Aquarium Co-Op I have hard water and I mixed play sand, eco complete and fluorite. It’s just a simple 30 gallon. I dose liquid co2 and flourish. My plants are growing slow but they are growing. I have a 5 watt led light with a 5 watt fluorescent that I use for two hrs after the sun sets and the tank is behind a window. So the daytime it’s 5 watt led plus sunlight at night it’s 5 watt led plus 5 watt fluorescent for two hrs. I have a video on my channel just asking for some criticism. Thanks.
Hi @Aquarium Co-Op, should I be vacuuming my inert gravel in my planted 20g medium light tank? You spoke of the nutrients slowly seeping in to the gravel over time in this video. Thank you for your time!
Not that I am any kind of expert, but I think this is the best information on substrates I have ever heard/read. I'm going to check out the other plant 101 videos I skipped over.
I am learning so much from you. I loved the gardening analogy. You're right, as a gardening hobbyist, I would never plant anything in just one type of soil. But it never occured to me to do the same with aquarium plants.
Perfect;y put as always. I had failed miserably in the past on the substrate. Your statement on "everything is centered around water" is certainly an important message for many hobbyist's as well.
-_- I'm just frying my brain (and eyes) at this point doing all this research. Every time I come to a conclusion, something changes my mind. Having such a tight budget doesn't help either. I just don't know anymore!
Oh my, to who that has watched this comment Dirted tank for easy plants and good quality ada type soil for lomg term aquascaping tank.... Correct if you have an opinion
I have been trying to find information on this topic for days now and this has been the most thorough, informative, and comprehensive video I have come across. Thank you for the time and energy you put into your videos.
Great discussion Cory. Having some sort of substrate is 80% of growing plants, and you are so right about learning your local water first, and then amending to suit. Big Thumbs Up!
hahaahah that's the first thing I did. It's just my personal preference though. Absolutely nothing against him. I usually watch vids at at least 1.25 anyway
I'm cheap, regular old walmart gravel and let the fish poop feed plants. I love that you tie it all back to gardening, it's my other passion besides planted tanks! BTW Dustin was just jealous of your dedication to this hobby. He used to be ALMOST as good.
Thank you! I am setting up my first planted tank and I had questions about which substrate to use. My plants will be a mix, so I was glad this video confirmed my plan to use a mixture of substrates to benefit both types of plants at once. You're other videos have also been helpful. I feel very confident now that I am going to have a successful planted tank.
Mixing stuff is a good advice I think. I built my own soil using peat, worm kompost, crouched seeshells, clay and biochar, capped with pool filtersand. It has worked well fore me for two years now. I reasently started experimenting with adding micronutrients. Allso a good way to not run out of nutrients is to clean less and do fewer water charges.
My experience pretty much matches what you discuss here: my 20-long is planted with Eco-Complete, and far and away the best performer among my plants is the dwarf pygmy chain sword - it's growing like a weed. The stem plants, on the other hand, are struggling with slow growth. At least, they were until I started using Easy Green...
Eco complete is meant to get more mineral rich the longer it’s in the tank. You’re supposed to dose root tabs and liquid fert for the first 4-6 months and by that time it’s pretty good for the long term. It starts with almost no nutrients, but builds over time.
Thank you. Because I came across you on RUclips one day, I am enjoying this hobby. Thank you for being a fountain of information. Your videos helped my get through the pandemic 👍🏼✌🏽
I liked your idea of using jars with layered gravel and root tabs. Layer of gravel in bottom of jar root tabs on top, followed by plant roots then more gravel and possibly 2 more root tabs. Like the ability to see progress of roots thru the glass.
I'm starting my first planted tank soon.. but I just want to learn as much as possible before even filling the tank up.. I need to buy substrate first, so thank you so much!
Love your videos Cory. I have 6 tanks. 2 of which I have under gravel filtration. 1 of which I used eco and the other regular gravel. Same lighting and dosing. The regular gravel grows like crazy, out preforms the eco. 2 of my other tanks I harvested river sand\gravel. Both of those tanks going on 3 years, out grow the under gravel 2.
Makes sense in nature, there are seasons that affect the soil, substrate in ponds, streams and many bodies of water. Some also dry up or some rely on the flow of the water to redistribute nutrients. I wonder if Eco Complete will make a good addition to orchid media...
Great tank! Here's my question with substrates: won't the plants eventually use up the nutrients in the special plant substrate, to where root tabs will be necessary? If so, then is there much of a benefit to planted substrate vs. sand+root tabs?
Which liquid fertilizer is best? Pretty new to this. I've got a 10 gallon tank with stem plants, Java Fern, basically plants that only feed from water column. I've also got a male Betta in there to help start the cycling process. Using Fluval Plant and Shrimp Stratum and will eventually add some smooth river rocks for a top layer. I'd like to add some Tetras and Kuhli Loaches in the future as well. Edit: Only 6 days into the cycle with 2 water changes
Is there a good resource out there that has the information about what different aquatic plants need with regard to nutrients and how they are adapted to survive (root versus water column feeders)? You drop some random knowledge about particular plants and their needs and adaptations so I'm just curious where you might recommend an aquarist to go if they want to find out this type of information about a particular plant. Thanks for making these videos!
Do you have any tips for planting in that loose, clay style substrate? I tried fluval stratum, and it looked amazing and my fish & plants loved it - but i found it tricky to plant in!
Lol still learning about aquarium plants. I had to google what you said because "pogostemon stellatus octopus" just sounds made up when you say it fast!
