do better in a "planted tank" substrate (Eco Complete, Flourite, ADA, Soilmaster), but the difference probably isn't all that impressive. If you do go with an inert substrate, I'd recommend some sort of root tab ferilization. It's not strictly necessary, but I've done this with good results.

Swords seem to grow like crazy regardless of what you do. I don't keep swords because they simply get too big, even for my 180g tank.

If you decide that you might want to try a larger variety of plants in the future, I'd invest in a good quality substrate up front. It's one of the more difficult things to change down the road and a good one does help. I'd recommend Flourite, Eco Complete, or ADA's line if cost isn't an issue.


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