I'm so glad you chose regular soil as #1! I was sitting through the whole video thinking, "that's not as good as the Walstad method," until you got to it. I don't know why people waste their money on the expensive, inferior substrates, which aren't even close to the substrate found in most lakes and rivers (whereas soil capped with sand is what I have always found out in the field when studying wetland plant species). I have limited experience with aquariums compared to you, having only set up five proper low-tech planted aquariums, but I am a professional biochemist and amateur botanist, so I spend a lot of time thinking about these topics. And I've also done many experiments with aquatic plants on my own when I was in high school, using soil as a substrate long before I ever heard of other people doing it. If I may, I'd like to leave a few of my own observations for using a soil substrate here, since I think I have a good deal of knowledge on the topic. 1) Any soil works, so long as it's good for terrestrial plants. Conventional soil does contain synthetic fertilizers, but these have never been a problem for me. You can even use soil you dug up from outside, and there's no need to try sterilizing it. If you cap your soil properly with sand (I have a good method for this below), there should be very little leaching of soil. The purpose of the soil is not so much to provide the main substrate for planting but to leach nutrients into the sand layer and provide an extra treat to any plants whose roots reach the soil layer. I have had small aquariums with garden soil and no sand cap before, and the only way I was able to achieve this was by starting out the aquarium as a terrarium (essentially the dry start method, but for a longer time) and then flooding it after the soil was fully anchored in place by plant roots. 2) There is no need to pass the soil through a seive. Just remove obnoxiously large wood pieces by hand, mostly to prevent it from interfering with planting later. Small wood pieces are fine, and will not float to the surface if you cap the soil properly. 3) Use sand, not gravel! I have never seen gravel at the bottom of a body of water that had plants growing in it. I know Cory from Aquarium Co-op, a master aquatic horticulturalist, recommends using gravel, but I do not. I'm not a master aquatic horticuluralist, but I have extensive experience with plants, including research at Harvard Herbarium, field ecology, and home tissue culture. Additionally, the gaps in gravel allow soil nutrients to leach into the water column. 4) When setting up the aquarium, waterlog the soil before putting it in the tank, compress it into a mud pie (really pack it there, the opposite of what you would want for terrestrial plants; aquatic plant roots are already adapted to low-oxygen environments, so this will not adversely affect them), and cap this with wet sand like spreading cream cheese on a bagel. If the soil is peat-heavy and/or wood-heavy, you can quickly waterlog it by wetting it with boiling water. After the soil is completely saturated with water, squeeze any air out. This will prevent the soil from expanding after the tank is set up, which has a tendency to cause the soil to engulf the sand layer, causing wood pieces to float to the surface. 5) You don't have to have a uniform substrate layer, since you're really packing the soil down. You can bank the soil up in places to make gentle slopes, so long as you can keep the sand layer on top of this adequate. In one of my aquariums, 1/4 of the aquarium is essentially bare-bottom with a pile of lava rocks atop a thin layer of aragonite (for hardness, since I keep hard-water species in that tank) filling in this gap in the substrate. I did this to create a subterranean refugium for baby shrimp and fry. It's really cool! In another tank, I have banked up the soil towards the back, using large rocks from my back yard to prevent sand from rolling downhill over time. It has created a dramatic slope that looks amazing. 6) Add Malaysian trumpet snails to every tank. They are little gardeners, working to sweep detritus under the surface of the sand so that you will never have to gravel vac again. 7) Hydrogen sulfide and CO2 gas bubbles will build up in the soil over time, but these are entirely harmless, even if trapped under the aquarium lid in continuous exchange with the water column. I don't know who think they saw their fish or inverts die from getting hit by one of these bubbles. While H2S is very toxic, if you can smell it, it is not concentrated enough to harm anything. Recklessly, I have intentionally cannulated the substrate of my aquarium in order to inhale this gas to bioassay the H2S concentration, and it is very low. The dose makes the poison. Sorry for writing a book under your video. I know it's probably obnoxious, but I hope you will like reading my input. :)
Great tips and thanks for sharing. A lot of times I notice, people don't want to use soil cause it's messy. Using commercial planted substrates is just easier.
