Chuckmeister Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Does anyone have any experience on planted substrates?I'm tossing up between laterite with a gravel cap which is the cheap way or something like aquasoil or eco-complete thats gonna cost me a small fortune.I have been reading that the more expensive option is good for clean water, non-clouding and deep beds but its hard to judge from posts on how laterite performs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzFish Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I use ADA and Black Earth, if you can afford them, go for it, you really do get what you pay for .. otherwise look into something called 2toned's DIY Co2 sub on aquariumlife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckmeister Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Thanks AZ, I joined but cant post for some reason.I ended up getting ADA in the end..just waiting on delivery now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Chuck this was an interesting read. http://www.ukaps.org/index.php?page=guide-to-substrates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckmeister Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Thanks Ged, thats a great link.There is an old school plant breeder in perth that sent me this link.This guy took about 15 or 16 different substrates and grew plants under the same conditions. Some of the results are quite amazing in that some of the simpler, cheaper setups can sometimes exceed the pro stuff.Its also amazing that someone went to this effort.I almost went for a setup based on his dinosaur dung results but decided I'd rather go ADA to be safe.Not sure which you guys think was the best grow...its a bit subjective and I'm surprised there was not more debate in the topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Chuck it is hard to tell definitively as there are other variables that should be taken into consideration. Having said that the results are incredible. It it is interesting that the cheaper alternatives did well in the time period of the trial. I wonder if it was over a longer period whether the nutrients of the substrates would be depleted and then start to have a negative impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckmeister Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 fertilizing substrates is something I'm struggling to understand with all of this. Seems every setup is wildly different. I suppose it comes down to watching and feel at the end of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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