Same here. Red soil from Nagpur. Local nursery guy gave me 3 pots, about 12 litres. 2 kilograms of Fluval soil and 3 litres of Platinum substrate to top it up. My 2x1.6x2 feet aquarium shall be set up tomorrow, after having upgraded from my present 1.5x1x1 planted one.
I Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on father fishes deep substrate and forever aquarium principles :using minimum 2 inches of soil capped with usually sand like the walstad method Love your videos thank you
Best infoI have found and presented in an easy to understand form. I have not been having good luck with Eco complete, but my water is hard and my ph high right out of the tap. Now I see why I may have chosen the wrong substrate for my situation as I don't want to use RO. Thank you.
Cory, that was great. Since most of the people that want to convert from plastic plant to real plants will have gravel, how about to do a segment specifically on gravel tank growing techniques.
He did mention in another vid about wanting to do clown puke gravel with all the red blue yellow green pink and whatever other colors there is to prove plants can be grown successfully in there that a high end substrate isn't needed to do a planted tank. May be awhile till this happens though.
I really want to see this video, I just got rid of my turtle and I'm ready to start a planted aquarium. My turtle destroyed my last one and I stupidly threw out all the substrate and replaced with gravel. Big mistake that was back when I could afford to spend £100-150 on substrate. A lot of people seem to be biased towards plant substrate but I'm sure there must be a way to do it in gravel
Wasn't sure when i started watching it...Turned out pretty good. I've never seen the whole planted thing from this angle. It's like all those Pro knew about it but wasn't sharing it with us...Just my views. I'm glad i subscribed to this channel a while back. Great video guys... Thanks. ; )
Thanks so much for doing this video. I love sand substrates and have had decent luck with them with low maintenance plants. I'm setting up a new little tank and I've been wondering if I shouldn't switch to soil - but I was struggling with the idea that you outlined here...somewhere down the line, the soil will become depleted and I would be stuck doing a revamp or fertilizing - just about the same as if I had started with non-soil in the first place. I think I'd rather work with the substrate that I really want and make adjustments for its limitations to maintain it for its lifetime, than have a great substrate for a certain window of time that will require similar maintenance down the road. I'm not knocking soil at all, I do think it produces beautiful results, but not sure it's what I want and I'm not as concerned now about just sticking with sand.
This video was super super helpful. You answered all my questions and other videos just seemed to complicate it or leave me with even more questions. I’m so glad I found this!
I was just on your website, lost in the sauce, when I decided I needed to do more research. After watching this, not only do I feel more comfortable making a decision, I also feel .ore comfortable ordering from you knowing that there is some knowledge behind the business.
good video... I don't really mess with seachem substrates too much. for me ADA is heads and tails above the rest. I've used it all and currently have ADA, fluorite, eco complete, one dirted and my wife uses stratum. I have soft water too and have found its pointless to have a substrate do my buffering. I have municipal water and use a 50-50 ro mix using equilibrium to remineralize. ADA imho has it all covered after that. Root tabs are nice in theory but never did much for me. I uses them when my subs. depleted till I have time to start fresh.
My water is super acidic it's like 60 to 80 ppm kh and my plants are having a hard time. What would you reccomend for buffering it. I use eco complete mixed with gravel. I have low lights and med light plants my swords are melting
I'm setting up my 55 gallon and I'm thinking of 3 bags of 9ltr flourite and then 4 bags of 2kg of flourite and then 1bag of 9 ltr dennerle scapers soil also I had a great Idea can you spray down the substrate with plant fertz
I have water lettuce and one water hyacinth. I just added aquarium co-op easy green and flora max. I heard flora max is basically the same as eco complete. I was looking for a video from you about soil bc some people say to use just Home Depot soil.
I have extremely hard water, but I keep very hardy black skirt tetras, tiger barbs and albino cory catfish. If I wanted to change to a planted tank. How would a substrate that softens the water affect the fish (it would be a big change)? I have had tropical fish for years, but I never did a planted tank. I want to start with very basic/beginner plants. Thanks for the info. I subscribed 😁
I am so happy i watched this whole vid and didn't skip around. At first I was looking for a product recommendation but by the end of your video I now feel confident finding the correct substrate and what suits me and my water! BTW I live in Texas :) and am about to test my water and see just how hard it is.
Great stuff! I'm putting together a 120 dirted+plant+discus tank. This is great information I had a 40 gallon years ago and I made every mistake that could possibly be made. This time you guys are arming me with much needed information. Keep the videos coming.
Awesome info, I’ve usually done a “renovation” at the 20/24 month mark, everybody comes out, fish go to the quarantine tank and plants get a Tupperware lol, things get re-arranged, I swap out 60% of my substrate, add a new lower layer and reset up all in one day, I wait till the next day and add everybody back in, I Don’t change the filter media, so my cycle is good, I trim some roots also to make them grow abit...never had any issues, I’m almost due for my 4 th Reno this fall :) Than I have mature plants, I sometimes add new ones lol, a new look, and everyone is super happy after a week or so again :) Plus after 2 years you want a new look usually! I mix like 3 different plant substrates, and gravel, it’s worked for a long time now 😎👍🏻
This sounds like the best strategy and approach for established planted tanks that just need a revamp fertilization wise. I think i will be using this method, thanks for sharing
This may be a hard question to answer, but my tap PH is 8... i use ada AS in my tank and it buffers it to 6. Now my tap GH 2 and my plants have been seen with calcium deficiency’s in the passes due to the cork-shoe twisted growth and snail shells deteriorating rapidly. I dose GH booster now twice a week which helps. Do you think adding some of the grey coast under the substrate would help? Im worried the PH will go bananas do to both substrates fighting each other
I set up a planted 55 a month ago and used fert tabs on the bottom then ProMix organic potting soil mix covered with a thin layer of well rinsed coarse general purpose construction sand, the sand has a more natural color and a variety of particle sizes. The soil has a lot of compost so it already has a large diversity of beneficial bacteria and fungi, it also has a lot of lignin so when you fill the tank you get yellow water but a couple of partial water changes takes care of that while the tank cycles. It doesn't seem to change the hardness but that's OK, our water is fairly hard, lots of Calcium and Magnesium My plants and snails are thriving.
