Why You NEED This Substrate | MD Fish Tanks

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If I had to say one reason why most of my tanks do well, it's because of this. I've had catastophic fails before when I've added too many nutrients to the substrate. I'm starting to get to a level now where i'm dialling right in to what works well for me 😊
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[@MDFishTanks]

NEW MERCH CLICK HERE: teespring.com/en-GB/stores/md-fish-tanks If I had to say one reason why most of my tanks do well, it's because of this. I've had catastophic fails before when I've added too many nutrients to the substrate. I'm starting to get to a level now where i'm dialling right in to what works well for me 😊 Equipment (all links affiliate): GOOD BUDGET LIGHT:: US amzn.to/2MDfjk1 UK amzn.to/3iYlfQQ SMALL HANG ON BACK FILTER: US amzn.to/2Mw63OO UK amzn.to/39rx3b5 NANO INTERNAL FILTER: US amzn.to/3oxGBWm UK LED FLOODLIGHTS: US amzn.to/3t6HOHD UK amzn.to/3orIdRv HARDSCAPE AND PLANTS: www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/ CANISTER FILTER: US amzn.to/3iNeVtW UK amzn.to/2Fo774a GOOSENECK CLIP ON LAMP: (similar as product is now discontinued) US amzn.to/2IlwLVA UK amzn.to/2LNat13 MINI WATER PUMP: US amzn.to/2oAmf5y UK amzn.to/2mjHDez TANKS: US amzn.to/2SOocHG UK amzn.to/2SPA24i STRIP LED LIGHT: US (similar) amzn.to/2SNgbm7 UK amzn.to/2Fn9aW1 ASTA LED LIGHT: US amzn.to/3k9EmpY UK amzn.to/3p5XUPY AQUARIUM RACKING: Shelving: US amzn.to/2SrYZ5k UK amzn.to/2GFWKJ2 AIRPUMP (FILTER SYSTEM): US amzn.to/31z8FA9 UK amzn.to/37GIoUa FILTER SPONGES: US amzn.to/3dQLUfM UK amzn.to/3dS2k7K MEDIA BAGS: US amzn.to/34Kaf2N UK amzn.to/3lAj3z1 STAINLESS LILY PIPES: US amzn.to/2FqHpvR UK amzn.to/2RlfrnC BOWL AQUARIUMS: US amzn.to/2M4FwFO Amazo UK: amzn.to/2Vx73CL HARDSCAPE AND PLANTS: www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/

[@Stevenhy00]

I always thought it was because you were just doing whatever Foo does.

[@Mill_O]

7:40 Oh god that fish is so sweet 😭 The way it chases food after being vertical like that is so damn cute

[@angelahoffman119]

The buddha tank is so beautiful and still my favorite

[@nourhanateout7187]

Gorgeous tanks! My question is how do you siphon with this mix of substrate? Does soil get muddy or lift during water changes?

[@XDproductionsXD]

Your tanks are so gorgeous I should just paste a photo over my tank lol. Thanks for the info~

[@benc3214]

Awesome that you’ve done this vid I was going to ask this exact question, only other thing what type of aqua soil or will any aqua soil do?

[@MDFishTanks]

I just use anything I have available :) Some are probably better than others, but for my simple low tech needs, all are good.

[@christopherlutz7223]

MD - great post. The explanation of the substrate is great. Thanks for the energy and effort you put into making these videos! You are very successful in growing all types of plants. You've shown us how "any" light works, and - now the substrate.....what about your magic water? I live in a place with VERY hard water and seem to struggle to grow plants. I'd love to see a video that educates a bit more on water....and what to do when we don't have your magic water. Thanks again.

[@FuriedHearts]

What about pre-soaking the Aqua Soil (or any substrate with high nutrients) in buckets and changing the water out a few times for a week or two before putting it in the tank?

[@elgezouliabdul4973]

Hello Nice aquarium you gave me the chance to learn lot. Please let me know can i put the aqua soil in mesh bags and cover up with gravel and plant the roots feeder plant ? WILL THE ROOT REACH INSIDE MESH BAGS

[@philodendronfam4262]

Youre getting called out by foo the flowerhorn 😬😬😬

[@joshthomas2841]

the weakest accusations I’ve ever seen

[@pembomassive1394]

@@joshthomas2841 Yeah agreed

[@amx1820]

@@joshthomas2841 Joey never do that, or am I missing some videos??

