# Substrate question



## Mark (Mar 15, 2012)

I'm wondering if I can layer aquarium gravel over an Ada soil base?

Would cleaning still be simple? And would plants be affected by a heavy top layer?
Or maybe pockets of poisons?

I know this is kinda vague, but I'm kinda stumped

Or.... Would gravel be sufficient with root tabs?


Thanks in advance
Mark


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## DR1V3N (Apr 22, 2010)

Depends on the type of plants you have in mind Mark. Never tried gravel and ADA but have done ADA and sand. The finer substrate will stay or shift to the bottom. If going with easy-moderate plants, gravel and root tabs would be enough. If going with high requirement plants, ADA and gravel would be good.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Will you be injecting CO2? ADA is not required, but it sure makes your life easier. I've used (and am still using sand and gravel) sand, gravel, Florabase, Eco-complete and ADA AS and nothing is easier than ADA if you're injecting CO2. As martialid10t said, it depends on the plants and on your lighting and fishload and a whole lot of other parameters, including what you're trying to do with it. 

For instance, this tank is plain gravel, and currently has no rooted plants because of the plecos, but I was able to grow stems, vals, Swords in the plain Estes gravel. It is CO2 injected though and I dose EI style. And had some root tabs by the Vals and Swords.


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## Mark (Mar 15, 2012)

Thanks guys,

I'm thinking very simple. No CO2, and I'd like to try not to dose.
I have a 2x54w t5ho light, and thinking of running two 6500k bulbs. 

I'd like to try some simple stem plants, wisteria, penny wort, and I really like creeping Jenny.
Along with a couple sword plants.
Also some anibus and moss, but theses don't apply to the question.

I'm going to stock with some small plecos, dwarf chilids and apistos.
I don't want to dose because of the fragility of the chilids.

Maybe a base of Eco-complete? Layer with my smooth gravel and insert some fertilizer tabs?

Thanks again guys, with all the reading I do, I become more confused when my questions turn to the logic of tank maintance.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Is this a Hagen GLO fixture? And the tank is a 75 gallon? That's an awful lot of light with no dosing and no CO2.....


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## Mark (Mar 15, 2012)

It's just a cheap oddysea fixture.

Are you suggesting both, or one or the other?
If I could get away with EI dosing, I'd be more inclined to then CO2.
Is there a product you could suggest?

I'll have to do some research about the whole EI dosing process, I haven't looked into it at all.

So maybe gravel, dosing, and possibly running a single bulb, at least until everything is established, could be a good place to start?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Even the Odyssea puts out a lot of light. What size and how tall is the tank? What do you plan to stock it with? For those plants that you have in your list, a single T5HO in a 75 gallon should be able to grow plenty of plants. I am growing Anubias and Java Fern in a 46 bow with a single T8 powerglo no problems. Growth is slow and there is no algae to speak of. Gravel, just fish, a little GH booster after a water change, maybe a little Excel and you're done, with a single bulb.


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## Mark (Mar 15, 2012)

It's 48x18x18, so it calculates to roughly a little under 70g
But with substrate, wood, and rocks I'm stocking for about 65g

I've got 2 L144s, 2 L134s (picking up tomorrow ) and 2 German blue rams at the moments
I'd also like to add a couple apistogrammas, 2 small schools of 8-10 schooling fish, probably cherry barbs and lemon tetras, and a school of Cory cats. 

Thank you very much for your help.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Mark said:


> It's 48x18x18, so it calculates to roughly a little under 70g
> But with substrate, wood, and rocks I'm stocking for about 65g
> 
> I've got 2 L144s, 2 L134s (picking up tomorrow ) and 2 German blue rams at the moments
> ...


With such a light fish load in the beginning, you might have to dose EI, but if you're doing so many catfish, you may consider just keeping everything off the substrate and using only Java Fern and Anubias and other epiphytes. Coupled with scaped rocks and wood, it'll be easy to clean the substrate. If you're going to do cories though, you may consider using sand as it's a better substrate for them. Here is my 125 gallon done with that concept, although I did it with gravel before I learned more about catfish, and my other catfish tank have even planted substrate (rounded) or sand now. BTW, that's 60 w of LED lighting.










Different view of the same tank. The difference in apparent brightness is the auto-wb my Nikon 5100 is using when it gets light spillage from the LED (first pic):


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

nice tank, whatever your doing works great, 
case closed lol


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