Substrate composition

[17]shawn[17] · 09/27/2019, 07:58 PM

I will be starting a new tank shortly focusing on turtle and shoal grass and I'm looking for some advice on substrate, previously I used a base of kora-lagoon followed with about 4" of oolite and 1" of a reef grade sand. This time I'm looking to do something similar but I'm looking at a base of either EcoComplete, Floramax or another FW substrate. Any thoughts?

Michael Hoaster · 09/27/2019, 11:01 PM

A seagrass tank? Awesome!

I have used EcoComplete. It's kind of neutral, not bringing any nutrients, but the capacity to hold them. I've not used Floramax. Garden soil and dirt from my yard is what I used for my manatee and shoal grasses. They are flourishing. The dirt is under a layer of sand of various grain sizes. If you choose to use dirt or soil, it's a good idea to let it soak in fresh water for a couple months beforehand. When terrestrial soil gets submerged, lots of chemical reactions, microbial activity and other mysterious things happen. So soaking it ahead of time starts you out with more stability.

Best of luck! My thread "Weeds" may be helpful.

Speaker73 · 09/27/2019, 11:37 PM

Perhaps you should try using the soil that people use in freshwater planted tanks. Talking about controsoil, Tropicana soil, ADA aquasoil, etc

These contain actual nutrients that plants with root systems use.

09/27/2019, 07:58 PM	#1
[17]shawn[17] Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brockville Ontario Canada Posts: 844	Substrate composition I will be starting a new tank shortly focusing on turtle and shoal grass and I'm looking for some advice on substrate, previously I used a base of kora-lagoon followed with about 4" of oolite and 1" of a reef grade sand. This time I'm looking to do something similar but I'm looking at a base of either EcoComplete, Floramax or another FW substrate. Any thoughts? __________________ shawn “We will only conserve what we love. We will only love what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught.”

09/27/2019, 11:01 PM	#2
Michael Hoaster Registered Seaweedist Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 5,807	A seagrass tank? Awesome! I have used EcoComplete. It's kind of neutral, not bringing any nutrients, but the capacity to hold them. I've not used Floramax. Garden soil and dirt from my yard is what I used for my manatee and shoal grasses. They are flourishing. The dirt is under a layer of sand of various grain sizes. If you choose to use dirt or soil, it's a good idea to let it soak in fresh water for a couple months beforehand. When terrestrial soil gets submerged, lots of chemical reactions, microbial activity and other mysterious things happen. So soaking it ahead of time starts you out with more stability. Best of luck! My thread "Weeds" may be helpful. __________________ As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance, our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018

09/27/2019, 11:37 PM	#3
Speaker73 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 543	Perhaps you should try using the soil that people use in freshwater planted tanks. Talking about controsoil, Tropicana soil, ADA aquasoil, etc These contain actual nutrients that plants with root systems use.