substrate advice med-high tech 200l

[krazypara3165]

as above, im looking for advice........ i have it in my head that for my 200l i am going to use organic soil topped off with black gravel for the substrate for my 200l amazon theme aquarium. what is everyones opinions? ive heard sand is tricky to deal with and gravel alone would not be best for the plants. is this a good starting point or do you guys have any other ideas advice?

cheers, Craig.

 

[krazypara3165]

or would an all in one substrate be better? altho ive heard the nutrients in them do not last long....

 

[johnski]

Plain gravel would be fine, as long as you are dosing the water column.

 

[darren636]

sand is perfect for many swords or cryptocorynes, they root very well into it. as long as it is not too deep you should be fine. nutrients get used up, even in a all singing- all dancing substrate. although some substrates soak up these nutrients and make them available to plant root. sand will not do that, clay based substrates will.

 

[foxfish]

If your budget will allow use ADA Amazonia

 

[krazypara3165]

so there wouldn't be a noticeable difference with plant growth if i used soil with a gravel top. and i like sand, but i like changing my tank quite often..... id imagine sand gets pretty messy?