What Substrate for a Planted Aquarium? Plants 101

[@AquariumCoop]

*Part 4, Cycling your planted aquarium.* kzbin.info/www/bejne/naa3YnqBf5ydf9E

[@3drhodes]

Aquarium Co-Op I have hard water and I mixed play sand, eco complete and fluorite. It’s just a simple 30 gallon. I dose liquid co2 and flourish. My plants are growing slow but they are growing. I have a 5 watt led light with a 5 watt fluorescent that I use for two hrs after the sun sets and the tank is behind a window. So the daytime it’s 5 watt led plus sunlight at night it’s 5 watt led plus 5 watt fluorescent for two hrs. I have a video on my channel just asking for some criticism. Thanks.

[@Will40th]

Could you update this video, I think hobby has more stuff out now

[@justinian_the_worst]

My man literally said cation like "Caysion". It's Cat-ion as in Cation excha ge capacity- soil scientist

[@Shadowbow1000]

Hi @Aquarium Co-Op, should I be vacuuming my inert gravel in my planted 20g medium light tank? You spoke of the nutrients slowly seeping in to the gravel over time in this video. Thank you for your time!

[@catfishcave379]

Not that I am any kind of expert, but I think this is the best information on substrates I have ever heard/read. I'm going to check out the other plant 101 videos I skipped over.

[@YBZ_GIJOE]

I have been trying to find information on this topic for days now and this has been the most thorough, informative, and comprehensive video I have come across. Thank you for the time and energy you put into your videos.

[@MadCheshireHat]

-_- I'm just frying my brain (and eyes) at this point doing all this research. Every time I come to a conclusion, something changes my mind. Having such a tight budget doesn't help either. I just don't know anymore!

[@lilylol8601]

CheshireKat same!😭

[@ZikryAWafi]

same for me atm

[@brooke3140]

Yep. I bought ecocomplete and in about to cancel my order. What did you settle with?

[@cloudstrife8596]

I think you should just start with not rooted plants as beginners plants so you just use liquid based nutrients

[@vamsikrishna.c6277]

Oh my, to who that has watched this comment Dirted tank for easy plants and good quality ada type soil for lomg term aquascaping tank.... Correct if you have an opinion

[@msboynetskiy]

Play this at 1.5 Speed

[@ijerryg]

Yes he is so slow

[@Don-jl7ml]

hahaahah that's the first thing I did. It's just my personal preference though. Absolutely nothing against him. I usually watch vids at at least 1.25 anyway

[@nickolaifrancisnebab141]

No offense for the guy but thanks for this comment. 😁😁😁

[@Joyadityamusic]

Even the movement of fishes looks more normal at 1.5x

[@deltahomicide9300]

Pro tip

[@DMLOEWER]

I'm cheap, regular old walmart gravel and let the fish poop feed plants. I love that you tie it all back to gardening, it's my other passion besides planted tanks! BTW Dustin was just jealous of your dedication to this hobby. He used to be ALMOST as good.

[@AquariumCoop]

Yep you can definitely build a low tech tank around fish poop ;)

[@TallThingy]

Devin Loewer gross

[@lepidlover0557]

@@TallThingy well, that's nature for ya!!! Lol

[@TallThingy]

ILTD5580 lol

[@-8_8-]

@@TallThingy it's the one tangible free thing we get in this hobby.

[@mirkwoodFaerie]

This channel is like a good physics teacher. It doesn't teaches you what to do, it teaches how to think about aquariums.

[@vishakhab-l6309]

I just cant get over how Amazing your videos are!! So much great information. Youre constantly answering all my qs. Thank you so much!!! 😀😀😀

[@AquariumCoop]

Glad you're finding value in our videos :)

[@Northeastflytier]

Love your videos Cory. I have 6 tanks. 2 of which I have under gravel filtration. 1 of which I used eco and the other regular gravel. Same lighting and dosing. The regular gravel grows like crazy, out preforms the eco. 2 of my other tanks I harvested river sand\gravel. Both of those tanks going on 3 years, out grow the under gravel 2.

[@varayadu1]

Thanks for covering pretty much the entire spectrum, Corey. I knew I could count on you. Cheers. :)

[@christinef317]

Thank you for taking the time to EXPLAIN! I am new to the hobby and I have learned so much from your videos :)

[@AquariumCoop]

+skinsgirl3 glad I could help ya.

