# possibility of planted trays with substrate on multiple levels of tank



## Puffersrule (Dec 26, 2018)

Howdy. I have a 24" high tank and I'm trying to keep some high difficulty stuff alive. I have the co2 and nutrients functioning at a level i'm happy with but i can't seem to get the lower stems to stay alive. So i was wondering if anyone has any experience in mounting i guess what you'd call a trough with substrate in it and plants that are up off the bottom of the tank. I know about the 'shelve's' for epiphytes and moss but i am focusing on some stem plants. I have lots of rock hills that i could easily zap strap some kind of plastic tray from the dollar store to about 12" off the bottom of the tank. then i could fill it with substrate and move my plants closer to the lights. (I can't do anything about the lights, i'm running 3 x fluval 3.0 and i'm not spending more money right now)

Is there anyone that can comment on whether this is a decent idea? I do not want to build up hills even with eggcrate etc.

thanks for reading.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

I’ve never done it, but as long as the substrate in said troughs was at least 1-1/2” deep (for rooting purposes) it should work. As long as the flow is good around the troughs, it should technically work (although it may not look pretty).

Best regards,

Stuart


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## Puffersrule (Dec 26, 2018)

Cool thanks that essentially what I wanted to hear. I’m hoping if I get some super clear acrylic my black sand will look ok amongst my sieryu stone. It’s worth a try for fun I guess.


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## DBam (Aug 9, 2010)

If you do it show us a before and after pic. I've been curious about doing this same thing at some point to keep plants in the marginal areas of an eartheater tank. Would be cool to see it work.


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

I have several of those glass decorative cubes with 1 inch of soil capped off with 2 inches of sand, then planted with Crypts. Some are raised, and it has been fine for three or more years.


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