I just started ordering from u guys,so happy i got the best heathiest plants I've ever had,and their doing great unlike the $700 wasted money worth of plants i bought half dead from local stores,but wondering what the best black sand for a crowntail betta/bristle nose pleco planted tank?i know i need something more delicate less rough but I've heard so many different things,i have gravel but want sand
If anyone want awesome plants that grow and last order from these people they're in washington and I'm in Illinois and weather was chilly and all my plants arrived %100 perfect
P.s. i have hard water, have to run it through a filter first,it's so hard.also have play sand in a 200 gallon indoor goldfish pond that grows plants great,way better than my gravel but the goldfish make sure it never gets compact ,anyone with big goldfish knows what i mean lol
Hopeful this might still be seen after a couple of years. My water is super soft. pH from tap is around 6, kH practically nothing and gH like 30 drops. I use crushed coral as a substrate like you. Can I layer or or should I mix the coral with one of these. It's there one that increases pH by, like a lot? It's love to add some driftwood but that's a no, no for me with my water. It's there a product where you can add just straight minerals? Or a plant that will do that?
I was about to drop a chunk of change for aquarium plant substrate to fill my 40, from what I've learned from your video and some quick research, I only have two plant types that would need it. Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green and Hair Grass. Could I buy a small bag of decent Aquarium Plant substrate and put it in areas where I plan of planting these specific plants? Should I worry about over fertilizing my plants also? I'm planning on using a liquid aquarium fert for the rest of my plants, as they get their nutrients from the water.
When setting up my 60 gal. tank I used some potting soil with no fertilizer as part of the substrate. My plants were doing well as were the fish. However I recently purchased a PH meter and was horrified to see that the reading was quite low so I had purchased a bottle of PH UP to use. Well with the use of that and some major water changes I now get normal readings. This was the first time I had ever used some soil in my substrate. I did not think something like this would happen. Can anyone further advise me any further?
love this video spot on. i really enjoyed how you discuss water hardness. people always forget that part. i had high light, co2, aquasoil, the works. then i decided i wanted low tech. what an experience. i now know what plants can acfiallu grow in hard water.
I’ve used it all, but my go to now is a thin layer of pond soil with crushed root tabs, then a layer of pre used fine gravel (I never throw old substrates out,) and then a thick layer of sand. Never fails.
I live in South Texas. My tap water tests are crazy. Like pH is probably above 7.6 but that's the highest my current test goes, KH is around 8°, & GH is about 15°. So my plants do good with lower lights (LED lights attached to lid on 5 gallon kit & similar), and a basic aqueon liquid fertilizer. I currently only have an Anubis Nana & a money wort. My Anubis is kinda planted in the gravel but just the "roots" are under the surface not deep & it's next to the filter output. I keep reading that it won't grow planted & planting it is bad. However I've had it almost 6 months now & it's twice as big as it was when I got it, growing 1-2 new leaves every couple of weeks. The money wort I just got & it's currently floating.
Hi, i would like to try some natural plants in my tank as I've never done it before... so would like to start of with java fern & java moss as these are quite hardy. would they frive in a graveled aquarium? this was a great talk and made a lot clear about planted aquariums and the many different plants for them. Thanks.
Would you say that Flourite Black Sand would be too hard for the roots to run through? I was planning to run carpet plants such as chain swords or S.Repens along with some swords and such. I was thinking sand for the fine grain and the runners on the carpet. I'd also be adding NilocG thrive as my fertilizer.
Extremely helpful whenever I've asked questions I consistently get "this is what I use" or "this should be fine". How do I find out if a plant feeds from the water column or the substrate? You mentioned many of them but some I didn't hear.
+Vicky B there is no strict rule, so either learn from experience or research the plant name plus root feeder or water column feeder and read the discussions people have had.
Came to figure out if I needed some sort of nutrients substrate & leaving realising I don’t need it as I only have (&plan to get) plants that draw from the water. Thanks!
I have a dirted tank. It's made with compost I made and sifted. I also mixed it with diatomaceous earth or rock dust, cant remember. Its pretty mineral rich. But I need root tabs after like 2 years
thanks so much for the video! great stuff gave great info and ideas on how to help me balance my tank which i had been fighting for a while! additionally if you could recommend some plants to limit or remove the need for water changes i would forever be grateful
Would it work if only some of the substrate was say, soil, and the rest was gravel? For example if I were to use soil on a fourth of the tank and use rooted plants there then used gravel for the rest without plants, would it still theoretically work out alright? Just want to make sure I am understanding at 15:05
It works, the potting soil provides nutrients to the root plants, the gravel cap keeps the dirt from coming off the bottom and making the tank all nasty. Like Cory said in a year or 2 the soil will be depleted and thats the same for all of these things he talked about and then you will want to add root tabs and things.
Setting up a shrimp and guppy planted tank. I have Fluval Stratum and also the Eco-complete you recommended. Should I mix the 2 or place the Stratum on the bottom with a cap of Eco-Complete on top?