Really interesting thank you! I am researching what substrate to use as gravel isn't ideal for plant growth or my corydoras. My plants are struggling to survive, to be blunt. I enjoy land plants but don't know lots about aquatic plants so it's been a learning experience. I've seen a lot of people use soil with sand on top and I want to do it in my next tank so my plants have a chance at living long term. Would a beginner fishkeeper struggle with sand and dirt is what I ask? I thought bag soil would be harmful but you seem to know more about this. The stuff in the bag smells sterile so it should be ok.
Thanks so much for this! What if I already have an established tank with fish in it. I currently have Pool filter sand with new plants I just put in yesterday. Can I just section out and move the existing sand aside, pour the new soil and push pool filter sand over....all while fish are in tank?
Hi Vivian, many thanks for this informative comment. Been considering to use either gravel or sand, and you make it very clear not to use gravel. Would you mind telling me how deep the sand layer should be so as to avoid nutrient leaching?
You are on target. The cap is critical and sand is the preferred cap. All good. For long term systems consider supplementing the soil to provide longer lasting mineral content. As an added benefit developing a food web strengthens the cycling of nutrients allowing for even longer life for the tank. LOVE your content.
Those info panels u put at the bottom just earned you my like a sub at 48 seconds into watching your channel for the first time. Awesome awesome awesome, thank you. Ok, hitting play now
@@TheWaterBox ive been watching a bunch of your videos and ive been looking for a organic potting soil. Its pretty much impossible to find your number 1 soil. So ive been scouring box stores and every one ive found contains perlite i can get close to what is in the organic choice. I cant use it if it contains perlite correct
Oh! That sponsor break😂😂...that was awesome!! I've used soil in my tank with crypts with just half an inch of small gravel over it, didn't suffer crypt melt, didn't lose any fish (they were added the same day)... AND!! it's still going strong 5 years later, as long as you know what you're doing, soil is the way to go!
Another con to using "organic" soil is that it is often enhanced with manure. This wouldn't be bad on it's own, but in my experience this ALWAYS comes with blue green algae outbreaks(Cyanobacteria) and if you're new to planted tanks, it will OVERWHELM YOU! If you are new to planted tanks, DO NOT TAKE THE CHEAP WAY OUT WITH ORGANIC SOIL! DO NOT DO IT! Learn how to maintain a planted tank with gravel or a reputable substrate first.
Most informative quick video I've seen. I like the speed of your talking, the editing so you don't have speech with "uuuuh" in it every sentence and the overlay graphics. Very well done ( I subscribed).
I have used everything on your list as well as others over the past 20 years. I have to say that the most stable/sustainable substrate system I have ever used is 1/3 Flourite Onyx Sand on the bottom and 2/3 Flourite Black on top. Yes it does suck to rinse pre-install... You have to rinse the sand from the top down and stir it thoroughly, overfilling a bucket doesnt do anything for you. The reason I stay with Flourite is because it works as well as any other substrate but its incredibly stable in regards to degradation and rearranging plants.
Potting soil is a great way to go!!! Personally, I don't mind paying the premium for Ada Aquasoil. You don't have to rinse it or cap it. I don't mind the increased water changes the first few weeks due to nh3 leaving.
My big turn off is possibly having to replace it every 12-18 months. I'm not one that likes to rescape often...or ever. I like to get my tank to a good place and leave it alone.
@@conman20000 Because in time active soils like ADA lose their buffering ability and turn to mush therefore becoming ineffective at doing the things you initially bought and paid a lot of money for them to do.
This is probably the best aquascaping info channel on the internet. Thank you so much! I will end up buying a shirt. Do I have to replace fluval stratum ever though?
Hi Thanks! I never used it long enough to do that. I didn't like stratum at all (too light, plants kept uprooting) so I ended up tearing it down and restarting (It was a small tank).
Incredibly re-assuring and informative video, answered every question I had without ever making me feel dumb 😂 Thanks, subbed! Looking forward to checking out your new content!