[@sadginger4924]

What’s he saying?

[@TylerOstergaard]

@@joshthomas2841 just go back to the beginning and it’s a carbon copy of foo’s videos

[@SaadFAzam]

Now I don't feel so bad about the mixed up Caribbean sand and fluval stratum substrate I have

[@lightspeed72]

You've been called out by Foo the Flowerhorn. Video was just posted on his channel. He also spoke in his own voice!! Hold my fish water!

[@MrJacoob406]

just saw that and i was suprised

[@cameronadams1125]

Noticed the similarities a while back, can’t say I’m a fan of this channel anymore

[@andafterallhereweare2156]

He's a copycat

[@TylerOstergaard]

getting the pop corn ready :P

[@lightspeed72]

@@MrJacoob406 Yeah, I was very surprised too. Wonder what took Foo so long to call him out. He must have really sat with it and it finally boiled over.

[@tiinaikonen7754]

So do you clean the sand or the bottom in any way? Or just from the top? If you clean the sand from the bottom how the nutrient layer will stay on the very bottom? Thank you

[@MrRoxx17]

Bro, you are so incredibly lucky with your tap water quality. Super healthy diskus in tab water? That is just amazing really jealous on your water. :D

[@MsDragonfire1992]

Love how there was a random plant at the end just floating around like "im freee" 😂

[@flowstate1472]

Will Rams actually pair up later after you get them? I just got a male and a female 2 weeks ago and so far they dont seem to form a couple. They are not occupying a certain spot as their territory either, so I was already sad that they'd probably not mate ever. Anyone know if it could still happen?

[@BlackNoteStudios]

Hold up, hold up! "When I go to my next studio and we've got more floor space, we can go bigger". Patiently waiting....lol. Cheers MD.

[@christopher_scott]

Amazing as always!

[@mikev1294]

What technique are you using these days? I've seen you do this split soil/sand and also bagging aquasoil.

[@tylerclutts5778]

QUESTION, can i bag up eco complete and top with sand??

[@thesilentsheep7573]

Do you need to cap aqua soil? Seen a lot of other peoples videos of people just using aqua soil without anything on top to cap it always thought it causes algae if not capped?

[@fjkhamdan]

Yes another upload. Ur content truly inspires 👍🏻

[@samsaccount7]

Hey! i know this is an older video, but i've been wondering if it's totally okay to have something like a black clay substrate (because I like the look) WITHOUT any substrate that has nutrients in it under it? just purely the clay balls? because the look i'm going for is like fully planted as green as possible, but i'm not sure if i can achieve it that way.

[@bornofhecate4698]

You need to give your plants SOME form of nutrients, and you can get some by dosing the water column but the root system is the most important. You should be able to get away with using root tabs for those if you are just using a decorative gravel, but you might not get the same results as a really nutrient rich soil/substrate underneath.

[@peepslostsheep]

I'm glad you started using pellets for the bottom feeders in the Amazon tank!

[@olivergraham117]

MD , I need your help and advice, I have a 120l tank and can’t keep plants they always die I need to correct advice and help from the best. Wish I could have you to design and send the correct stuff for my tank would be the best Thanks for all your great videos your tanks are unreal

[@bbomb113]

Are the media bags in the description the ones you use for substrate?

[@Kocht86]

Awesome! What gravel do typical you use in your 33/33/33 mixture?

[@aqualife6235]

Does anyone knows what brand of sand he is using? Many thanks

[@martincregg]

The section about why algae grows in low tech tanks i found to be very informative.

[@tinksmith4964]

Ah ok so I’m new to this but what that sounded like was the 33% of everything but the soil should be capped to stop dirt and algae blooms. Just because every time I touch the water the bottom kicks up soooo much soil crap

[@curvingfyre6810]

If you're using a dirt layer, I recommend using as much as 2x cap as soil. That way you can comfortably plant *only* into the cap, without ever getting your tweezers into the dirt layer.

[@carolebraswell982]

Thanks for the tips!

[@craigjenkins2462]

Have you ever used mesh bags to put soil in and then capped with sand?