[@robertherzog6331]

Is there a good resource out there that has the information about what different aquatic plants need with regard to nutrients and how they are adapted to survive (root versus water column feeders)? You drop some random knowledge about particular plants and their needs and adaptations so I'm just curious where you might recommend an aquarist to go if they want to find out this type of information about a particular plant. Thanks for making these videos!

[@AquariumCoop]

You have to research plants individually unfortunately. No comprehensive guide that I can find :(

[@thepatriotrcchannel8693]

I've done dirt with gravel cap for 6 years now in 7 aquarium's and love it. Never need co2 or anything

[@rahuldoes]

Same here. Red soil from Nagpur. Local nursery guy gave me 3 pots, about 12 litres. 2 kilograms of Fluval soil and 3 litres of Platinum substrate to top it up. My 2x1.6x2 feet aquarium shall be set up tomorrow, after having upgraded from my present 1.5x1x1 planted one.

[@typerexc]

Thanks so much for doing this video. I love sand substrates and have had decent luck with them with low maintenance plants. I'm setting up a new little tank and I've been wondering if I shouldn't switch to soil - but I was struggling with the idea that you outlined here...somewhere down the line, the soil will become depleted and I would be stuck doing a revamp or fertilizing - just about the same as if I had started with non-soil in the first place. I think I'd rather work with the substrate that I really want and make adjustments for its limitations to maintain it for its lifetime, than have a great substrate for a certain window of time that will require similar maintenance down the road. I'm not knocking soil at all, I do think it produces beautiful results, but not sure it's what I want and I'm not as concerned now about just sticking with sand.

[@peazockerdoll522]

I've watched a lot of videos trying to figure this out and this one was very clear for me - Thank you! Subscribed!

[@jccote6059]

Cory, that was great. Since most of the people that want to convert from plastic plant to real plants will have gravel, how about to do a segment specifically on gravel tank growing techniques.

[@MrGEV83]

He did mention in another vid about wanting to do clown puke gravel with all the red blue yellow green pink and whatever other colors there is to prove plants can be grown successfully in there that a high end substrate isn't needed to do a planted tank. May be awhile till this happens though.

[@AquariumCoop]

Yeah, basically any gravel will work. Just read other's comments about how they are having success with normal gravel.

[@aliciacb8284747274]

I really want to see this video, I just got rid of my turtle and I'm ready to start a planted aquarium. My turtle destroyed my last one and I stupidly threw out all the substrate and replaced with gravel. Big mistake that was back when I could afford to spend £100-150 on substrate. A lot of people seem to be biased towards plant substrate but I'm sure there must be a way to do it in gravel

[@ajoyrod]

I live in South Texas. My tap water tests are crazy. Like pH is probably above 7.6 but that's the highest my current test goes, KH is around 8°, & GH is about 15°. So my plants do good with lower lights (LED lights attached to lid on 5 gallon kit & similar), and a basic aqueon liquid fertilizer. I currently only have an Anubis Nana & a money wort. My Anubis is kinda planted in the gravel but just the "roots" are under the surface not deep & it's next to the filter output. I keep reading that it won't grow planted & planting it is bad. However I've had it almost 6 months now & it's twice as big as it was when I got it, growing 1-2 new leaves every couple of weeks. The money wort I just got & it's currently floating.

[@elliesadventures8062]

I’m very new to planted tanks and fish-keeping in general. The some of the plant names are soooo funny. “Dwarf baby tears” 😭😭

[@VernDediccio9021]

Wasn't sure when i started watching it...Turned out pretty good. I've never seen the whole planted thing from this angle. It's like all those Pro knew about it but wasn't sharing it with us...Just my views. I'm glad i subscribed to this channel a while back. Great video guys... Thanks. ; )

[@AquariumCoop]

Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed it.

[@VernDediccio9021]

Just about to finish up watching the series. Thank you for sharing. ; )

[@saeklin]

One thing you can do, and which I plan to try someday, is a gravel substrate but with potted plants buried in the gravel. This would hopefully keep the plants' soil isolated and keep the tank bottom relatively clean. It also makes repositioning the plants fairly simple :P

[@queencannabis2960]

Which liquid fertilizer is best? Pretty new to this. I've got a 10 gallon tank with stem plants, Java Fern, basically plants that only feed from water column. I've also got a male Betta in there to help start the cycling process. Using Fluval Plant and Shrimp Stratum and will eventually add some smooth river rocks for a top layer. I'd like to add some Tetras and Kuhli Loaches in the future as well. Edit: Only 6 days into the cycle with 2 water changes

[@Timb3rWo1f]

Aquarium Co-op easy green best fertilizer ever!