Best substrate, inert gravel with root tabs or osmocote. No mess moving plants, no ammonia, no bs. Just add liquid ferts and your plants will be as good as any soil substrate. Just look at all the old Dutch masters tanks, theyre all plain gravel and look awesome
Thanks Craig! They pay me tons of money for that spot! I hope you visited their link! If not, please do so, it'll only take a sec! 😜 Thanks for watching! 🙂
I add 3 substrates. I use a soil base layer. Then I cap it with a thick layer of EcoComplete and Fluva Stratum. I think it provides the benefits of all of them. Also, in nature, it is rare in a freshwater system for the substrate to be completely homogenous.
Late to the game but I'm doing my first planted tank and I went with Fluorite. I didn't find cleaning it to be too hard (but I've done sand before...that was tougher). I just poured one bag at a time into a 5 gal bucket, poured in some water and then dug around with my hands. Dump the dirty water and repeat once or twice. After that I didn't really have any trouble and I also made sure to put a plate down when putting water into the tank to keep from disturbing it too much. A little dirtiness but it cleared after a day or so.
Great video as always brother. I'm a Eco Complete man myself. I just like the color and it's all in one and ready to go. Thanks for sharing and for the great advice. Keep doing what you do if it works for you.
Believe it or not; I've been having great success with gravel. I've been growing Rotala Walichii, Bocopa Monieira, Cryprocoryn wentii bronze, Banana lillies with great success, on gravel. The banana lillies are even putting out lilly-pads. I also have plenty of Anubius (nana, cofefolia, and nana petite). I'm very new to this hobby and i could be wrong, but I believe it's the water that plays a big role in plant propagation. The ability of the water column to retain nutrients until the plants absorb them.
also, for bottom dwellers, could you just cap the substrates with sand? I know some people say don't do that but I've heard you can do that and it's fine...
I use tropica in my tanks and have amazing stem growth but to be honest don’t have great succes with carpet plants and getting plants to grow fast and bushy though it doesn’t leach much ammonia and is reliable if I don’t cap it it makes my water cloudy , if I’m honest I wouldn’t say it’s the best just like every substrate it has flaws and pros but I think it’s a really nice substrate and reliable I tried soil and it was a disaster ! All my cherry shrimp died and the ammonia never went
I used tropica sup, can I cap it with tropica soil , it a new tank and still have the white cloud of a new tank ,could it be from the substrate and soil as it has been three weeks
thinking if i can mix fluval with organic soil hmmm🤔like, bottom organic, on top of that fluval... or, fluval bottom, medium organic soil, top sand... just thinking...
I have used Seachem Flourite and several others, fell in love with Denerle and has been using it in all my tanks since. Re-starting a 4-feet tank and then starting another 2 feet tank and will be using Denerle for all.
I'm confused...Fluval Stratum advertises it has nutrients. Anyone know what this is about? Also, EcoComplete says same. Maybe they just don't have enough nutrients or ???
I personally prefer dirt, not just because it's cheaper but tons of nutrients and plants grown crazy, i also have eco complete and i agree with you about the iron factor in it. apart from that eco complete is ok for me.. nothing is perfect all Substrate has PROS and CONS.. it's up to us how we do mentanance..
Good if you use 1.5inches or 2inch , organic soil below bed and top 2inches of Eco-complete, that's ultimate result.I am using 1inch organic soil, 2.5 inch eco-complete.
I have mixed feelings about Miracle gro. I had a lot of problems with water quality for my panda corys. I just started a new tank with Eco-complete & a top layer of ADA Amazonia. I already enjoy aquarium specific substrates over dirt+sand. I haven't had luck with the dirt method. It just takes longer to find a balance & I had a lot of leeching & anaerobic pockets.
Sorry about the Cory's :( I normally wait until the tank cycles out for more than two months. I think maybe that why I usually have better luck. At least that what it seems when I compare notes with some peeps. Sometimes go over 4 months. I'm thinking of trying other non miracle grow soil too. See if I can find something not so punchy. Ada and eco are great combos though!
The Water Box Thanks for the advice! If I do start another dirted tank, I will definitely wait longer before adding my bottom dwellers. My rasboras didn't mind the dirt set-up though & were completely unphased. Interesting how different fish have varied tolerances for dirted setups. Anyways, I still found your video extremely helpful!
