Selecting The Best Substrate For A Planted Aquarium

Some aquarium plants such as:

• Rhizome plants
• Floating plants
• Most stem plants

These prefer to collect nutrients directly from the water, while others such as:

• Sword plants
• Vallisneria
• Cryptocoryne
• Many carpeting plants

These prefer to feed primarily from their roots. As a result, the type of plants you intend to keep should affect the substrate you choose.

Companies have invested a lot of time and money into designing plant-specific substrates to help plant growth, but which one is best? Let’s start with the two basic categories of substrates:

• Nutrient-rich
• Inert substrates

Substrates With A High Nutrient Density:

Before the hobby of planted tanks and aqua scaping became popular, many people followed Mother Nature’s lead and grew plants in dirt. Organic soil is rich in many vital nutrients for plants, and its texture is like that of lake bottoms or riverbanks, where you can find plants.

But what happens when you combine dirt and water? It is a big muddy mess. Most people address this by covering or sealing the ground beneath a layer of grit or sand. This keeps it from clouding the water, which works fine as long as no plants are moved.

Furthermore, soils get lessen of nutrients over time (as with farming), causing the revitalization of the substrate. You can either remove the plants or let the land uncultivated while the fish waste reintroduces nutrients. They also remineralize the soil with root tabs and other fertilizers, but both approaches result in murky water that is difficult to clear.

Easy Root Tabs are comprising nutrient-rich dirt and clay to aid in the growth of root-hungry plants. Some manufacturers develop specific plant substrates like ADA Aqua Soil and Aquavitro Aquasolum in reply to the challenges of keeping dirty tanks. Many people utilize these compact, nutrient-rich balls of soil as active substrates in crystal shrimp tanks and aquariums. These are with heavy root-feeding plants, like low pH and soften water hardness.

However, because the substrates are mostly formed of organic components, they degrade over time and become highly muddy, similar to dirt. These substrates, like dirty tanks, get depleted of nutrients after one to two years of use and must be remineralized. As nutrient-rich substrates are normally the most expensive option on the market, there are more cost-effective alternatives. This happens if you are using plants that don’t primarily feed on their roots.

Inert substrates:

In contrast to nutrient-rich substrates, inert substrates have a few nutrients, which may sound unwanted at first. For example, if you start your tank with rainbow grit from the pet store and later decide to add:

• Plants
• Most stem
• Floating,
• Rhizome plants

This will thrive because they feed mostly from the water column. Simply use an all-in-one liquid fertilizer that contains most of the macronutrients and micronutrients your plants require regularly. Simply insert root tabs to convert your inert substrate into a nutrient-rich substrate if you added a heavy root feeder.

Keep rhizome, floating, and stem plants well-fed with a comprehensive fertilizer like Easy Green since they receive nutrients directly from the water column.

CaribSea Eco-Complete and Seachem Flourite are two brands of inert substrates you can use for planted tanks. They don’t break down over time like aquarium gravel, so they don’t need to be replenished as often. These substrates, unlike conventional aquarium gravel, are comprising volcanic or clay-based gravel, which has a higher cation exchange capacity (CEC). This simply implies that the materials are better at retaining nutrients, such as those found in fish waste or fertilizers, so that plants may make better use of them. As inert materials have no substantial impact on pH, water hardness, or other water parameters.

While you can use any substrate material to cultivate aquarium plants, keep in mind that you must avoid extremes in substrate size. Plants can have a hard time with very fine sand as the particles are so minute and compress together. This makes it hard for roots to penetrate and spread.

Coarse sand generates little pockets between the particles and is a superior substrate for a planted tank. When you use large river stones as your ground cover, there is so much space between the substrate pieces. This makes it difficult for rooted plants to hold on to and establish themselves.

Which Substrate Is the Most Effective?

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Because everyone’s water is slightly different, you can’t just look at a great aquascape and imitate the substrate it employs. In the field of gardening, for example, dedicated amateurs test their soil to see what nutrients they have and which ones they need. You may need to supplement your soil with dolomite, peat, or other potting media based on the results.

Similarly, if you live in an area with soft water and then use ADA Aqua Soil, which softens the water, your plants may be deficient in important elements like:

• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Manganese

To compensate, a mixture of Aqua Soil and Seachem Gray Coast, an aragonite-based substrate rich in those lacking elements, may be the best solution. As a result, discuss the other planted tank hobbyists in your area who have comparable water compositions, and experiment with different substrates. These substrate blends to see what works best for you.

Another important conclusion to this is that just because you spend a lot of money on the most expensive substrate doesn’t mean you will get the best outcomes. Instead, decide ahead of time which plants you will use and what they will require.

If you are largely buying anubias and only have one large root-feeding plant in the corner, save money by mineralizing the substrate immediately around it. Then fill the rest of the tank with a less expensive option like gravel. If you are building a planted tank for African cichlids, you don’t want to lower the pH or soften the water, therefore avoid nutrient-rich materials, if at all feasible.

What Materials Do You Need To Create Substrate Layers?

Before you build your layers, ensure you only use high-quality substrates materials by substrates suppliers. You are free to use whatever you want as long as it is not hazardous to your fish. What you will need for a planted tank is as follows:

• Plates made of styrofoam (base)
• Additives for porous substrate
• Nets/mesh and a protractor
• Decorations made of sand and soil
• Plants
• Fill the bottle halfway with water.

What To See When Selecting Substrate:

Materials:

You can find substrate in a wide range of materials, but many people opt for standard gravel. Unlike scintillation crystal array, substrate comes in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. The second most used type of substrate is sand. It is best for the fishes that enjoy burrowing. Another common substrate used is crushed coral, having the effect of raising the pH and increasing buffering capacity.

You can use large river rock itself or with gravel beneath it. This looks attractive and gives a natural look. You can also use marbles when breeding egg-scattering species of fish. If you keep plants in the aquarium, use laterite or vermiculite.

Quantity:

In most cases, the substrate is filled to a depth of about 2 inches. Additional depth may be required when there are live plants with a strong root system that requires it. When working with sand, the depth is normally between 1 and 1 1/2 inches. More than that can cause harmful anaerobic zones in the gravel. This is also true for gravel substrates that have been overfilled.

Color:

Color of the Substrate Color is a topic that sparks a lot of debate. Some people believe substrate color should closely resemble natural environments, while others choose a color based on preference, such as:

• Bright pink
• Neon blue
• Fire engine red
• A variety of other types.