[@makaylaharrison9870]

Thrive!!!!

[@philm1212]

Great stuff! I'm putting together a 120 dirted+plant+discus tank. This is great information I had a 40 gallon years ago and I made every mistake that could possibly be made. This time you guys are arming me with much needed information. Keep the videos coming.

[@IAmMomhousekeeperinhartfordct]

In my whole year of fish hobby, I use gravel... no c.o.2 at all just naturale, I recycle fish poop, which means I just empty 60% water in tank, add clean water, with conditioners and chlorine killers , gallons I leave aside for a week, so when I do clean I add it to tank, and with just that , my plants have grown in nothing but just gravel. No sand, no co2, nothing poop, feeds it.

[@IAmMomhousekeeperinhartfordct]

and a led light. Natural.

[@kimdarby6622]

Hi, i would like to try some natural plants in my tank as I've never done it before... so would like to start of with java fern & java moss as these are quite hardy. would they frive in a graveled aquarium? this was a great talk and made a lot clear about planted aquariums and the many different plants for them. Thanks.

[@donpettit7107]

I thought EcoComplete is lava scoria that is unscreened (except to remove largest particles) and ends up as a coarse substrate filled in with the fines also in the bag.

[@ernie5764]

Great ,We like your videos it has help us so much.....keep it up they are great .THANKS AGAIN Brad

[@stephenmichael1389]

Great video! Thanks

[@fisherchi]

Great information. Does the minerals/fertilizer in substrate dissolve into the water over time?

[@amiefahmi]

Hi, I learned a lot from your video. But I got a question to ask. Can I mix dusted egg shell and iron dust , collected from sand using a magnet, with garden soil to get nutrients rich soil?

[@solveigdrekaskot496]

So, to make sure that I understood that correctly, what you're saying is that if our water is too hard we should *not* be mixing substrates together? Or that we should be?

[@junehansen9749]

i want to hear about pond dirt for garden bassin,.....can it be used to aquariums and why or why not.

[@vishalbhandwalkar4580]

Today i am redoing my dirt tank, the plants were doing very fine in dirt but there's some issue when I introduce fish after 2 weeks the fishes are more likely to have ich and fungus. I had made 2 tanks one was with dirt & other with Ada & medium grain size sand. The sand tank is doing fine, so decided to redo dirted tank with sand ADA are too costly.

[@aaqilian5.085]

great video with a ton of info. Thanks for this, friend!

[@andyblake8540]

square pegs in round holes actually work very well... green peg = good holding power

[@pipeyto7]

What is a good water testing kit? Where should I start my search? The second is probably a better question, so I can assess money

[@lindaarendt496]

Very helpful video; however, I confused in one particular area. As Cory mentioned, in Seattle you have very low ph acidic water. I have well water with a ph of 6.0. I have added your crushed coral both to the filter and mixed with aragonite as substrate. I add Stability to new water before putting in the tank to even up the ph. So my dilemma is, what substrate is best in setting up a new tank? According to what you said in the video, Gray Coast would be a good choice for me with addition of root tabs. Also, keeping the crushed coral. Eco-complete could be a possibility.

[@AquariumCoop]

I would use something to buffer the water if I was setting up a planted tank with that pH. Crushed coral, grey coast etc.

[@ramiquemontique4464]

I see in this video you have goldfish. How do you keep them from eating your plants? I have goldfish myself and they always eat the plants when I put in the tank

[@ickasaraus]

What substrate is best for extremely hard water? What should I combine?

[@YouTubeDoxedMyRealName]

Oddly my fine sand aquariums grow really well. The quickcrete commercial course sand. But I don't an industrial course sand with a similar size rating and the quickcrete feels very fine in comparison. On the flip side my plants don't do well in the courser sand... It doesn't seem to hold the poop or something I feel like it just doesn't cycle well or takes a lot longer to cycle...

[@edreitorres6213]

Ah yes my go-to

[@ratsaremagic]

For some or other reason, I believe every word you say - I really mean that

[@ashleybishop5007]

Can you recommend a substrate for me? What do you need to know? Thank you

[@bobbybuck8564]

Would a mix of gravel and soil work

[@arthurdewith7608]

crushed volcanic rock rich in minerals with nutrient tablets keep phosphorous at low levels what u think is good?

