Best substrate for Shrimp/Community Tank

[alginonuk]

Hi

I've decided upon my new tank, a Juwel Rio 125.

I plan on having mainly plants that require low level lighting (its my first attempt at aquascaping), but also I am sure that during planning there will be plants that I will choose as part of the design that need good substrate and light (T5 included in Rio, so don't expect any problems. Also I want flexability in the future to plant more demanding plants.

I also want to have a community tank and plenty of shrimp.

What is the best substrate to keep the shrimp happy as well as the fish and gives flexibility choosing plants for my aquascape.

One combination I was looking at was the Dennerle Nano DeponitMix (€9.50 1kg) and Nano Garnelenkies (€10 2kg). I researched this as I was going to get a Dennerle 60L Cube, but I am thinking there could be a more cost effective way to get same effect.

http://www.aquaristikshop.com/e_Produkt ... 1000-g.htm

http://www.aquaristikshop.com/cgi-bin/n ... temartic_e

Oh yeah colour is important as I want it to be black.

I've calculated I need 30kg of substrate to give me just above 5cm. Using this calculator and google to convert http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html

Thanks James

 

[pepedopolous]

I think Aquasoil Amazonia is a similar price to the Dennerle though it's sold in litres. I used a 9 litre bag for a 60 litre aquarium.

It is THE substrate as far as many planted aquarium enthusiasts are concerned. It has added nutrients, so you need to do frequent water changes in the first few weeks as it leaches ammonia. It is also known to cloud the water in the first 24 hours- though this is less of a problem with the 'new' version apparently. I used the old version and didn't have a problem with clouding though. I'm not a shrimp fanatic but I have Red Cherry Shrimp and Crystal Reds and they are doing fine.

I once had a Nano cube with the Dennerle shrimp gravel and soil. Though the gravel looked excellent, the soil caused cloudiness if disturbed and it was a pain to tidy.

 

[skarmajunga]

I just ordered some Dennerle Nano Garnelenkies,
I have never used it before but thought I would give it a try. I will let you know what I think when it comes in alginonuk. Have you made a decision yet on youre substrate?