Hi there... I am basically 3 days now into the hobby which is when I went out and bought my 31 gallon tank, just under a month if you count putting a couple bettas into their own little 3L tanks.
My intention is to start up a planted tank and I have been doing a bit of reading through various forums and wanted some opinions on some substrates and setup that would be appropriate for the tank. Here was my thought process which has ebbed and flowed as much as the water that will soon be in my tank (hopefully)..
My initial thinking was to get Fluorite Black for the entire tank but the cost and the quantity I would need is kinda preventing me from going this route. I then moved to thinking about mixing 50/50 Fluorite Black with regular black gravel either mixed in with the Fluorite or layered over top. Then I read some things about Fluorite possibly being a bit harsh for Corys which I am planning on getting. Sooo... I then moved to thinking about Fluorite Black Sand and mixing this 50/50 with some other black sand... then I thought... the black would be pretty harsh... maybe a mix of 50/50 Fluorite Black and Home Depot Play Sand would look better. I have since thought about just using the play sand. I just cant make up my mind....
Anyways, my questions are as follows:
1) what are your opinions / implications about a planted tank with sand? read that some plants will be limited as the sand compacts ( considering Malaysian Trumpet snails to possibly overcome that limitation). I will be doing mostly low light plants such as swords, vals, java ferns, anubias etc.. since I dont have the best lighting on the canopy from the kit. (2 x 20W T8 6700K Life Glo tubes)
2) with a completely planted sand (or gravel) tank, does one just gravel vacuum it to keep it clean or will the various wastes and garbage be absorbed by the plants and grabbed by the filtration? Anything I should be concerned about vacuuming sand? I imagine vacuuming a mature tank is gonna be quite a chore with all the plants everywhere.
3) Fluorite-- is it really that beneficial? I have heard some people say they have tried it with no discernable difference in growth between a normal gravel substrate and a regular gravel substrate where dosing with fertilizers is required and that big gains really only come from CO2. Also how much stuff is stirred up with it after its been in the tank for a period of time? Heard corys like to play in sand...
4) Aesthetically... How does Fluorite Black or Fluorite Black sand look in your tanks? Do you think mixing black sand with play sand would look good (whether it is either Fluorite or non Fluorite)? How about Fluorite Black and Fluorite Dark together? HD play sand?
5) Under gravel /substrate heating - anyone have opinions on this? Only reason I am thinking about this is that the tank is currently bare and it would be easy to put it in now if it was truly beneficial. I have read some articles about it simulating under ground currents that are beneficial but man are some of the articles yawners... I wanna know if it works in practice in the aquarium environ from someone who may have played with it.
Sorry for the short novel... I think this will help me get past the first hurdle of getting something into my tank... a bit boring looking at an empty tank with a blue back ground and a chunk of drift wood. If it helps I am planning (but could change) on stocking with school of Corys, a m/f pair of dwarf gouramis, a couple Lyretail Swords, maybe a tetra school, some cherry shrimp and malaysian trumpet snails and maybe something else that will eat algae. If I can find all of this of course.
looking for help with planted tank substrate decision
in The planted tank
Posted
Hi there... I am basically 3 days now into the hobby which is when I went out and bought my 31 gallon tank, just under a month if you count putting a couple bettas into their own little 3L tanks.
My intention is to start up a planted tank and I have been doing a bit of reading through various forums and wanted some opinions on some substrates and setup that would be appropriate for the tank. Here was my thought process which has ebbed and flowed as much as the water that will soon be in my tank (hopefully)..
My initial thinking was to get Fluorite Black for the entire tank but the cost and the quantity I would need is kinda preventing me from going this route. I then moved to thinking about mixing 50/50 Fluorite Black with regular black gravel either mixed in with the Fluorite or layered over top. Then I read some things about Fluorite possibly being a bit harsh for Corys which I am planning on getting. Sooo... I then moved to thinking about Fluorite Black Sand and mixing this 50/50 with some other black sand... then I thought... the black would be pretty harsh... maybe a mix of 50/50 Fluorite Black and Home Depot Play Sand would look better. I have since thought about just using the play sand. I just cant make up my mind....
Anyways, my questions are as follows:
1) what are your opinions / implications about a planted tank with sand? read that some plants will be limited as the sand compacts ( considering Malaysian Trumpet snails to possibly overcome that limitation). I will be doing mostly low light plants such as swords, vals, java ferns, anubias etc.. since I dont have the best lighting on the canopy from the kit. (2 x 20W T8 6700K Life Glo tubes)
2) with a completely planted sand (or gravel) tank, does one just gravel vacuum it to keep it clean or will the various wastes and garbage be absorbed by the plants and grabbed by the filtration? Anything I should be concerned about vacuuming sand? I imagine vacuuming a mature tank is gonna be quite a chore with all the plants everywhere.
3) Fluorite-- is it really that beneficial? I have heard some people say they have tried it with no discernable difference in growth between a normal gravel substrate and a regular gravel substrate where dosing with fertilizers is required and that big gains really only come from CO2. Also how much stuff is stirred up with it after its been in the tank for a period of time? Heard corys like to play in sand...
4) Aesthetically... How does Fluorite Black or Fluorite Black sand look in your tanks? Do you think mixing black sand with play sand would look good (whether it is either Fluorite or non Fluorite)? How about Fluorite Black and Fluorite Dark together? HD play sand?
5) Under gravel /substrate heating - anyone have opinions on this? Only reason I am thinking about this is that the tank is currently bare and it would be easy to put it in now if it was truly beneficial. I have read some articles about it simulating under ground currents that are beneficial but man are some of the articles yawners... I wanna know if it works in practice in the aquarium environ from someone who may have played with it.
Sorry for the short novel... I think this will help me get past the first hurdle of getting something into my tank... a bit boring looking at an empty tank with a blue back ground and a chunk of drift wood. If it helps I am planning (but could change) on stocking with school of Corys, a m/f pair of dwarf gouramis, a couple Lyretail Swords, maybe a tetra school, some cherry shrimp and malaysian trumpet snails and maybe something else that will eat algae. If I can find all of this of course.
Thanks for any input!