5 Things I Wish I Knew About Substrates for Planted Aquariums
5 Things I Wish I Knew About Substrates for Planted Aquariums
I mostly work with inert (nutrient-free) planted tank substrates, so here’s what I’ve learned so far.
🐟 SUBSCRIBE so you won’t miss my latest video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNoNEF64ijgxK6OSTwdHOFA?sub_confirmation=1
🌿 BECOME A MEMBER for bonus content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNoNEF64ijgxK6OSTwdHOFA/join
🛒 MATERIALS I USED
▶ Easy Root Tabs: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/easy-root-tabs
▶ Coarse black sand: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/imagitarium-black-aquarium-sand
▶ CaribSea Eco-Complete: https://amzn.to/3adYtSb
▶ Seachem Flourite black sand: https://amzn.to/3aggaAD
▶ Aquarium plants: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/live-plants
▶ Plant weights: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/plant-weights
▶ Straight tweezers: https://amzn.to/3tWQW1Z
▶ Angled tweezers: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/planting-tweezers
(As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from the links above. Also, I work for Aquarium Co-Op but do not receive commissions from their links.)
📚 RESOURCES
▶ How to Plant Live Aquarium Plants: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/how-to-plant
▶ How to Set Up a Planted Tank with Sand: https://youtu.be/qHv4urCPtxc
🦐 EXTRAS
▶ Instagram: https://instagram.com/girltalksfish
▶ Merch store: https://teespring.com/stores/girltalksfish
ATTRIBUTION
Music from Epidemic Sound: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/2earpi/ (if you use my referral link, I get 1 month free 😀)
Osmocote root tabs from https://www.ebayshopkorea.com/itm/100-Osmocote-Plus-Root-Tabs-Size-00-15-9-12-Aq/291426684609
Monte carlo attached to stone by MD Fish Tanks from https://youtu.be/leYo0CPNe-g
Monte carlo and kuhli loaches by Aquarium Co-Op from https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/monte-carlo
#girltalksfish #nanofish #plantedaquarium
I mean this… thank you ❤
Great video! You hit all the points I was curious about…. I started a pandemic 45gal planted tank with guidance from good fish store. I did it right with the substrate, cycle, timed light, co2, liquid fertilizer etc. It was amazing until a few months ago where diff types of plants would either flourish or die off. Plants with biggest root system would do best. I’ve stayed steady with maintenance. Im thinking my substrate nutrients are used up?…. Just moved so now I get to relaunch the tank properly. Put all the plants in buckets. Have the fish in a 10gal for now using the same filter. I heavily vacuumed the gravel nefore removal and kept 20gal of the old tank water. Do you think fertilizer tabs would revitalize?
What are those small plants in the middle ?
Great video
What Kind of moss and red plant is that in the tank shot.
How much water would you change everyday? Like 25%?
Thank u for talking about Planting! My plants are always moving around
😎
can i not just use like dirt without any chemicals in it and get natural fertilizers / genuine question
Good tips. I wish i had watched it before i started my 60-gallon cube. Oh well, part of becoming good at something is some failure in the beginning. One thing i did is use mesh bags, and besides being difficult to plant things, I’m not sure it’s going to work tempted to tear it down and start over.I guess I will see. God bless you!
Petco & Petsmart to Expensive to buy Substrate… homedepot the best…
I think one of the issue nowadays is people go with what is easy or pre made but they are not necessarily good for the fish at all like those capsules
all these are chemical
you could simply use dirt from a clean lake and put into your tank ( top it up with sand or gravel which i dont like gravel due to alga )
Organic is best for live animals
do the root tabs that are not diy also contain ammonia?
Thanks for these tips. I experienced them. Great ideas. I see their merits. 🙂
This is a great video. Thanks for the tips!
Would I need to do daily water changes indefinitely? Or just till the cycle is complete?
