Substrate questions....

[Sprite42]

I noticed in another thread that someone had plants planted in containers sitting on their gravel substrate. The info was to use topsoil with a gravel cover. I have sand substrate in all my tanks. But, I want to add root plants to my 55 and 30 gallon tanks. With all the loaches, they won't leave anything planted. I thought this might be an option for me.

My question is...can you use high grade potting soil that doesn't contain Perlite? If you can, will it foul your tank eventually and have to be replaced? Since I live in end of nowhere, there are not a lot of options for me locally. Do garden centers and/or general hardware/lumber companies have something that would be suitable (pesticide/herbicide free)?

Containers and gravel, I have. I also have a DYI Co2, if I need it. I am looking for the base soil and kinda clueless about it.

One other question....are air stones or bubblers detrimental to plants?

[lotsoffish]

I think your loaches will dig into your pots and the soil will mess up your tank. Fine gravel (not sand just finer gravel) along with a little laterite and maybe a jobe's spike would work great in pots. If you are going to try some iron loving plants add a rusty nail to the pot also.


Air stones and bubblers aerate your co2 out of your water so they are not a great idea to use in a heavily planted tank. On the other hand water movement helps keep detritus from settling into your plants, why not run your aeration periodically? Simply plug in the air pump for an afternoon every few days to create some serious movement in your tank for a few hours.

[KiltyONeal]

I think the potting soil is going to have peat and other debris that will float to the top of your tank and pollute the water. I only use nice heavy top soil. It's almost like clay and it's cheaper than potting soil. You only need one or two tablespoons of it in a small pot.

I do agree with Pete. The loaches may dig into the pots and cloud the water.

You could always experiment with just one container and see what your loaches do. If you do use a container, don't use a clay pot. They're porous and may allow minerals to flow directly into your water. I use plastic containers and they work great.

Here's some water sprite that I planted into a little container almost two weeks ago as an experiment. It rooted very quickly and just took off. It's staying healthy and green.

[Sprite42]

Thank you, folks! I will let you know how this turns out!