Hi, I want to know if you think my white Zanzibar sand that I bought would be to dense for plants to grow? Should I just have moss balls and potted plants in my aquarium instead? I've just started out on week 3 now and didn't use CO2, extra plant nutrients or stuff like that my first two weeks. Didnt even have a light. Bought a Leddy Nano plant LED light now with 900lumens. I have one anubia, anacharis and dwarf grass right now. Thinking of getting shrimps to clean the sand for me. And have a couple of small fish in the tank.
In my first planted tank, I didn't test water hardness or know anything about plant nutrients, I just dumped about 3-4 inches of good organic potting soil and capped it with gravel and the plants grew like crazy.. One year later the tank leaked and I had to dismantle the tank. Now I'm using Eco-Complete and so far so good..The only problem I have is black beard algae. It grows all over my vallisneria. Any suggestions?
Great and informative video. If possible also make a video on different plants and their requirements this would be a great guide for all in order to make selection of plants so that requirements are common for all of them.
I usually just use Anacharis (sometimes a grass), because it's supposedly a good oxygenator and good for filtering out the ammonia and other stuff...I'm in So. Cal. and I usually never really have trouble with it... I have a 20 gal. show tank with some Goldfish and Guppies, and a few others (Corys, Algae Eaters, etc) and regular Blue Gravel as my substrate... I'm considering switching to Black Flourite.... does anyone have any thoughts?
Thanks for the video.... new to your channel..... Question... what is/are the best type of gravel and plants to have in a cichlid tank....my tank is 100 gallons.... that I have yet to set up.... Thanks
I just use an inert mixture of black crystal gravel (20%) rinsed river sand (60%) and white crystal gravel(20%) , seems to work great alongside organic potting soil root tabs
Awesome episode. When using root tabs in gravel do I stop gravel vacuuming? Won't gravel vacuuming remove the things the root tabs put in the tank? Any help would be appreciated. Love the channel. Keep up the good work.
I leave a 6 to 8 inch circle around each plant that has root tabs and don't gravel vac. Often times this means no gravel vacing in a well planted tank.
Very helpful video; however, I confused in one particular area. As Cory mentioned, in Seattle you have very low ph acidic water. I have well water with a ph of 6.0. I have added your crushed coral both to the filter and mixed with aragonite as substrate. I add Stability to new water before putting in the tank to even up the ph. So my dilemma is, what substrate is best in setting up a new tank? According to what you said in the video, Gray Coast would be a good choice for me with addition of root tabs. Also, keeping the crushed coral. Eco-complete could be a possibility.
*Part 4, Cycling your planted aquarium.* ruclips.net/video/guT1GKJ7jIo/видео.html
Aquarium Co-Op I have hard water and I mixed play sand, eco complete and fluorite. It’s just a simple 30 gallon. I dose liquid co2 and flourish. My plants are growing slow but they are growing. I have a 5 watt led light with a 5 watt fluorescent that I use for two hrs after the sun sets and the tank is behind a window. So the daytime it’s 5 watt led plus sunlight at night it’s 5 watt led plus 5 watt fluorescent for two hrs. I have a video on my channel just asking for some criticism. Thanks.
Could you update this video, I think hobby has more stuff out now
My man literally said cation like "Caysion". It's Cat-ion as in Cation excha ge capacity- soil scientist
Hi @Aquarium Co-Op, should I be vacuuming my inert gravel in my planted 20g medium light tank? You spoke of the nutrients slowly seeping in to the gravel over time in this video. Thank you for your time!
Not that I am any kind of expert, but I think this is the best information on substrates I have ever heard/read. I'm going to check out the other plant 101 videos I skipped over.
I feel like I just took a class ...u provided so much information . Thank you
subbed - learned more in this video about substrates than my entire 2 months of prep for my first planted tank..im HOOKED
Cory is the man.
I am learning so much from you. I loved the gardening analogy. You're right, as a gardening hobbyist, I would never plant anything in just one type of soil. But it never occured to me to do the same with aquarium plants.
I'm glad, I figure if I put it in enough analogies eventually it'll reach everyone :)
Perfect;y put as always. I had failed miserably in the past on the substrate. Your statement on "everything is centered around water" is certainly an important message for many hobbyist's as well.
-_- I'm just frying my brain (and eyes) at this point doing all this research. Every time I come to a conclusion, something changes my mind. Having such a tight budget doesn't help either. I just don't know anymore!
CheshireKat same!😭
same for me atm
Yep. I bought ecocomplete and in about to cancel my order. What did you settle with?
I think you should just start with not rooted plants as beginners plants so you just use liquid based nutrients
Oh my, to who that has watched this comment
Dirted tank for easy plants and good quality ada type soil for lomg term aquascaping tank....
Correct if you have an opinion
I have been trying to find information on this topic for days now and this has been the most thorough, informative, and comprehensive video I have come across. Thank you for the time and energy you put into your videos.
You are one of my favorite aquarium youtubers... you have such a friendly tone... Thanks for sharing!
You make the best aquarium videos hands down. Very in depth and comprehensive
Great discussion Cory. Having some sort of substrate is 80% of growing plants, and you are so right about learning your local water first, and then amending to suit. Big Thumbs Up!
love the rated "f" for fish nerds! Thank you Cory for all your help and info!
Your videos are by far the best at explaining things clearly and properly. Thanks for being such a great teacher.