[@bellawxlla6795]

love the background ty for the help!!

[@taniaoro-hahn8639]

Hi Cory. Thanks for a fantastic video. Have you ever tried using Caribsea live substrate? I'm thinking about using it in a new set up. I want to keep cories in this tank but am concerned with anaerobic bacteria. I do want to aquascape it with wood, nanas, ferns and perhaps, dwarf grass and giant hair grass-use root tabs for the last few. Any thoughts or suggestions? love your videos. They really fun and helpful! Thank you!!

[@AquariumCoop]

Which live substrate? most of theirs is saltwater.

[@lisat9707]

Tania Oro-Hahn I use Seachem Stability in my African tank. it's sand bed hadn't been disturbed for 5 years and was 3 to 6 inches deep until recently. no anaerobic bacteria issues but once, used another bacteria supplement once. anaerobic bacteria exploded within 2 days. triple Dosed Stability as soon as I noticed and it was gone on its own in a short period of time. my planted tank is set up with finer sand and in 2 years I haven't had any issues even where there are no rooted plants like under my big chunk of driftwood. hope this helps!

[@mikefarrell5366]

Contradicts himself with Val being a root feeder in the beginning and then puts it in the water column category.

[@carrasquel1978]

Awesome info, Thank you

[@charleslowther6010]

very informative your video. my planted aquarium will hav crypts, vallisneria some java moss and proable ly some sword plants. I also. am going to place some black ranchu goldfish in order to contrast with the red crypts my water is the equivalent of off the chart hard and alkaline water with calciym and magnesium also a photo period of 8 hours how should i go about substrate and or lighting?

[@AquariumCoop]

I'd use low light, and substrate a basic gravel personally.

[@martinmane5523]

thank you so much for this video!

[@xdecker1179]

So I want to do my own planted tank, and I'm wondering about how much it'll cost me to fill a 55 gallon with plants. Also I was the one that commented saying my tank was way to amateur to show, but once I get it planted I think it'll look good enough to show

[@AquariumCoop]

Do you own the light yet? But maybe $200 for plants/ferts odds and ends. another $180 for a light.

[@xdecker1179]

do you think I could like use some plants to grow and put in different spots of the tank? if that makes sense, sort of like how a saltwater tank might "frag" corals? (beginner at freshwater tanks let alone salt, please excuse me if I sound naïve)

[@xdecker1179]

ive got the light that came with the tank, you don't think thatll do it? thank you for your help though seriously

[@fdukes30]

I have gravel in my 55 gallon, but I really want small plants for my shrimp and other fish. Is it possible for the plants to thrive with the gravel or do I need to start over from scratch? P.s. my tank has been running for a month now about 15 fish right now, but I just want a plant that doesn't grow tall but covers alot of the bottom.

[@mgc12892]

This can be so confusing. I guess I'll do a thin layer of volcanic gravel, crushed root tabs and normal gravel on top.

[@marypramilaram2488]

Can cocopeat be used as substrate for plants. With a layer of sand over it to keep it down?

[@emilytan268]

Thank you.

[@IAmNoeyes]

Peat worm castings with crushed egg shells.

[@kimsotus]

Takeaway: Buy a mix of soil or substrate that works with my area provided water. Keeping in mind, soil mineral content, water buffering parameters, feeding characteristic of plants wanted, fertilizer supplementation, lighting, and fish compatibility (so they don't eat the plants).

[@kimsotus]

I thought the gravel substrate was mainly to provide surface area for hosting beneficial bacteria to create a bio filter. Wouldn't the weight and compression of gravel choke out roots of plants? And, for sand substrates, would you need to replenish or add new sand once the minerals are dissolved out?

[@AquariumCoop]

Well gravel works the opposite. While heavy, it has lots of cracks for roots to grow between. Sand on the other hand packs, and is more dense. So when you put 2 inches of sand into your aquarium, the weight will be more than 2 inches of gravel because of all the voids the gravel creates.

[@lisat9707]

Aquarium Co-Op I saw the results of an experiment once. on root growth. you might want to try it. it compared planted substrates. one full sand, one gravel and one that was a mix of the 2. keep in mind it's the surface of the roots that gather nutrients and usually only the finer roots. 1 the sand only one had a nice thick carpet of really fine roots this is ideal. the second was a mix and had a mix of thicker and fine for roots but in a much smaller quantity, and finally the gravel only one had a small area of thick roots and was barely established.

