Mighty Prawn Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Pretty simple question I suppose. I have a 55 gallon tank using plain black gravel. Will I be able to grow plants in the gravel? I did not put any special layers, just the gravel. Will I have to remove everything and put some kind of layer on the bottom? Switch to sand of some kind? I want more than just plants in my driftwood and lava rock, so it's integral to grow in the substrate. No fish or plants or anything in the tank right now so it wouldn't be a huge problem if I had to start something over. -Hideo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Ram Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 All of my tanks are gravel and all are heavily planted and doing very well. Just make sure you have adequate lighting, add fertilizers (I do it with every water change which is every 7 days) and to start you may want to place some jobe's plant sticks (fern variety) at the base of the plants under the gravel. Make sure the sticks are completely under the gravel to prevent any leeching of phosphates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 I agree with Blue Ram. I've done many a tank with just plain gravel. Just make sure to dose both macro and micro nutrients. If you're using Jobe's Fern spikes, you should be able to get away with just dosing micronutrients in the water column (Flourish, Tropica Master Grow, etc.). If you have lots of light (+2wpg) and are adding CO2, I'd suggest dosing macros in the water column as well. I use the Estimative Index to dose my ferts. 1/4 tsp. each of KNO3 and KH2PO4 every other day. On the off days, I dose micros (20mL Flourish). Then I do a 50% WC at the end of each week. It's working great for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Prawn Posted November 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Awesome, thanks. I am glad I can stick with gravel, I don't wanna delay my tank any longer, already been 2 weeks and didn't even put it up until yesterday! -Hideo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Welcome to the board Mighty! There are many different choices you can go with substrate. You can use plain gravel, ... it will work. Granulation should be around 1-3mm. However, better choice would be to have a layer of kitty litter, Profile, and/or Latterite underneath the gravel. They have a capability of storing nutrients (high CEC) making them available to plant's roots. Some of them are rich in Fe. You can expand further and stick some tab ferts in there, but eventually, if you don't renew the source, every nutrient rich substrate will expire, defaulting to water column fertilization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Also, on this site you can find comparison of different substrate materials. Although it is 6 years old (things change), it is interesting to know ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garhan Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 I agree with all the previous statements. I agree more so with Milan as a substrate that is CEC capable and iron rich will allow you to grow more varieties and much healthier balnts with considerably fewer micro nutient problems in the short term. Again a scheduled fert dosing program designed specifically to your tank is required to maintain healthy growth with minimal algae issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.