Play this at 1.5 Speed
Yes he is so slow
hahaahah that's the first thing I did. It's just my personal preference though. Absolutely nothing against him. I usually watch vids at at least 1.25 anyway
No offense for the guy but thanks for this comment. 😁😁😁
Even the movement of fishes looks more normal at 1.5x
Pro tip
I'm cheap, regular old walmart gravel and let the fish poop feed plants. I love that you tie it all back to gardening, it's my other passion besides planted tanks! BTW Dustin was just jealous of your dedication to this hobby. He used to be ALMOST as good.
Yep you can definitely build a low tech tank around fish poop ;)
Devin Loewer gross
@@TallThingy well, that's nature for ya!!! Lol
ILTD5580 lol
@@TallThingy it's the one tangible free thing we get in this hobby.
Gatoraid, it's what plants crave.
Welcome to Aquarium Co-Op. I love you.
It's got electrolytes!?!
Really?? Wow!! So do you just get a cup and put in Gatorade and and a plant?
@@AquariumCoop you like money? I like money.. we should hang out. maybe get a "starbucks"
Great "Idiocracy" reference! LOL :-)
Thank you for this video! Coming from a beginner, I love that you put everything in layman's terms!!
Thank you! I am setting up my first planted tank and I had questions about which substrate to use. My plants will be a mix, so I was glad this video confirmed my plan to use a mixture of substrates to benefit both types of plants at once.
You're other videos have also been helpful. I feel very confident now that I am going to have a successful planted tank.
Maggie Brayton what mix did you use?
Mixing stuff is a good advice I think. I built my own soil using peat, worm kompost, crouched seeshells, clay and biochar, capped with pool filtersand. It has worked well fore me for two years now. I reasently started experimenting with adding micronutrients. Allso a good way to not run out of nutrients is to clean less and do fewer water charges.
This actually makes for a good podcast to listen to while working
My experience pretty much matches what you discuss here: my 20-long is planted with Eco-Complete, and far and away the best performer among my plants is the dwarf pygmy chain sword - it's growing like a weed. The stem plants, on the other hand, are struggling with slow growth. At least, they were until I started using Easy Green...
+Anthony Ragan yeah sounds like you got a first hand example of root vs water column feeders going on.
Eco complete is meant to get more mineral rich the longer it’s in the tank. You’re supposed to dose root tabs and liquid fert for the first 4-6 months and by that time it’s pretty good for the long term. It starts with almost no nutrients, but builds over time.
I was worried I got the wrong thing I got eco complete
Don't you often have to trim plants, or remove some organic matter/duckweed, so it's decreasing the minerals?
Thank you. Because I came across you on RUclips one day, I am enjoying this hobby. Thank you for being a fountain of information. Your videos helped my get through the pandemic 👍🏼✌🏽
Thanks, Cory, for making me 'think' about my substrate. You are GREAT to listen to. A fount of knowledge. I am a BIG fan!!! :)
This channel is like a good physics teacher. It doesn't teaches you what to do, it teaches how to think about aquariums.
Well said Cory. Very balanced overview for us beginners.
I liked your idea of using jars with layered gravel and root tabs. Layer of gravel in bottom of jar root tabs on top, followed by plant roots then more gravel and possibly 2 more root tabs. Like the ability to see progress of roots thru the glass.
I just cant get over how Amazing your videos are!! So much great information. Youre constantly answering all my qs. Thank you so much!!! 😀😀😀
Glad you're finding value in our videos :)
As someone who is just getting into the hobby this is most beneficial. Thank you!
I'm starting my first planted tank soon.. but I just want to learn as much as possible before even filling the tank up.. I need to buy substrate first, so thank you so much!
And I came here expecting simple sand vs gravel
dmcepeda my kind ... Haha
Love your videos Cory. I have 6 tanks. 2 of which I have under gravel filtration. 1 of which I used eco and the other regular gravel. Same lighting and dosing. The regular gravel grows like crazy, out preforms the eco. 2 of my other tanks I harvested river sand\gravel. Both of those tanks going on 3 years, out grow the under gravel 2.
Makes sense in nature, there are seasons that affect the soil, substrate in ponds, streams and many bodies of water. Some also dry up or some rely on the flow of the water to redistribute nutrients.
I wonder if Eco Complete will make a good addition to orchid media...
+Julius Toledo yeah, I really hope to explore the way I keep aquariums in the coming year.
Great tank! Here's my question with substrates: won't the plants eventually use up the nutrients in the special plant substrate, to where root tabs will be necessary? If so, then is there much of a benefit to planted substrate vs. sand+root tabs?
I've seen Cory and others such as diana walstad who swear by over feeding of fish food to fertilise.
Which liquid fertilizer is best? Pretty new to this. I've got a 10 gallon tank with stem plants, Java Fern, basically plants that only feed from water column. I've also got a male Betta in there to help start the cycling process. Using Fluval Plant and Shrimp Stratum and will eventually add some smooth river rocks for a top layer. I'd like to add some Tetras and Kuhli Loaches in the future as well.
Edit: Only 6 days into the cycle with 2 water changes
Aquarium Co-op easy green best fertilizer ever!
Thrive!!!!
Is there a good resource out there that has the information about what different aquatic plants need with regard to nutrients and how they are adapted to survive (root versus water column feeders)? You drop some random knowledge about particular plants and their needs and adaptations so I'm just curious where you might recommend an aquarist to go if they want to find out this type of information about a particular plant.
Thanks for making these videos!
You have to research plants individually unfortunately. No comprehensive guide that I can find :(
Thanks for all the information, as a beginner it helped me out a lot!
Do you have any tips for planting in that loose, clay style substrate? I tried fluval stratum, and it looked amazing and my fish & plants loved it - but i found it tricky to plant in!