Your not supposed to clean it very long. Like 2 seconds with super soft power. I just learned you just rinse off the dust but don’t want to break into the dust/nutritious layer inside each pellet. Dirt clod etc.. At least that’s what I understood in the Seachem Tutorial.. however upon using it for the first time it is no doubt more dusty and apparent in the beginning. it does clear up and starts to look pretty nice with the red however it takes a few water changes. I used the water clarifier and it just settled and carpeted the entire aquarium with red dust.. after cleaning house and dusting the plants off it looks cool. But that red stuff stains everything. I think its better for a deep substrate or even just for a terrarium setup.. not a huge fan but if they clean it up a bit it would be a cool color to have available to use in our scapes..
Amazing review, just the info I needed. I have a question, I think the eco complete suits my need the best , does the eco complete disintegrate after a year or its good for life of aquarium ?! And can you just use eco complete or you need to top layer with gravel or sand ? Thanks a lot mate
As far as I seen personally, Eco-Complete last way longer than a year. I'm not sure why some people have different results. No, you don't need to cap it with anything. That's just a preference thing.
I almost never see content that compares these kinds of substrates across continents. I always see Fluval Stratum vs Eco-Complete vs Seachem Flourite, but it's so hard to find comparisons to ADA Amazonia, UNS Controsoil, and Tropica Aquasoil.
It's hard to set up a bunch of tanks just to compare soils. I compare them based over time and use and since I've used them, I can make a video about them. Like ADA Amazonia and UNS controsoil I can do but I never touched Tropica Aquasoil and don't plan too. It also has to do with most tanks I start now a days uses soil.
If you were to add aqua soil under an existing substrate how would you go about it? I wanted to add it in pockets where there are plants are but don’t want to disturb the tank too much or risk an ammonia spike... When I first started my aquarium I didn’t think I would ever go planted (I was very wrong haha)... love the video and info btw 🙌
Thanks for the info brother! New subscriber here. I kept going back and forth between Fluval Stratum and Eco Complete. I like the idea of not having to change out when the nutrients get depleted. My problem is, I have a high PH out of the tap of 8.2 and a GH of 15. I have never had a problem keeping all types of fish over the years with this water but I am new to the planted tank. I know some substrates lower PH and soften the water. Would this be ideal for my situation? What happens when I do water changes? I would imagine that adding tap water would just throw everything out of whack and everything alive would get stressed. What are your thoughts?
You can always mix the tap with RODI water. That'll lower the PH. How much would depend on the amount of water change you're doing. I'd just grab a container and fill them up at a LFG that sells RODI or even use one of those drinking water dispensers. Use a large wood decoration will help as wood will help soften the water a little. I advise against using chems to lower the PH cause it's temp and can cause swings.
i like organic potting soil, however, i found it to be acidic when using RO/DI water and likes sit around a pH of 6.6, unless I continuously add small amounts carbonate buffer.
Surprised that Tropica substrate system is not in this list. Can you let me know your thoughts on how Tropica soil figures out when compared to the top list?
This is MY list based on what I used. Since I've not used tropica and it's not very easy to get here in Los Angeles (at least not to the places I shop at) nor do I want to "special order" it (Why? I have other great alternatives like Controsoil or just Soil) there's no reason to put it on my list.
I just saw your channel mentioned in another video so I stopped by to check it out👍🏻 I am going to be setting up my first dirted tank, so I need all the advice I can get😀Instead of replacing the organic soil after a few years, why couldn’t you just use root tabs to replenish the nutrients?
You can. No one said you can't :) Here's some more of my videos on setting up a dirted tank: th-cam.com/video/_nkfTAh3I8M/w-d-xo.html and here's a video on how to buy soil for your tank: th-cam.com/video/3yOmQcmk6kQ/w-d-xo.html
Then that two year mark come, instead of replacing the soil could I add root tabs? I’m trying to find the best way to go about soil substrate. On another question could I capp fluval with pool sand?
One thing i’m worried about with dirt is that i want a large hill in the back of my tank kind of retained behind rocks and i don’t want it to break through
Both fluval and eco-complete will last as long as it doesn't break down. They are inert substrates (no active nutrients baked in) so there's no "how long does it last" questions with either of these products.
