Fatbloke-Dim
Seedling
I know it's been asked many times ,but unless I have unlimited time to trawl the forum ,it may be easier to ask again. After all , you don't - you don't get . I have an established tank ,been running for years in it's current set-up ,and many years before that. Algae ha become so bad ,I can no longer put off the inevitable. So it's time to re-do the tank . Previously ,it has grown vigorously ,with Amazon swords ,Vallis ,Anubias and many others growing to the point of needing to be severely cropped. The info that would help me most ,is what to use for substrate? I was going to go for Carib-Sea Eco ,but have read on here that it may not be all that it's cracked up to be , ie., not a "one size fits all " solution. I am intending to re-plant one or 2 of my remaining Amazon swords , there are 3 in there, , one will go into another tank that's being re-instated after lying empty for some time . There are currently no other plants to re-plant , these swords are big and bushy .
I need to know, would it be better for the new set-up to put a layer of planting medium topped with gravel ,or just planting medium ,either Eco-complete ,or Seachem Fluorite and not topped with gravel ? Or , would a combination of any of these produc be any good? I alo have some tropical Laterite pellets, about 2 lb of it, rich in Iron , allegedly, so this could be added to the mix if of any benefit. The original set-up of this tank was some planting medium of a sandy nature , with nutrients and such , the brand of which I can't remember now , but coupled with a liquid fert did very well . The gravel used was fairly large ,8-10 mm , and smooth , which is good for the bottom-dwellers , and any "crap" could get down into the bed and break down to form a fertile bed. Rather tempted to try this approach again. I intend to keep the filter mature in the other tank for the duration of the re-fit , and possibly re-use some of the original water ,water quality will be monitored , of course whilst set-up continues, but some substrates , I have read , cause massive ammonia spikes ,best avoided if I can.
I have a CO2 system , and supplies of liquid fert , so if anyone coulkd help with a workable , simple substrate plan , I'll be gratified indeed.
I need to know, would it be better for the new set-up to put a layer of planting medium topped with gravel ,or just planting medium ,either Eco-complete ,or Seachem Fluorite and not topped with gravel ? Or , would a combination of any of these produc be any good? I alo have some tropical Laterite pellets, about 2 lb of it, rich in Iron , allegedly, so this could be added to the mix if of any benefit. The original set-up of this tank was some planting medium of a sandy nature , with nutrients and such , the brand of which I can't remember now , but coupled with a liquid fert did very well . The gravel used was fairly large ,8-10 mm , and smooth , which is good for the bottom-dwellers , and any "crap" could get down into the bed and break down to form a fertile bed. Rather tempted to try this approach again. I intend to keep the filter mature in the other tank for the duration of the re-fit , and possibly re-use some of the original water ,water quality will be monitored , of course whilst set-up continues, but some substrates , I have read , cause massive ammonia spikes ,best avoided if I can.
I have a CO2 system , and supplies of liquid fert , so if anyone coulkd help with a workable , simple substrate plan , I'll be gratified indeed.
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