[@fdukes30]

My head exploded...ouch

[@wabajack8250]

So you just mix that in regular gravel?

[@sebastianjungle]

hi, i have common goldfish in my tank wjat is the best gravel for them as i dont want them to eat it and get stuck in them. so what is the best size of geavel to take.

[@AquariumCoop]

Small gravel or sand.

[@wolverinebear5357]

Test your tap water Kh and Gh and then get a TDS meter an a pH meter an go from there when you learn how to use these items you will have already taught yourself what you need about water chemistry. Dont chase the dragon work with what you have. Use deductive an critical thinking

[@heatherclough8233]

Could I do seachem fluorite with eco complete, mixed together? I kind the look of the black fluorite but don’t want to do a layer of soil underneath as I’m a beginner at planted tanks.

[@heatherclough8233]

Like**

[@catedubill4067]

Can you mix dirt and the gravel type?

[@secredeath]

Dont knw but am going to try for red ear slider tank

[@eastsaxon67]

Is there any good step by step plant fish tank set ups you could point me in the right direction of, I would like to get it right or at least best start I can I am very patient so know it won't be over night just want a good start right from the beginning so will be great in the future. I'm looking at about a 3foot tank I think. many many thanks for your time.

[@AquariumCoop]

I can't think of any of the top of my head. This is the rest of the series that covers most basics for planted aquariums. www.aquariumcoop.com/pages/plants-101

[@WanjiJibei]

Dirt works for me probably because I have a lot of minerals in my tap water :/

[@deltahomicide9300]

Does dirt get really messy when you partial clean your tank?

[@kayeighrat9854]

I just got some dirt/sand mix by a stream outside.

[@PerplexiaX]

Well, it's been 2 months... How is it working in your tank?

[@kayeighrat9854]

@@PerplexiaX really well! the plants are thriving from the extra nutrients and the corydoras love digging in it!

[@rebeccadurbin7628]

icame acrossed this video, very helpful. im a beginner in planted tanks. So would it be okay or wise to have a mixtured of srtictly planted and floating plants mixed into 1 tank? or should i just stick to one basic kind? I am looking through your website and i found some dwarf sagittaria and would like to do some moss balls and water sprites in one tank. i will be adding molly fish and dwarf frogs to the tank.

[@rebeccadurbin7628]

p.s. what kind of substrate do you recommend for this mix?

[@AquariumCoop]

You could mix those plants just fine. I find any substrate will grow those plants. If you wanted to be a bit easier, how about some eco complete? or fluval stratum?

[@rebeccadurbin7628]

i'll prolly do eco complete then just make my work easier. i am also switching to a sponge filter, no more back filters. i have seen these installed . if the bubbles make my fish stressed out is there some way to calm down the bubbles?

[@sitnay1]

I feel like I need to be a chemist to do this! I’m fairly new at this and have had my 55 gal tank for about 6 months. Now that it’s established and I have many fish in it (they are all doing very well), I find I should have watched these videos first but didn’t know about them. I didn’t get on KZbin much til now. I recently bought a new light for the tank (a finnex planted plus 24/7 HCL aquarium LED light). Maybe someone can help me....I now want to make my tank a nice planted tank (I only have 2 plants and neither doing great). How do I do this with it already set up and fish in it? I have Eco-complete substrate int the tank, a large piece of wood and various ornaments with hiding places for my fish. I don’t know a lot about all the plants but have read up on some and watched videos. I would like to have some java ferns, Bacopa Carolinians, dwarf Sagittarius, amazon sword, Staurogyne repens and maybe some dwarf baby tears. I am very open to what other suggestions anyone may have. How would I attach a java fern or others like it to the wood or rock that’s already in my tank? Is that possible?

[@ROBDee-ho9lu]

Yes that is possible. Tie the ferns with sewing garn to the rock or wood. I did this myself and the ferns are growing abundantly. So much that in a couple of days I will get a bigger tank coz I don't want to cut my ferns. Take the stone or wood out of the tank, tie the ferns to it and put it in place again. Easy peasy.

[@sitnay1]

Thank you Robert! I will try that. I appreciate your response.

[@ROBDee-ho9lu]

@@sitnay1 YW

[@mvvinds]

Eco Complete Red will it change my water parameters?