Can I put Ada basic sand S like a basic first coat ,on top fluorite(or Jbl volcano mineral? Does that have sense? I like fluorite structure, color and I choose them for top coat. Thanks for advice i follow you.
old video but about eco-complete. . . i just switched my entire substrate in a heavily stocked cycled tank. i have over a week had no ammonia spikes or nitrite spikes so I think the bacteria is legit. water has been crystal clear with slowly rising nitrates as would be expected. once again 100% swap with gravel so you would figure it would fail somewhere if it werent legit
In your video, you say that Eco-complete doesn't leach ammonia, but I did an experiment by putting some leftover eco-complete in a tub of tap water and waited 24 hours, my test kit showed ~1.5ppm ammonia, why is it leaching ammonia?
@@shinypoke1234 Then I have NO clue why it would show ammonia. I'll have to double check that if I ever get a new bag. It might be part of the bacteria that helps jump start the cycle of the tank.
Yo, do a review of aqua forest lava soil, it’s small clumps of volcanic rock that is a pleasure to plant in. It does not break down because it is rock however the elements will deplete, I found it perfect after hours of online searching. You guys should check it out! It is quite cheap and looks cool too!
It depends on the substrate you use. Commercial planted substrates can break down over the years but it would be a long time if ever that it would and you would want to change out then. Some people switch out substrates because the substrates that are originally supercharged with nutrients runs out and they decide to just switch it out. Of course you can start usually fertilizer tabs if that does happen but it depends on the person. The supercharged substrates include brands like ADA Aquasoil and contra-soil. This also includes substrates like garden soil.
I've never used it but looking it up it reminds me of a less fertilized ADA aqua soil alternative. You may still have to dose right away when you use it. I don't see why it wouldn't be safe for plecos. Since it lowers PH it's probably great for them. Here's a good thread about it: barrreport.com/threads/up-aqua-soil-an-ada-alternative.11513/
“Next, a word from our sponsors..... I don’t have any”
Is why I subscribed
;)
The Water Box with the organic soil, can you keep it as a bottom layer? Like keep the soil for the base and put some sand on top?
Me too 😆
Hahah same
Same!
I'm so glad you chose regular soil as #1! I was sitting through the whole video thinking, "that's not as good as the Walstad method," until you got to it. I don't know why people waste their money on the expensive, inferior substrates, which aren't even close to the substrate found in most lakes and rivers (whereas soil capped with sand is what I have always found out in the field when studying wetland plant species). I have limited experience with aquariums compared to you, having only set up five proper low-tech planted aquariums, but I am a professional biochemist and amateur botanist, so I spend a lot of time thinking about these topics. And I've also done many experiments with aquatic plants on my own when I was in high school, using soil as a substrate long before I ever heard of other people doing it. If I may, I'd like to leave a few of my own observations for using a soil substrate here, since I think I have a good deal of knowledge on the topic.
1) Any soil works, so long as it's good for terrestrial plants. Conventional soil does contain synthetic fertilizers, but these have never been a problem for me. You can even use soil you dug up from outside, and there's no need to try sterilizing it. If you cap your soil properly with sand (I have a good method for this below), there should be very little leaching of soil. The purpose of the soil is not so much to provide the main substrate for planting but to leach nutrients into the sand layer and provide an extra treat to any plants whose roots reach the soil layer. I have had small aquariums with garden soil and no sand cap before, and the only way I was able to achieve this was by starting out the aquarium as a terrarium (essentially the dry start method, but for a longer time) and then flooding it after the soil was fully anchored in place by plant roots.
2) There is no need to pass the soil through a seive. Just remove obnoxiously large wood pieces by hand, mostly to prevent it from interfering with planting later. Small wood pieces are fine, and will not float to the surface if you cap the soil properly.
3) Use sand, not gravel! I have never seen gravel at the bottom of a body of water that had plants growing in it. I know Cory from Aquarium Co-op, a master aquatic horticulturalist, recommends using gravel, but I do not. I'm not a master aquatic horticuluralist, but I have extensive experience with plants, including research at Harvard Herbarium, field ecology, and home tissue culture. Additionally, the gaps in gravel allow soil nutrients to leach into the water column.