Thanks for covering pretty much the entire spectrum, Corey. I knew I could count on you. Cheers. :)
Lol still learning about aquarium plants. I had to google what you said because "pogostemon stellatus octopus" just sounds made up when you say it fast!
yea try the close captions its even worst lol >_
I've done dirt with gravel cap for 6 years now in 7 aquarium's and love it. Never need co2 or anything
Same here. Red soil from Nagpur. Local nursery guy gave me 3 pots, about 12 litres.
2 kilograms of Fluval soil and 3 litres of Platinum substrate to top it up.
My 2x1.6x2 feet aquarium shall be set up tomorrow, after having upgraded from my present 1.5x1x1 planted one.
I Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on father fishes deep substrate and forever aquarium principles :using minimum 2 inches of soil capped with usually sand like the walstad method
Love your videos thank you
Best infoI have found and presented in an easy to understand form. I have not been having good luck with Eco complete, but my water is hard and my ph high right out of the tap. Now I see why I may have chosen the wrong substrate for my situation as I don't want to use RO. Thank you.
This was probably the most helpful vid on substrate ever
Cory, that was great. Since most of the people that want to convert from plastic plant to real plants will have gravel, how about to do a segment specifically on gravel tank growing techniques.
He did mention in another vid about wanting to do clown puke gravel with all the red blue yellow green pink and whatever other colors there is to prove plants can be grown successfully in there that a high end substrate isn't needed to do a planted tank. May be awhile till this happens though.
Yeah, basically any gravel will work. Just read other's comments about how they are having success with normal gravel.
I really want to see this video, I just got rid of my turtle and I'm ready to start a planted aquarium. My turtle destroyed my last one and I stupidly threw out all the substrate and replaced with gravel. Big mistake that was back when I could afford to spend £100-150 on substrate.
A lot of people seem to be biased towards plant substrate but I'm sure there must be a way to do it in gravel
Thank you for taking the time to EXPLAIN! I am new to the hobby and I have learned so much from your videos :)
+skinsgirl3 glad I could help ya.
Wasn't sure when i started watching it...Turned out pretty good. I've never seen the whole planted thing from this angle. It's like all those Pro knew about it but wasn't sharing it with us...Just my views. I'm glad i subscribed to this channel a while back. Great video guys... Thanks. ; )
Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed it.
Just about to finish up watching the series. Thank you for sharing. ; )
I've watched a lot of videos trying to figure this out and this one was very clear for me - Thank you! Subscribed!
Thanks so much for doing this video. I love sand substrates and have had decent luck with them with low maintenance plants. I'm setting up a new little tank and I've been wondering if I shouldn't switch to soil - but I was struggling with the idea that you outlined here...somewhere down the line, the soil will become depleted and I would be stuck doing a revamp or fertilizing - just about the same as if I had started with non-soil in the first place. I think I'd rather work with the substrate that I really want and make adjustments for its limitations to maintain it for its lifetime, than have a great substrate for a certain window of time that will require similar maintenance down the road. I'm not knocking soil at all, I do think it produces beautiful results, but not sure it's what I want and I'm not as concerned now about just sticking with sand.
A refreshingly informative presentation. Thanks for not just pushing a brand of substrate. 👍
All you need is dirt covered with sand but your not suppose to know that.
What if i mixed those 2 Seachem products in between An Undergravel Filter at the bottom Soil and Sand at the top?
This video was super super helpful. You answered all my questions and other videos just seemed to complicate it or leave me with even more questions. I’m so glad I found this!
I was just on your website, lost in the sauce, when I decided I needed to do more research. After watching this, not only do I feel more comfortable making a decision, I also feel .ore comfortable ordering from you knowing that there is some knowledge behind the business.
good video... I don't really mess with seachem substrates too much. for me ADA is heads and tails above the rest. I've used it all and currently have ADA, fluorite, eco complete, one dirted and my wife uses stratum. I have soft water too and have found its pointless to have a substrate do my buffering. I have municipal water and use a 50-50 ro mix using equilibrium to remineralize. ADA imho has it all covered after that. Root tabs are nice in theory but never did much for me. I uses them when my subs. depleted till I have time to start fresh.
My water is super acidic it's like 60 to 80 ppm kh and my plants are having a hard time. What would you reccomend for buffering it. I use eco complete mixed with gravel. I have low lights and med light plants my swords are melting
I'm setting up my 55 gallon and I'm thinking of 3 bags of 9ltr flourite and then 4 bags of 2kg of flourite and then 1bag of 9 ltr dennerle scapers soil also I had a great Idea can you spray down the substrate with plant fertz
I have water lettuce and one water hyacinth. I just added aquarium co-op easy green and flora max. I heard flora max is basically the same as eco complete. I was looking for a video from you about soil bc some people say to use just Home Depot soil.
I have extremely hard water, but I keep very hardy black skirt tetras, tiger barbs and albino cory catfish. If I wanted to change to a planted tank. How would a substrate that softens the water affect the fish (it would be a big change)?
I have had tropical fish for years, but I never did a planted tank. I want to start with very basic/beginner plants. Thanks for the info. I subscribed 😁
Of course youre from Seattle. Ive been doing a crazy amount of research before I start my first tank. Guess Ill come visit next weekend!
Thanks cory, this really help me to understand my tank
Glad to help :)
Longduck Dong how do you go about mixing them?
can you perhaps post a link or guide? very interested
Dark Knight MGTOW You've gotten quite a bit of the wrong information. You must be a little confused.