[@joshcollier5768]

MD you should do a tank that has only red plants! i think you’d kill it!

[@temushin]

Hopefully he wouldn't kill it... why would you say that?!

[@MassachusettsTrainVideos1136]

@@temushin for some reason it means you do well at something i don't understand some english expressions they're dumb

[@DMprodigy]

Hey MD! Your amano shrimp are looking very healthy in all of your tanks and I have to ask you, what do you feed them?

[@amadeusjethro5920]

I have those white cory they are awesome

[@Paul-rp2nz]

Would fluval stratum and tetra active substrate be ok together ?

[@fredverkade1]

How can I have bubbles in my crushed lava underneath the sand? Is this oke?

[@oxon8871]

You use a lot of seiryu stone, but I understand it leeches calcium, raising the ph. How do you compensate for that?

[@bufficliff8978]

Not sure if you'll get this notification, but certain leaves and pine cones release tannins and can combat that. I believe there's also liquid additives that can lower PH

[@danmatthews7341]

MD get yourself a warehouse. By the time all these restrictions are gone we can all come and visit the showroom

[@AnonAtry]

Always thought this, if he opened up somewhere to pay to visit, I'd 100% be there!

[@matthew-ql4uh]

That would be amazing

[@VictoriaLeeCreates]

Thank you for always being so detailed in you're explanation💚💚🤘🤘💚💚🤘🤘💚💚

[@crafty00]

hey there, great video! What do you think about air pumps? I've noticed you don't use them a lot. Any tips and tricks? (I don't know if you've already done a vid about this or got asked before). cheers!

[@1s1T]

Amazing content He made me an amazing fish keeper

[@anthonycahill310]

Looks amazing

[@briann5021]

Damn this hobby really be breaking my bank

[@zaki_1337]

go native species

[@koreographydanceclub]

my LFS said soil nutrition isn’t so important for stem plants as they get this from the soil? Not sure who to beieve

[@pembomassive1394]

they are substrate feeders

[@thombaz]

Everything grows better in aquasoil, from my expirience.

[@casvandegiessen7837]

Nice

[@brooklynbound0]

Wanted to know the brand of the aqua soil though, I haven’t seen any that are that fine. I’m not a big fan of the substrate that looks like little balls. I like this kind because it looks a lot more natural. What brand please 🙏

[@AbelCardia]

Hi MD What is the name of the large plant at the left/bottom at 13m30s... ? Congratulations for all your videos

[@TheUrbanNemophilist]

This video was really helpful. I have a huge algae issue in my tanks currently and looking at all possible solutions to fix it.

[@aquaescaping2597]

Love the amazon build, Md pushing the upload button before he does the school run.👍

[@trevsweb]

thumbnail looked like breakfast cereal. MD fish tanks part of a healthly breakfast

[@MDFishTanks]

breakfast of champions

[@SA-hk8xj]

Been using organic dirt from hardware store, topped with laterite and/or aqua soil. Have a nano (7gallon) low tech, and a 30 gallon high tech with same substrate. Haven’t had any major issues w algae in either tank. Just have to refresh the substrate every 5 years or so as nutrients from substrate run low. The lights ARE the secret. Think of it as a car’s gas pedal. The more light the more gas you are giving your tank. If the nutrients and co2 don’t meet that lights output...u will hv issues. Obviously certain plants prefer the higher lights but may grow fine under lower lights as MD stated. Either way it’s kind of fun to try and balance the systems 👍😎

[@mhoffmeyer7768]

❤️💖😁💕love getting home to a new MD aquarium show....!!!!!!!

[@truthfactreality6814]

Added a low flow nitrate filter using a couple of RODI canisters and tap off main filter outflow with Aquamedic t piece. It will sort the discus tank

[@Diosabudu]

Hi MD!!! Baby Pumpkin! I love her 😻 Have you tried gel food? Many people say that Gel food like Repashy’s Super Gold is a great diet and people say it helps with digestion. I have 9 goldfish including two ranchus and they are doing great with that food. Maybe is worth a try? 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@giancarlobelfrey1932]

Do you have a video of how you set up your Amazon tank? I have a monstera propagating right now & you’ve inspired me to incorporate it in a tank lol

[@bbt9320]

Yo md just wondering how do you move your tanks from one studio to another as I need to aswell?