4) When setting up the aquarium, waterlog the soil before putting it in the tank, compress it into a mud pie (really pack it there, the opposite of what you would want for terrestrial plants; aquatic plant roots are already adapted to low-oxygen environments, so this will not adversely affect them), and cap this with wet sand like spreading cream cheese on a bagel. If the soil is peat-heavy and/or wood-heavy, you can quickly waterlog it by wetting it with boiling water. After the soil is completely saturated with water, squeeze any air out. This will prevent the soil from expanding after the tank is set up, which has a tendency to cause the soil to engulf the sand layer, causing wood pieces to float to the surface.
5) You don't have to have a uniform substrate layer, since you're really packing the soil down. You can bank the soil up in places to make gentle slopes, so long as you can keep the sand layer on top of this adequate. In one of my aquariums, 1/4 of the aquarium is essentially bare-bottom with a pile of lava rocks atop a thin layer of aragonite (for hardness, since I keep hard-water species in that tank) filling in this gap in the substrate. I did this to create a subterranean refugium for baby shrimp and fry. It's really cool! In another tank, I have banked up the soil towards the back, using large rocks from my back yard to prevent sand from rolling downhill over time. It has created a dramatic slope that looks amazing.
6) Add Malaysian trumpet snails to every tank. They are little gardeners, working to sweep detritus under the surface of the sand so that you will never have to gravel vac again.
7) Hydrogen sulfide and CO2 gas bubbles will build up in the soil over time, but these are entirely harmless, even if trapped under the aquarium lid in continuous exchange with the water column. I don't know who think they saw their fish or inverts die from getting hit by one of these bubbles. While H2S is very toxic, if you can smell it, it is not concentrated enough to harm anything. Recklessly, I have intentionally cannulated the substrate of my aquarium in order to inhale this gas to bioassay the H2S concentration, and it is very low. The dose makes the poison.
Sorry for writing a book under your video. I know it's probably obnoxious, but I hope you will like reading my input. :)
Great tips and thanks for sharing. A lot of times I notice, people don't want to use soil cause it's messy. Using commercial planted substrates is just easier.
Really interesting thank you! I am researching what substrate to use as gravel isn't ideal for plant growth or my corydoras. My plants are struggling to survive, to be blunt. I enjoy land plants but don't know lots about aquatic plants so it's been a learning experience.
I've seen a lot of people use soil with sand on top and I want to do it in my next tank so my plants have a chance at living long term. Would a beginner fishkeeper struggle with sand and dirt is what I ask?
I thought bag soil would be harmful but you seem to know more about this. The stuff in the bag smells sterile so it should be ok.
Thanks so much for this! What if I already have an established tank with fish in it. I currently have Pool filter sand with new plants I just put in yesterday. Can I just section out and move the existing sand aside, pour the new soil and push pool filter sand over....all while fish are in tank?
Hi Vivian, many thanks for this informative comment. Been considering to use either gravel or sand, and you make it very clear not to use gravel. Would you mind telling me how deep the sand layer should be so as to avoid nutrient leaching?
Hi Vivian, this comment is the light in my research for a substrate to my aquarium, just I have a question, With this method can i have a filtrate?
You are on target. The cap is critical and sand is the preferred cap. All good. For long term systems consider supplementing the soil to provide longer lasting mineral content. As an added benefit developing a food web strengthens the cycling of nutrients allowing for even longer life for the tank. LOVE your content.
Those info panels u put at the bottom just earned you my like a sub at 48 seconds into watching your channel for the first time. Awesome awesome awesome, thank you. Ok, hitting play now
Thanks for subbing! Glad they helped
Finally, someone is entertaining and informative at the same time.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed.
I use eco-complete: I've had great results with it, I just wish they made a smaller, more rounded grain size.
Yeh me too. I think if they did, they'd do very well.
Do you still like it?
@@brooke3140 Yes, very much. For my next tanks, though, I may experiment with plain gravel and root tabs.
@@anthonyragan2696 lol that's what I do now
@@TheWaterBox ive been watching a bunch of your videos and ive been looking for a organic potting soil. Its pretty much impossible to find your number 1 soil. So ive been scouring box stores and every one ive found contains perlite i can get close to what is in the organic choice. I cant use it if it contains perlite correct
You literally give me faith in humanity and great tips on fish care at the same time. Thanks brother, much love 🐟
Good to hear! :)
Such a great sense of humor!