[@JesusGotFunk]

i have a tank which has been established for around 8 years now that i want to convert into a planted tank. i stopped cleaning the gravel around 4 years ago. would i be able to use this old gravel that will be full of fish waste as fertiliser with an extra inch or so of new gravel on top for asthetics? would this be effective for growing plants?

[@AquariumCoop]

Well with more gravel on top it may go anaerobic which isn't optimal for plants in theory. I'd just do a gravel vac and then plant personally.

[@JesusGotFunk]

Aquarium Co-Op okay i will probably just remove the old gravel then. thanks for the advise!

[@lexicordova154]

I need help !!!!! I’m trying to grow a carpet and I accidentally bought substrate instead of soil. Will it still work?

[@adinawatson8544]

Soil is a substrate, what did you buy? Gravel, sand, river rocks?

[@lexicordova154]

Adina Watson it says this in the description “Made with a clay-based material, its unique spherical shape maintains its form over time and doesn’t breakdown into compressed soil” the brand is called “Aqueon”

[@lexicordova154]

Adina Watson I’m trying to grow a carpet with the plant Hygrophila, doing the dry method (I’m new to the this, thanks for replying)

[@walterrussell7584]

I could use that whit my lily pads in my pond

[@yoyofargo]

7:50 cation factor, for anyone reading subtitles.

[@dmcepeda]

And I came here expecting simple sand vs gravel

[@hanafi9915]

dmcepeda my kind ... Haha

[@fushumang152]

Gatoraid, it's what plants crave.

[@AquariumCoop]

Welcome to Aquarium Co-Op. I love you.

[@hammylions2569]

It's got electrolytes!?!

[@angelsmyre4647]

Really?? Wow!! So do you just get a cup and put in Gatorade and and a plant?

[@inthego]

@@AquariumCoop you like money? I like money.. we should hang out. maybe get a "starbucks"

[@PerplexiaX]

Great "Idiocracy" reference! LOL :-)

[@the_real_graphic_addict23]

I feel like I just took a class ...u provided so much information . Thank you

[@JohnJohn-hv4ef]

I am learning so much from you. I loved the gardening analogy. You're right, as a gardening hobbyist, I would never plant anything in just one type of soil. But it never occured to me to do the same with aquarium plants.

[@AquariumCoop]

I'm glad, I figure if I put it in enough analogies eventually it'll reach everyone :)

[@the_thicc_kobudai1606]

watch out, Cory's doing algebra.

[@mcvideo2242]

I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like ADA Amazonia. Amazonia is soft and smooth.

[@rocklobster420]

r/prequelmemes

[@jaidenrobinson1021]

Was that a Star Wars reference

[@tr0_0rt]

Nice reference lol

[@brannonwinchester7054]

Sand for corydoras :)

[@walkingintheglory2892]

subbed - learned more in this video about substrates than my entire 2 months of prep for my first planted tank..im HOOKED

[@voluntaryismistheanswer]

Cory is the man.

[@anthonyragan2696]

My experience pretty much matches what you discuss here: my 20-long is planted with Eco-Complete, and far and away the best performer among my plants is the dwarf pygmy chain sword - it's growing like a weed. The stem plants, on the other hand, are struggling with slow growth. At least, they were until I started using Easy Green...

[@AquariumCoop]

+Anthony Ragan yeah sounds like you got a first hand example of root vs water column feeders going on.

[@gretchadkins]

Lol still learning about aquarium plants. I had to google what you said because "pogostemon stellatus octopus" just sounds made up when you say it fast!

[@bencoad8492]

yea try the close captions its even worst lol >_

[@AussieAquatic]

Great discussion Cory. Having some sort of substrate is 80% of growing plants, and you are so right about learning your local water first, and then amending to suit. Big Thumbs Up!

[@prettypumpkin6891]

You are one of my favorite aquarium youtubers... you have such a friendly tone... Thanks for sharing!

[@floydboyrcandmore171]

I have sand substrate and my plants are doing amazing and growing like crazy with root tabs

[@godsreclamation2539]

I have the opposite after 7 months.

[@rajeevsistla7783]

Perfect;y put as always. I had failed miserably in the past on the substrate. Your statement on "everything is centered around water" is certainly an important message for many hobbyist's as well.

[@perjohanaxell9862]

Mixing stuff is a good advice I think. I built my own soil using peat, worm kompost, crouched seeshells, clay and biochar, capped with pool filtersand. It has worked well fore me for two years now. I reasently started experimenting with adding micronutrients. Allso a good way to not run out of nutrients is to clean less and do fewer water charges.