[@csharpe5787]

You need to check out, Secret History living inside your aquarium. He has just moved house.

[@bbt9320]

@@csharpe5787 ok thankyou

[@gdorfxoxo9657]

Why don't you use air stones? If I can go without air stones and just us3 hang on back filters that would be nice to know lol

[@khawsar1]

Try put your ranchu in a more shallow tank, may help with the swim bladder issue.. Higher depth tank tends to exacerbate swim bladder issues. Only a suggestion..

[@bramkok4832]

Do you reuse aquasoil from old tanks or do you always use new aquasoil?

[@NISchoolRugby]

reuses it

[@justinb845]

So you basically have a compost bin for aquarium soil?

[@MDFishTanks]

exactly :D Don't let anthing go to waste then :)

[@jaydenyoast-gomes5793]

Hey MD Fish Tanks. I just wanted to let you know at 4:31 I think I saw a pond snail just above your nerite snail. Idk if you wanted it in there or not.

[@leonardolopes6390]

What's your overall experience with Plasti Dip since your NO CO2 Dutch Aquascape? Awesome scape btw mate 👏🏻

[@MDFishTanks]

too much faff to be honest, I'd just go with black acrylic on a roller. Scrapes off easy.

[@leonardolopes6390]

@@MDFishTanks thanks for the feedback. Cheers 👍🏻

[@JoeyunderscoreJr]

Best birthday gift ever! Thanks MD

[@vEGan1909]

Happy birthday 🎉

[@andrescott2794]

Will plants grow in aquarium gravel in the tank that you bought wen you get the tank

[@erider7219]

Hi md if you could only have 1 tank which one would it be?

[@papajeffe1521]

Next studio?

[@marcuschoo3518]

Hi MD! I have been following you since your first 'studio' haha! Have always been wanted to ask since then, is there any time limit to how long can we keep those aquasoil+sand+gravel mix in a separate container? Will the nutrients deplete in long run if we are not using it?

[@MDFishTanks]

I've used stuff that's over 6 months old before with good results 👍

[@PeterTPhan]

Nothing using the nutrients, so it'll have a long shelf life. Eco-complete comes in wet bags, so this should be no different.

[@marcuschoo3518]

@@MDFishTanks thank you so much! Appreciate it! Can't wait for more educational and exciting content from you!

[@marcuschoo3518]

@@PeterTPhan pretty make sense! Thanks buddy!

[@ishmeetsingh5592]

That goldfish is bloating Feed it boiled peas after removing its cover Peas help in digestion of food

[@forrestgolic1541]

He did that already and it didn't solve the problem :(

[@junrycalvo]

Did the S.repens melt at first in the hybrid dutch tank?

[@Natquascape]

Nice one mate! I will give this ago and see how I get one. Hope to share your knowledge on my KZbin channel too if that's cool. Cheers MD

[@TobyCreates]

Alternative title to go with thumbnail: *“my FAVORITE cereal (secret recipe!) | MD Fish Tanks”*

[@gabrielharrington7833]

*crunch* *crunch*

[@jimperry4420]

Try feeding her peas. Only the inside part, not the shell. I tried it on mine but it didn’t work. Bladder problems...

[@VinylUnboxings]

How long did you do it for?

[@jimperry4420]

@@VinylUnboxings 4 days.

[@jordanp3736]

Md you should do an umbrella chiclid tank for the tank rack with the apistogrammas and the kribenis tanks

[@haekalazwar7018]

my DIY substrate is a crushed brick, crushed lavarock and garden soil. and i put pearlsand on top.

[@TuanCaCanh]

Nice fish

[@matthew-ql4uh]

Cmon pumcin

[@peacefulaquascaping6039]

I do the same , great job.

[@thegamingsandman9716]

It might be her swim blater. You have to pop it. Look up Catch'em all fishing he shows how to do it

[@pxrdii7780]

Hey MD, are you still getting the newts?

[@loadsotroubleforyou]

He mentioned in a diff vid that he was having trouble getting them, I think he broke down that tank 🤔

[@CarMue1411]

Do you use fertilizers?

