Substrate For Planted Apisto Aquarium

[Robert O'Donnell]

Hi Everyone,

Okay so I gather that a sand top layer substrate is recommended for Apisto's and I see that PFS is the way to go for the type of sand but what I am confused about is what substrate to use under the sand for a planted tank?

I plan on planting rather heavily with low light plants.

Going through all of the threads I am just thoroughly confused, please help.

 

[ChuckinMA]

There are several options for your base layer. For my 75 gallon tank, I used organic dirt which I then capped in a fine gravel. The dirt supports a low tech heavily planted tank and the only issue I had was an initial algae bloom which I attributed to the very nutrient rich water. With algae blooms though, who knows exactly what causes them! If you go this route, make sure the dirt doesn't have any added fertilizers or compounds. I recall both "organic garden soil" and "organic potting soil" were available, and the later had additional ingredients.

The only downsides I can think of at this point are a full tank tear down would be more messy, and if you do a lot of aquascaping involving moving rooted plants there might be more substrate disturbed and temporarily released into the water column.

 

[Robert O'Donnell]

What do you all think of the Caribsea Floramax as the base layer? Will the PFS fall through this product?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
You can just use sand and feed the water column if plant growth ceases. Have a look at <http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/index.php?threads/daphnia.12707/>, pictures at <http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/low-maintainence-long-term-sustrate.14400/>.

cheers Darrel

 

[Robert O'Donnell]

Hey thanks Darrel for the reply.

So what your saying is that plant roots will proliferate in sand, I just need to keep an eye on the growth and add plant nutrients into the water column as necessary. Hmmm interesting! Shows you how much I know at this point, I didn't think plants would thrive with just a sand substrate.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

So what your saying is that plant roots will proliferate in sand, I just need to keep an eye on the growth and add plant nutrients into the water column as necessary.

Yes that's it, although Cryptocoryne spp., Echindorus etc are described as "heavy root feeders", they can quite happily take in nutrients from their leaves. The advantage of a substrate with some CEC is that it holds onto cations like K+ etc., but if you just want plant growth, not necessarily an "aquascape" this isn't so important. If you have a minimum level of nutrients and light, plants will grow.

Have a look at "ApistoBob's" plant pages <http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/Aquarium_plants.php>, I'd recommend the whole web-site.

This is a 100% sand substrate, (the red bits are moler clay cat litter that fell out of some planters).

cheers Darrel

 

[Robert O'Donnell]

Thanks again Darrel you have been a big help.

 

[gerald]

If you dont want to cover the whole tank bottom with soil, you can put the plants in containers or trays (plastic, glass, clay) with soil in the trays and plain sand/gravel in between. Then when you need to split or thin them, you can lift the whole container out and do the messy splitting and repotting on an inverted trash can lid or similar work surface. I use soil from my yard (which is clayey) and sand from local streams.

 

[Robert O'Donnell]

If you dont want to cover the whole tank bottom with soil, you can put the plants in containers or trays (plastic, glass, clay) with soil in the trays and plain sand/gravel in between. Then when you need to split or thin them, you can lift the whole container out and do the messy splitting and repotting on an inverted trash can lid or similar work surface. I use soil from my yard (which is clayey) and sand from local streams.

Yeah that seems like a great method Gerald. I'll give it a try and thanks.

 

[Duffmanj]

I'm using JBL aquabasis topped with a layer of JBL sansibar (river). The tank is still settling in to an extent and this weekend I will be adding more plants.

Most of the aquabasis is at the back of the tank between the rocks, which will be the most heavily planted region. There is no substrate at all in the front half of the tank, yet the plants I have in there/floating seem to be doing well.

 

[Bekateen]

I use simple playground sand, bought at my local Home Depot and washed thoroughly (even though it is pre-washed). I also do not use any dirt substrate but I buy aquarium plant fertilizer sticks that can be hidden under the sand and I also use liquid plant micronutrients (I forget the brands of these two plant fertilizer products). The plants grow great in this setup, establishing full root systems in the sand. Also, my tank has banjo cats and corys, both of which dig a lot in the sand. If you have any digging fish and you have dirt underneath your sand, you can be sure that the fish will mix the layers.