[@thebigfellacole3757]

Eco complete is meant to get more mineral rich the longer it’s in the tank. You’re supposed to dose root tabs and liquid fert for the first 4-6 months and by that time it’s pretty good for the long term. It starts with almost no nutrients, but builds over time.

[@aprilmfr8184]

I was worried I got the wrong thing I got eco complete

[@Rorther]

Don't you often have to trim plants, or remove some organic matter/duckweed, so it's decreasing the minerals?

[@FuriedHearts]

You make the best aquarium videos hands down. Very in depth and comprehensive

[@yerabbit]

Do you have any tips for planting in that loose, clay style substrate? I tried fluval stratum, and it looked amazing and my fish & plants loved it - but i found it tricky to plant in!

[@jacksonblast2440]

I Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on father fishes deep substrate and forever aquarium principles :using minimum 2 inches of soil capped with usually sand like the walstad method Love your videos thank you

[@MrBoondaba]

No biggie, but just in case it matters to you at all, cation is pronounced "cat-i-on" like "cat" (meow) and "ion". Ions can be positively or negatively charged, and are called cations or anions, respectively. The cation exchange capacity of the clay part of a potting mix is a big hullabaloo in the bonsai community. Most of the old masters roll their eyes at substrate discussions (in the bonsai community, not the fish cult) and say things like "I use Akadama because I can get it at the hardware store for $6 a bag. If I lived in Indonesia, I'd use lava rock. Why aren't you studying wiring technique this hard?" (Actual quote from a Japanese master.) Anyway - thanks for all these vids. G/f just carved out the backdrop for our 75gal from layered extruded polystyrene and we're putting the concrete on tomorrow. So...

[@mootsym]

Great tank! Here's my question with substrates: won't the plants eventually use up the nutrients in the special plant substrate, to where root tabs will be necessary? If so, then is there much of a benefit to planted substrate vs. sand+root tabs?

[@Alex-ub8db]

I've seen Cory and others such as diana walstad who swear by over feeding of fish food to fertilise.

[@LADYSILVERWOLF028]

I have extremely hard water, but I keep very hardy black skirt tetras, tiger barbs and albino cory catfish. If I wanted to change to a planted tank. How would a substrate that softens the water affect the fish (it would be a big change)? I have had tropical fish for years, but I never did a planted tank. I want to start with very basic/beginner plants. Thanks for the info. I subscribed 😁

[@mikeyrawz6087]

good video... I don't really mess with seachem substrates too much. for me ADA is heads and tails above the rest. I've used it all and currently have ADA, fluorite, eco complete, one dirted and my wife uses stratum. I have soft water too and have found its pointless to have a substrate do my buffering. I have municipal water and use a 50-50 ro mix using equilibrium to remineralize. ADA imho has it all covered after that. Root tabs are nice in theory but never did much for me. I uses them when my subs. depleted till I have time to start fresh.

[@sarahlogan4721]

My water is super acidic it's like 60 to 80 ppm kh and my plants are having a hard time. What would you reccomend for buffering it. I use eco complete mixed with gravel. I have low lights and med light plants my swords are melting

[@emeraldent]

love the rated "f" for fish nerds! Thank you Cory for all your help and info!

[@aquatictanksbymj9632]

Thanks cory, this really help me to understand my tank

[@AquariumCoop]

Glad to help :)

[@InfamousKiller11]

Longduck Dong how do you go about mixing them? can you perhaps post a link or guide? very interested

[@Mattb843]

Dark Knight MGTOW You've gotten quite a bit of the wrong information. You must be a little confused.

[@--Paws--]

Makes sense in nature, there are seasons that affect the soil, substrate in ponds, streams and many bodies of water. Some also dry up or some rely on the flow of the water to redistribute nutrients. I wonder if Eco Complete will make a good addition to orchid media...

[@AquariumCoop]

+Julius Toledo yeah, I really hope to explore the way I keep aquariums in the coming year.

[@ctsfiddler]

but wouldn't the fish poop rejuvenate the substrate?

[@coffeecup3080]

I have water lettuce and one water hyacinth. I just added aquarium co-op easy green and flora max. I heard flora max is basically the same as eco complete. I was looking for a video from you about soil bc some people say to use just Home Depot soil.

[@ArtbyMagic]

I watched the whole thing and still don’t know what to use

[@KatieDeGo]

It's 3 years later... what did you use??? Lol