I am so happy i watched this whole vid and didn't skip around. At first I was looking for a product recommendation but by the end of your video I now feel confident finding the correct substrate and what suits me and my water! BTW I live in Texas :) and am about to test my water and see just how hard it is.
Very. And same.
I have sand substrate and my plants are doing amazing and growing like crazy with root tabs
I have the opposite after 7 months.
Love your videos man, now I can improve my 10gal betta tank
could you do a video on the pros/cons of the Walstad Method?
Great stuff! I'm putting together a 120 dirted+plant+discus tank. This is great information I had a 40 gallon years ago and I made every mistake that could possibly be made. This time you guys are arming me with much needed information. Keep the videos coming.
That plant with arms behind u is beautiful.....what is it? Thank you.🇨🇦. New to this and found it very informative.
Aponogeton, its a bulb plant, I got a free one and it grows amazingly fast.
Awesome info,
I’ve usually done a “renovation” at the 20/24 month mark, everybody comes out, fish go to the quarantine tank and plants get a Tupperware lol, things get re-arranged, I swap out 60% of my substrate, add a new lower layer and reset up all in one day, I wait till the next day and add everybody back in, I Don’t change the filter media, so my cycle is good, I trim some roots also to make them grow abit...never had any issues, I’m almost due for my 4 th Reno this fall :) Than I have mature plants, I sometimes add new ones lol, a new look, and everyone is super happy after a week or so again :) Plus after 2 years you want a new look usually! I mix like 3 different plant substrates, and gravel, it’s worked for a long time now 😎👍🏻
MrsBrownsAquaria what substrates do you use?
This sounds like the best strategy and approach for established planted tanks that just need a revamp fertilization wise. I think i will be using this method, thanks for sharing
This may be a hard question to answer, but my tap PH is 8... i use ada AS in my tank and it buffers it to 6. Now my tap GH 2 and my plants have been seen with calcium deficiency’s in the passes due to the cork-shoe twisted growth and snail shells deteriorating rapidly. I dose GH booster now twice a week which helps. Do you think adding some of the grey coast under the substrate would help? Im worried the PH will go bananas do to both substrates fighting each other
I set up a planted 55 a month ago and used fert tabs on the bottom then ProMix organic potting soil mix covered with a thin layer of well rinsed coarse general purpose construction sand, the sand has a more natural color and a variety of particle sizes.
The soil has a lot of compost so it already has a large diversity of beneficial bacteria and fungi, it also has a lot of lignin so when you fill the tank you get yellow water but a couple of partial water changes takes care of that while the tank cycles.
It doesn't seem to change the hardness but that's OK, our water is fairly hard, lots of Calcium and Magnesium
My plants and snails are thriving.
I just started ordering from u guys,so happy i got the best heathiest plants I've ever had,and their doing great unlike the $700 wasted money worth of plants i bought half dead from local stores,but wondering what the best black sand for a crowntail betta/bristle nose pleco planted tank?i know i need something more delicate less rough but I've heard so many different things,i have gravel but want sand
If anyone want awesome plants that grow and last order from these people they're in washington and I'm in Illinois and weather was chilly and all my plants arrived %100 perfect
P.s. i have hard water, have to run it through a filter first,it's so hard.also have play sand in a 200 gallon indoor goldfish pond that grows plants great,way better than my gravel but the goldfish make sure it never gets compact ,anyone with big goldfish knows what i mean lol
Hopeful this might still be seen after a couple of years. My water is super soft. pH from tap is around 6, kH practically nothing and gH like 30 drops. I use crushed coral as a substrate like you. Can I layer or or should I mix the coral with one of these. It's there one that increases pH by, like a lot? It's love to add some driftwood but that's a no, no for me with my water. It's there a product where you can add just straight minerals? Or a plant that will do that?
I was about to drop a chunk of change for aquarium plant substrate to fill my 40, from what I've learned from your video and some quick research, I only have two plant types that would need it.
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green and Hair Grass. Could I buy a small bag of decent Aquarium Plant substrate and put it in areas where I plan of planting these specific plants? Should I worry about over fertilizing my plants also? I'm planning on using a liquid aquarium fert for the rest of my plants, as they get their nutrients from the water.
When setting up my 60 gal. tank I used some potting soil with no fertilizer as part of the substrate. My plants were doing well as were the fish. However I recently purchased a PH meter and was horrified to see that the reading was quite low so I had purchased a bottle of PH UP to use. Well with the use of that and some major water changes I now get normal readings. This was the first time I had ever used some soil in my substrate. I did not think something like this would happen. Can anyone further advise me any further?
biggest mistake people make in fish keeping is ph chasing. if you keep fish that can thrive in a wide ph range, don't chase it... they will adapt.
love this video spot on. i really enjoyed how you discuss water hardness. people always forget that part. i had high light, co2, aquasoil, the works. then i decided i wanted low tech. what an experience. i now know what plants can acfiallu grow in hard water.
I’ve used it all, but my go to now is a thin layer of pond soil with crushed root tabs, then a layer of pre used fine gravel (I never throw old substrates out,) and then a thick layer of sand. Never fails.
I live in South Texas. My tap water tests are crazy. Like pH is probably above 7.6 but that's the highest my current test goes, KH is around 8°, & GH is about 15°. So my plants do good with lower lights (LED lights attached to lid on 5 gallon kit & similar), and a basic aqueon liquid fertilizer. I currently only have an Anubis Nana & a money wort. My Anubis is kinda planted in the gravel but just the "roots" are under the surface not deep & it's next to the filter output. I keep reading that it won't grow planted & planting it is bad. However I've had it almost 6 months now & it's twice as big as it was when I got it, growing 1-2 new leaves every couple of weeks. The money wort I just got & it's currently floating.
