Tropical Fish Forums

taxlady · Regulars Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Location: Iowa, USA

I am going to attempt a planted tank (with fish) Very Happy

...what substrate(s) would any of you recommend?

I am leaning toward Flourite...would any other "gravel" or substrate need to be mixed or layered with this?

Or is Flourite not a good choice?

Thanks in advance!
taxlady
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Tenecor 50 gal flat-back hex - various inmates & plants in Flourite. 40 gal tall - mated pair of Angels & plants in Flourite.

The Chaos Theory · Regulars Joined: 09 Apr 2003 Location: Seattle, WA

flourite is an excelent choice. Just remember to wash it very very well. And you should either go full flourite or at least 50 percent. I like my eco complete gravel as well.
Chris
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Chris

Shawna in CA · Moderators Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Location: California

Another vote for Flourite. Only, as someone explained to me once, you can't wash EVERYTHINg out of it, or you'll wind up with nothing more than very expensive gravel. Some of that blackish muck is useful for the plants.

I sometimes miss the look of sand, though. Something about it is very easy on the eyes, but Flourite is great. You don't need any other substrate additives.
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~~Shawna

taxlady · Regulars Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Location: Iowa, USA

AlleyCat

taxlady,
We just bought 2 bags of flourite from our local LFS. We paid 35 for two in case you're checking. And as Shawna said as you clean the gravel you're washing away some of the nutrients you're paying for. I added a 15 lb bag to a 30g and mixed it in with the current pea gravel and it literally clouded the tank for 24 hours. Clouded it to the point we couldn't see our fish unless they came to the glass. I rinsed the gravel 4-5 times in a 5 gallon pail and after swishing the "muck" down the drain, I realized enough is enough. The fish look fine and the hopefully the plants will make use of the nutrients. It's been about 10 days and the water is crystalclear.
I remembered one of your other posts about a cloudy tank and thought I'd better let you know, you'll be cloudy for a few days again. But ... IMO it's worth it!

A.C.
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taxlady · Regulars Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Location: Iowa, USA

A.C.,

Thanks for the info regarding clouding my water. Not to worry, it is still cloudy! Laughing

But only just slightly. My water parameters are stabilizing (pH 7.0, KH 3-4), so figured if I was going to "cloud" my water with the substrate, now might be the time...?

Someone (can't remember who) said that adding water sprite might help with my cloudy water...and I had been thinking about a planted tank, so figured I might as well jump in.

So, your fishies were in your tank when you added the substrate?

Thanks!
taxlady
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Tenecor 50 gal flat-back hex - various inmates & plants in Flourite. 40 gal tall - mated pair of Angels & plants in Flourite.

Rotem · Regulars Joined: 06 Mar 2003 Location: Albuquerque, NM

Eco complete is from CaribSea. I think its great. You can use it instead of flourite. Just remember that even though and Eco-complete bags is bigger than a flourite bag, you basicaly get the same amount of gravel, because Carib-Sea also packs in water with the gravel to maintain live bacteria that is in the gravel.

I like Eco-complete because its much easier to use than flourite, it barely clouds up. You just pour it in the tank and 10 minutes later it's ready. They also claim that since it comes with live bacteria inside it'll actually help you cycle the tank more easily. I can't confirm that because both my tanks were cycled with plants so I could barely see any levels of amonia registering.

Oh, and it's black so it realy brings out the colors of fish.

AlleyCat

taxlady, Yep I had 2 black platies in the tank at the time I added the flourite. After the dust settled ( pun intended ) they were just as happy as they were before the cloud descended upon them. Today there's an assorted variety of Cories and 2 German Rams, and an assortment of plants including some WaterSprite that was mentioned by Tom Barr in one of the previous posts. The tank has been set up for about a month and it's coming along quite nicely. The flourite is a brown mixture with black flecks. I like the sound of the Carib-Sea though.

Rotem, how much was the carib-sea, and how many pounds per bag? I've seen it avertised in the Aquarium Fish Mag, but I haven't seen it on the store shelves locally.

A.C.
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taxlady · Regulars Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Location: Iowa, USA

Rotem, I'll check out the eco complete <thanks>! I like the "barely clouding up" part...have had enough of a struggle with this.

A.C., It was Tom B that told me about water sprite <thanks>.

Rotem · Regulars Joined: 06 Mar 2003 Location: Albuquerque, NM

Eco-complete bag size is 20lb, but that includes some water, so that's why I said it's about as much gravel as a 15lb flourite bag.

I bought it from drsfostersmith.com for $17.99 a bag (I just checked and they have it on backorder now). I got 3 bags which gave me 3" in my 29g. I think it came out the be around $21 a bag when you factor in shipping.

Bigalsonline.com also sells it for $20

I also payed $28 for a bag at my LFS. I used it in a 10g tank that I started about a month ago (which is going great).