[@feralon9570]

Keep treating Pumpkin and let nature do the rest, I had a betta that had swim bladder and it took 3 months before she could even move about the tank. As long as she is eating and pooping you should hopefully see slow progress. Sometimes it takes time for them to heal internally, swim bladder is nasty business. I only feed sinking pellets to my fish that are prone since I had three cases in 9 months with the bettas. I haven't had a single case since I switched to sinking pellet foods. (It avoids air gulping food at the surface)

[@NISchoolRugby]

kelp forest tank MD with twisted vallis? like so he sees

[@NISchoolRugby]

bro i swear the one time i get a comment in at the right time and it gets likes i get no reply haha

[@MDFishTanks]

@@NISchoolRugby haha. Seen it. Yeah interesting idea. I've got a lot of val as well. as ive been experimenting with blue backgrounds, that could work as well. if I google kelp forest, it looks very blue. Interesting...

[@NISchoolRugby]

@@MDFishTanks and kuhli loaches looking like eels in there would look so cool I’ve kinda wanted to do it myself but can’t afford enough plants to properly attempt it

[@SuperHooverdam]

I have the same light as your Buddha and I have hair algae from it as well. I didn’t know hydrogen peroxide would kill my snails and I wiped them all out with spot treating.

[@janmichaeltauro8488]

Niice job.. big fan here from asia .

[@darrenderousse4804]

Great video MD! Although I’m getting slightly annoying seeing your tanks that don’t have co2 growing these stem plants like there’s co2 🤣 I thought maybe my soil isn’t deep enough for the stems then you should the same depth I have in the Dutch style so I’m really annoyed! Guess you just got the touch🤣 hopefully I can grow stems like you one day without co2!!

[@markeeron]

Hello md

[@Ccz345]

ForsenCD problem?

[@bray7197]

mine died after maybe 3 years of baths trying to fix her.

[@LearningsExperienceAquarian]

So nice to look at most of ur fish tanks in a single vid♥️

[@martinicu]

Hi MD . Try to get to be a distributor of the Superfish set up in he USA. it looks like it would be a popular new choice.

[@purnayandas1711]

you should rescape the discus tank

[@mossyart6435]

Dirt with aqua soil =crazy plant growth

[@ThatOneMalaysianGuy]

Or algea farm

[@andybettaofficial4205]

awesome!!!🤩🤩🤩

[@PeterTPhan]

When's part 2 of the Krebensis coming?!

[@kathaleenquinan5943]

I love your Discus

[@rjames4314]

Is it safe to use dirt from outside? If so how do I disinfect it?

[@eva-louisekhalil9639]

Walstad uses garden soil. Please research Walstad method as it’s very detailed.

[@vEGan1909]

I‘ve done it like Diana Walstad. No disinfection. I used organic potting soil. Tank is now 1 year old. Everything great.

[@eva-louisekhalil9639]

@@vEGan1909 me too but RuruScopic is asking about “dirt from outside” which would definitely need to be baked to kill pathogens.

[@vEGan1909]

@@eva-louisekhalil9639 MD did use „dirt“ from his backyard. He „baked“ it in the oven (don‘t tell his wife 😂). There are some videos in his playlist about it.

[@tonyp8762]

Hey MD! I think she is doing the "death wobble". I am not saying she will pass soon but it could be an air bladder issue which is very difficult to resolve without taking the fish from water to perform a piercing if the bladder to let air out. If she is eating, try to give her some minced garlic or soak the food before in garlic water before feeding. I use this technique since a bad bout with ICH and it worked out great, 3 weeks of treatment(food soaked in garlic water everyday once a day) and once a week after forever. Garlic helps assist with a fish's internal performance as a whole, once a week and if it doesn't help, give her the best before it takes her over. God bless and good luck my friend.

[@danielfox6709]

That thumbnail looks like a Sheppards pie

[@potatosquash4204]

MD how’s your axolotl doing?

[@dillondaniels2014]

He rehomed it a while back and gave it to a pro because he felt they could take care of it better.

[@MDFishTanks]

@@dillondaniels2014 not look after it better lol. Pancho had some kind of back leg problem that wasn't impaction (scan showed nothing) so I let a breeder look after him to see if he could diagnose/fix. I've not heard any news...so I think its probably still the same.

[@dillondaniels2014]

@@MDFishTanks yeah that's what I meant. Take care of the leg better and stuff. :) Hope they're doing well