Thanks
Oh! That sponsor break😂😂...that was awesome!! I've used soil in my tank with crypts with just half an inch of small gravel over it, didn't suffer crypt melt, didn't lose any fish (they were added the same day)... AND!! it's still going strong 5 years later, as long as you know what you're doing, soil is the way to go!
that sounds wonderful!
Another con to using "organic" soil is that it is often enhanced with manure. This wouldn't be bad on it's own, but in my experience this ALWAYS comes with blue green algae outbreaks(Cyanobacteria) and if you're new to planted tanks, it will OVERWHELM YOU! If you are new to planted tanks, DO NOT TAKE THE CHEAP WAY OUT WITH ORGANIC SOIL! DO NOT DO IT! Learn how to maintain a planted tank with gravel or a reputable substrate first.
Sensible tip. :)
Most informative quick video I've seen. I like the speed of your talking, the editing so you don't have speech with "uuuuh" in it every sentence and the overlay graphics. Very well done ( I subscribed).
Glad you enjoyed!
As soon as you did the sponsors bit I immediately subscribed
Thanks! :)
I have used everything on your list as well as others over the past 20 years. I have to say that the most stable/sustainable substrate system I have ever used is 1/3 Flourite Onyx Sand on the bottom and 2/3 Flourite Black on top. Yes it does suck to rinse pre-install... You have to rinse the sand from the top down and stir it thoroughly, overfilling a bucket doesnt do anything for you.
The reason I stay with Flourite is because it works as well as any other substrate but its incredibly stable in regards to degradation and rearranging plants.
Perfect! Thanks for sharing your experiences. It'll help others for sure!
i liked and subscribed just because of that sponsor skit. that is hilarious. i felt bad but keep doing you. you'll get there
Haha, glad you liked it!
“Organic Disney land, add another thousand bucks....” Great info and funny! Thanks 😂🙌🏻
Thanks ;)
Your videos have such great info I find myself watching them multiple times!
Glad you like them!
as soon as I saw 'Types: Dude, it's dirt' you got my like XD
haha thanks
That sponsor joke was gold 😂😂😂
Haha glad it made you laugh
Thank you!!!! Excellent content-- precise and to the point! I just bought some Miracle Bro from the link you provided! : )
2 bags of ADA Aqua Soil = 1 Disneyland ticket. Neither is a cheap hobby.
Agreed!
Thanks for this informative video
Glad it was helpful!
I have had ADA Aquasoil going for 9 years in my 75 gallon and it has not broken down. I have been very happy with it
Really? That's awesome. I've never gone beyond a year or year in a half with it without re-doing the tank. Is it still charged with nutrients?
I do add fertilizer tablets periodically around the swordplant and seachem fertilizers after weekly water changes.
Got cha!
Types: dude, it's dirt LOL I'm working on setting up a 75 gallon planted community tank and your channel has been awesome for information!
Glad you liked and I hope it helps. :) Thanks for watching
Potting soil is a great way to go!!! Personally, I don't mind paying the premium for Ada Aquasoil. You don't have to rinse it or cap it. I don't mind the increased water changes the first few weeks due to nh3 leaving.
Agreed! Just not very intuitive for first time users or beginner planted tankers otherwise I would have placed it higher.
My big turn off is possibly having to replace it every 12-18 months. I'm not one that likes to rescape often...or ever. I like to get my tank to a good place and leave it alone.
In that case Seachem is a great choice (rinse the crap outa it) or more affordable eco-complete. Make sure you're dosing and root tabbing for both! :)
@@chadashton7029 why would you have to replace it?
@@conman20000 Because in time active soils like ADA lose their buffering ability and turn to mush therefore becoming ineffective at doing the things you initially bought and paid a lot of money for them to do.
This is probably the best aquascaping info channel on the internet. Thank you so much! I will end up buying a shirt. Do I have to replace fluval stratum ever though?
Hi Thanks! I never used it long enough to do that. I didn't like stratum at all (too light, plants kept uprooting) so I ended up tearing it down and restarting (It was a small tank).
