substrate ideas

Rumble Fish · September 17, 2016, 11:36:23 AM

Does anyone have some substrate ideas they want to share? I'm looking to (finally) get my 100g up and running. It will be a low tech, planted setup and I plan on trying dirt as well, has anyone else tried this? There will be cloan loaches eventually so it needs to be gentle enough for them to poke around in.

charlie · September 17, 2016, 06:25:57 PM

They are a handful of folks that have had great success with it, hopefully they will read this & offer their knowledge about it.

Rumble Fish · September 18, 2016, 01:55:47 PM

Yes, I'd love to hear from any experienced dirters out there! The tank is the largest Ive ever set up and allows lots of opportunities for some big plants, hence why I'm going to dirt it. Lots of info on the web and people seem to have good luck with it if its not overdone, I think. I will also pot some red clay in as well. In the meantime if anyone has some good cheap substrate ideas that are also conducive to growing plants I'd love to hear that as well. I was going to hit the local landscape store and see if i can get some small river rock/pebbles. I want to get it all cleaned up and ready to use while the weather is still warm.

charlie · September 18, 2016, 04:08:02 PM

If no one chips in, I would suggest having a chat with Jason at Critter Jungle on Carling.

transporter8367 · September 18, 2016, 06:28:10 PM

30KG bag of pea stone at Home Depot sells for 6.00

Stones are smoothed out and easy to move around with gravel vac.

Rumble Fish · September 19, 2016, 12:45:39 PM

ah nice! that's what I'm looking for, thanks!

lucius · September 19, 2016, 03:30:13 PM

Personally I would go with the more expensive planted substrate (Flourite, Eco-Complete, Tropica, etc...). You mentioned that you wanted a low tech setup now but you may decide to go high tech in the future. Upgrades like pressurized CO2 and upgraded lighting can easily be added at any time. Having to drain a 100 gallon tank and remove all the substrate is a PITA.

Rumble Fish · September 26, 2016, 06:12:20 PM

Good thinking, of course but I'm on a budget... Hence why I'm going to dirt it. If its a failure then I'll chalk it up to lesson learned. And maybe cry...

Already bought the pea gravel from Home Depot and will get it washed ASAP.
I already bought my lighting earlier this year; track type with 5 LED spots and still have to construct the top. I did the base last weekend and have some finishing touches to complete it.

ottguy · September 28, 2016, 11:17:17 PM

Pool filter sand works great in low light planted tanks. I would stay away from dirted tanks. I did one once and it took months to stabilize and killed lots if fish. Both pool stores close to merrivale and hunt club have it. It comes in black and white. It's about 5 bucks for 50lbs and I use it in all my planted tanks.

Rumble Fish · October 01, 2016, 05:19:30 PM

I had considered that also but I went with the pea gravel options.
I'm curious as to your experience with dirt, could you elaborate at all? How long ago was it? There's a strong support for it on the web and I'm wondering how your foray into it differed from those who think its the way to go.

ottguy · October 02, 2016, 10:47:03 PM

As the soil breaks down it causes the nitrates to spike. Also, depending on the amount of peat in the soil, it can cause the ph to go really low. It didn't work well for me. It took a long time for things to stabilize. I had to use crushed coral with to increase ph.