Hi, i would like to try some natural plants in my tank as I've never done it before... so would like to start of with java fern & java moss as these are quite hardy. would they frive in a graveled aquarium?
this was a great talk and made a lot clear about planted aquariums and the many different plants for them. Thanks.
Yet again another video!! You make everything easy to understand and remember! Thank you. Keep it up!!
Would you say that Flourite Black Sand would be too hard for the roots to run through? I was planning to run carpet plants such as chain swords or S.Repens along with some swords and such. I was thinking sand for the fine grain and the runners on the carpet. I'd also be adding NilocG thrive as my fertilizer.
Extremely helpful whenever I've asked questions I consistently get "this is what I use" or "this should be fine". How do I find out if a plant feeds from the water column or the substrate? You mentioned many of them but some I didn't hear.
+Vicky B there is no strict rule, so either learn from experience or research the plant name plus root feeder or water column feeder and read the discussions people have had.
I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like ADA Amazonia. Amazonia is soft and smooth.
r/prequelmemes
Was that a Star Wars reference
Nice reference lol
Sand for corydoras :)
Came to figure out if I needed some sort of nutrients substrate & leaving realising I don’t need it as I only have (&plan to get) plants that draw from the water. Thanks!
At which point is co2 necessary? I'm looking to have my tanks planted, as well as growing on top.
I have a dirted tank. It's made with compost I made and sifted. I also mixed it with diatomaceous earth or rock dust, cant remember. Its pretty mineral rich. But I need root tabs after like 2 years
thanks so much for the video! great stuff gave great info and ideas on how to help me balance my tank which i had been fighting for a while!
additionally if you could recommend some plants to limit or remove the need for water changes i would forever be grateful
basically atm im uprooting my plants every week.... its a pain
Would it work if only some of the substrate was say, soil, and the rest was gravel? For example if I were to use soil on a fourth of the tank and use rooted plants there then used gravel for the rest without plants, would it still theoretically work out alright? Just want to make sure I am understanding at 15:05
+ChaoticDiscordx sure
I've seen people use organic potting mix then a larger layer of gravel over it. What's your take on that?
It works, the potting soil provides nutrients to the root plants, the gravel cap keeps the dirt from coming off the bottom and making the tank all nasty. Like Cory said in a year or 2 the soil will be depleted and thats the same for all of these things he talked about and then you will want to add root tabs and things.
My ph out of the tap is around 8.5, so the acidifying factor is soil is amazing to me.
Setting up a shrimp and guppy planted tank. I have Fluval Stratum and also the Eco-complete you recommended. Should I mix the 2 or place the Stratum on the bottom with a cap of Eco-Complete on top?
Hitting like before even watching
Hi, I want to know if you think my white Zanzibar sand that I bought would be to dense for plants to grow? Should I just have moss balls and potted plants in my aquarium instead? I've just started out on week 3 now and didn't use CO2, extra plant nutrients or stuff like that my first two weeks. Didnt even have a light. Bought a Leddy Nano plant LED light now with 900lumens. I have one anubia, anacharis and dwarf grass right now. Thinking of getting shrimps to clean the sand for me. And have a couple of small fish in the tank.
Cory can you add eco -complete a year later to a existing tank
In my first planted tank, I didn't test water hardness or know anything about plant nutrients, I just dumped about 3-4 inches of good organic potting soil and capped it with gravel and the plants grew like crazy.. One year later the tank leaked and I had to dismantle the tank. Now I'm using Eco-Complete and so far so good..The only problem I have is black beard algae. It grows all over my vallisneria. Any suggestions?
Great and informative video. If possible also make a video on different plants and their requirements this would be a great guide for all in order to make selection of plants so that requirements are common for all of them.
Great information. Does the minerals/fertilizer in substrate dissolve into the water over time?
I usually just use Anacharis (sometimes a grass), because it's supposedly a good oxygenator and good for filtering out the ammonia and other stuff...I'm in So. Cal. and I usually never really have trouble with it... I have a 20 gal. show tank with some Goldfish and Guppies, and a few others (Corys, Algae Eaters, etc) and regular Blue Gravel as my substrate... I'm considering switching to Black Flourite.... does anyone have any thoughts?
Thanks for the video.... new to your channel.....
Question... what is/are the best type of gravel and plants to have in a cichlid tank....my tank is 100 gallons.... that I have yet to set up....
Thanks
I just use an inert mixture of black crystal gravel (20%) rinsed river sand (60%) and white crystal gravel(20%) , seems to work great alongside organic potting soil root tabs
Awesome episode. When using root tabs in gravel do I stop gravel vacuuming? Won't gravel vacuuming remove the things the root tabs put in the tank? Any help would be appreciated. Love the channel. Keep up the good work.
I leave a 6 to 8 inch circle around each plant that has root tabs and don't gravel vac. Often times this means no gravel vacing in a well planted tank.
What's the long wirey plant in the aquarium behind you?
Very helpful video; however, I confused in one particular area. As Cory mentioned, in Seattle you have very low ph acidic water. I have well water with a ph of 6.0. I have added your crushed coral both to the filter and mixed with aragonite as substrate. I add Stability to new water before putting in the tank to even up the ph. So my dilemma is, what substrate is best in setting up a new tank? According to what you said in the video, Gray Coast would be a good choice for me with addition of root tabs. Also, keeping the crushed coral. Eco-complete could be a possibility.
I would use something to buffer the water if I was setting up a planted tank with that pH. Crushed coral, grey coast etc.