What to grow plants in?

[Yorkshire lass]

Hi,

I have been asking various aquarium shops about growing plants and getting very different information.

What do plants grow best in? I want to give them the best chance to grow well. I have been told in one place i need a layer of 'substrate' (what is this?) under my gravel. Another said 'little plant pots in the gravel'. Finally , 'just bung them in the gravel and they feed on fish waste'.

I'm really confused now. I want to set my tank up soon and obvoiusly need to do the gravel base first and plants.

What do you use to get healthy and lush plant growth?

Thanks
Ange

 

[pophead]

first of all, substrate is simply something you put on the bottem of the tank. it could be gravel, dirt, or a number of other things.
the first time I tryed plants didn't turn out too well. I had plain rock substrate, no added fertalizers, no co2, and extreemly low light.

substrate isn't the only thing you should consider when growing plants, there's lighting, water condition, and tank occupants(for some sensative veriaties).

Some plants need rich substrate while others barely need substrate at all. I use flourite in my planted tank(with much success). There are many products on the market that either makes current substrate better, gives substrate an extra layer(like you mentioned), or is for use by itself(like flourite).

happy growing!

 

[Jay]

Hi Ange..

There are probably a zillion pages of information on this forum trying to address your question.

I would start at the top of this forum and read through the stickies on ferts, then the other stickies.

Then I would go to the archives and do some searches on specific questions you may have. This may take you a while but worth the time to prevent frustration or disaster.

Now a specific answer to your question, there are many good plant growing substrates available depending on your asthetic preferences, fertilizing methods, and available finances. I prefer a product by Seachem called Flourite. Do a Google search. I prefer it because it fits into my tank management style, and I like the look and results.

Easy pat answers are not the way without some study and research I think.

 

[phanmc]

Substrate is a layer or surface in which organisms like plants can grow on. Your gravel can be considered a substrate. However, regular gravel and sand have no nutritional minerals for plants. A plant substrate is a gravel that has nutritional value for plants, rich in iron and other trace minerals.

Whether you need a plant substrate depends on the plants you want. Some plants like java fern, anubias, and many stem plants take most of their nutrients from the water so a plant substrate isn't neccessary. Other plants like amazon swords, crypts, and water lillies do better with a rich substrate.

Leaving plants in their pots will allow them to have some nutrients initially but they will eventually exhaust the available nutrients and the roots may be confined by the pot. Allowing the fish waste to feed the plants only account for some of the nutrients that are normally taken by the roots.

Some plant substrates are flourite, onyx sand or gravel, eco-complete, and schultz aquatic soil. You can use them by themselves or mix them with gravel to save money. An alternative to using a plant substrate is to use root fertilizing tablets, I'm not a big fan of these because they can lead to algae problems if disturbed.