🥶
hi i have a question so my fish store gave me Scrapper soil from dennerle as my substrate bc it lowers the pH a little and betta’s love that. when i read the back it said not to mix with other substrate and not to put bottom feeders on it, but is that dangerous? I would like to put some algae eaters in to help clean the tank. I don’t know now and i’m worried just lost money and i can’t use it.
Any advice on how to get a mat of riccia to stay down, and together, without weighing it with a huge rock?? I’m regretting buying the mats bigger than my hand of a plant I’ve never used before (but the price was amazing…had to try!)
What about expanded clay pebbles
Thank you for this, I was gifted a 20 gallon tank and putting a game plan together. I’m going to layer the eco sub with a sand on top or eco where I plant only. Way to may options on what to do with a tank but I usually do a tank with what I have on hand. I got some beautiful colorful rocks and stones from Lake Ontario, driftwood from my Cabin lake in Belgrade Lakes, Maine. Rocks were just cleaned and sanitized, driftwood next.
Tooth picks do the job with Monte Carlo as well.
What substrate do you use for your corydora?. There are so many that damage the barbels.
Thanks for this video!
Thank You!
I love your videos ❤ I’m starting with this hobby and it’s been really nice finding girls to follow and learn from ❤
I rinsed the heck out of the clay I got and my tank is STILL orange and very cloudy!!! Do I need to do a mass water change or will it settle?
This is an amazing video- you give your experience and supplement with other experienced fishkeeper’s advice. I had a bit of a disaster on my fiest tankmlast night amd this literally addressed every problem!
My tank is completely tar black since i put the volcanic shrimp type stuff in my tank 🙁
this is bad advice I would not listen to this woman
I remember when you didn’t even want to show your face. Now, you are all over the place. I make my own Root Tabs. Mexican Red Clay and crushed Egg Shells, plus I use Aquarium Coop liquid fertilizers. I still enjoy your vids. I enjoyed watching. Thank you for sharing.
How do you recommend cleaning fluval stratum? I’ve heard horror stories about the dust being kicked up and being a real pain.
awesome video girl!
We went to the river years ago and scope up gravel for my aquariums.
I have used it and reusued it. It works great for plants and fish as that is what is in their natural habitat.
Love these videos. I am learning so much as this is my first time planting live plants. My wife doesn’t like them much but I think they look great! Thanks for making these videos!
I enjoyed your video… it’s nice to see another female in the hobbie! I’ve had high nutrient substrate for some time now with a heavily planted tank and now thinking of putting the nutrient substrate into mesh media bags and then cover with gravel and top up with natural light sand, as MD does in some of his videos. I’m tired of the algae from the nutrients and I dont have time for water changes very often, especially being a large tank (250L). Thanks for validating the high nutrient soil and algae.
Anybody with experience with fluval stratum? The bag says to lightly rinse. Should it be gently rinsed or no? There’s conflicting info everywhere.
Can you please make a video on non planted tanks
My TDS seems to increase really quickly, which I don’t understand because I started using RO water in my tanks.
Invaluable tips, thank you
When you freeze the soil in cubes for adding to an existing tank, do you use dechlorinated water or water from the tank,? Why freeze it? Just to get blocks of it?
Do you find that vacuuming your gravel is necessary? And if so, how do you avoid vacuuming your finer substrates (like if you use sand)?
Hello! I’m starting my first tank soon. I have a few questions… Do you need to use a substrate? Or does it work with putting those pebbles and gravel over? Just a quick question
Can I grow plants in gravel with root tabs and fertilizer?
*Need more planted tank hacks? Check out my whole series of "5 things I wish I knew" about planted aquariums:* https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlBBJ7xBuqub-rl6z7cnGfSp_rUoyGN0U
Possibly the most informative video under 10 minutes ever made 🙌🐠🐟🌱‼️
All i need to know is there soil under your gravel?
Hey I want to get aqua soil for my shrimp tank but it has been running for som time now. Do I still need to do daily water changes?
Don’t fish that burrow need fine sand?
I have never had a problem with increased ammonia after using fert tabs. Perhaps it is the brand I use?! Seachem