Hi folks,
New member here. I've been keeping various community fish for many years in a very basic setup. I've recently had to buy a new tank (old one is still running at the moment), and am very keen to create a planted aquascape style aquarium. It will need to be relatively low-tech. I've bought a Juwel Rio 125 as this is the largest tank I can fit into the space I have and it seemed like a neat design. I'm planning on running the standard LED lights that come with the tank, at least initially.
Much has changed since I started out. Substrates have got me particularly bamboozled....
I currently have a relatively course grained standard inert gravel in my existing old setup, as I used to run an undergravel filter years ago. I am tempted to buy a bag of Tropica Aquarium Soil and either mix it with my current gravel, or use it as a base layer and put my gravel on top. I'm aware that I will need to go through the initial water changes etc to remove the nutrient spike, but otherwise are there any issues with doing this?
Alternatively I could simply re-use my current gravel and use root tabs. This would be much cheaper but I'm aware that the large grain size might not be best for the plants? Will there be enough nutrients to support growth? I am not planning on growing anything especially fussy, but do want to acheive a lush and fully planted style.
Any substrate advice gratefully received, thank you.
New member here. I've been keeping various community fish for many years in a very basic setup. I've recently had to buy a new tank (old one is still running at the moment), and am very keen to create a planted aquascape style aquarium. It will need to be relatively low-tech. I've bought a Juwel Rio 125 as this is the largest tank I can fit into the space I have and it seemed like a neat design. I'm planning on running the standard LED lights that come with the tank, at least initially.
Much has changed since I started out. Substrates have got me particularly bamboozled....
I currently have a relatively course grained standard inert gravel in my existing old setup, as I used to run an undergravel filter years ago. I am tempted to buy a bag of Tropica Aquarium Soil and either mix it with my current gravel, or use it as a base layer and put my gravel on top. I'm aware that I will need to go through the initial water changes etc to remove the nutrient spike, but otherwise are there any issues with doing this?
Alternatively I could simply re-use my current gravel and use root tabs. This would be much cheaper but I'm aware that the large grain size might not be best for the plants? Will there be enough nutrients to support growth? I am not planning on growing anything especially fussy, but do want to acheive a lush and fully planted style.
Any substrate advice gratefully received, thank you.