Thank you, that was helpful
Glad it helped Sue
Incredibly re-assuring and informative video, answered every question I had without ever making me feel dumb 😂
Thanks, subbed! Looking forward to checking out your new content!
Glad you liked :) Thanks for watching!
Lmao! I love your sponsor ad! 😂
Why thank you! ;)
Best substrate, inert gravel with root tabs or osmocote. No mess moving plants, no ammonia, no bs. Just add liquid ferts and your plants will be as good as any soil substrate. Just look at all the old Dutch masters tanks, theyre all plain gravel and look awesome
Just found this channel. Finally some sound advice for newbies. Thanks!
Glad to help!
Great comparison of products. Love the pause for your sponsor's! Very funny, nice break in the action.
Thanks Craig! They pay me tons of money for that spot! I hope you visited their link! If not, please do so, it'll only take a sec! 😜 Thanks for watching! 🙂
Organic Disneyland LOl !!! Your vids are awesome
I'm telling ya man!
I add 3 substrates. I use a soil base layer. Then I cap it with a thick layer of EcoComplete and Fluva Stratum. I think it provides the benefits of all of them. Also, in nature, it is rare in a freshwater system for the substrate to be completely homogenous.
ok.
I did the same. I put contra soil brown on bottom gravel in the middle which im regretting.. And then contra soil black on top.
I have been doing soil with eco-complete on top with amazing results
Awesome! Glad to hear it!
This was such a well made video. Great info!
Haha thanks buddy!
Time to make a list :)
👍
Great advice! I too have only used organic soil. Cap it, grow it, love it.
It's great stuff!
Thanks for all the information! switching substrate now!
Any time!
Great video! Haven’t tried organic soil or fluorite yet.
Get to it! :) Thanks for watching bud!
Late to the game but I'm doing my first planted tank and I went with Fluorite. I didn't find cleaning it to be too hard (but I've done sand before...that was tougher). I just poured one bag at a time into a 5 gal bucket, poured in some water and then dug around with my hands. Dump the dirty water and repeat once or twice. After that I didn't really have any trouble and I also made sure to put a plate down when putting water into the tank to keep from disturbing it too much. A little dirtiness but it cleared after a day or so.
Excellent info. Thanks.
You are welcome MFD!
Very informative!! Thank you!
Thanks for watching.
Great video as always brother. I'm a Eco Complete man myself. I just like the color and it's all in one and ready to go. Thanks for sharing and for the great advice. Keep doing what you do if it works for you.
A.C. Aquatics exactly! Go with what works for you!
Woot! Woot! Great info! 🤗
Thanks buddy!
Mate, I love your videos!! This one is the best I’ve seen on substrates!! Thank you.
Thanks man! Glad it helped!
This was such a useful video! Just what I needed.
Glad it was helpful!
I though he said 'poo filter sand' I was confused for a second LOL
HAHA! Cute!
I love this guy
Thanks
Believe it or not; I've been having great success with gravel. I've been growing Rotala Walichii, Bocopa Monieira, Cryprocoryn wentii bronze, Banana lillies with great success, on gravel. The banana lillies are even putting out lilly-pads. I also have plenty of Anubius (nana, cofefolia, and nana petite). I'm very new to this hobby and i could be wrong, but I believe it's the water that plays a big role in plant propagation. The ability of the water column to retain nutrients until the plants absorb them.
Awesome! That's good to hear!
you have some really GREAT tips & advice thank you your channel is VERY helpful.
Thanks! Glad you like it.
Thank you so much for this video!
Glad it was helpful!
Gravel with time-release fertilizer.
👍
I just bought some "Oliver Knott" Aquasoil,...……...and I'm loving it :)
I heard it's good stuff
@@TheWaterBox I can say it's AMAZING!!!.....and I don't see any reviews on it. I'd better make one :)
also, for bottom dwellers, could you just cap the substrates with sand? I know some people say don't do that but I've heard you can do that and it's fine...
Love your videos 👍👍👍👍
Thanks Ian!
Thank you.
You're welcome!
I freaking like this guy!
Thanks!
First time I seen your vids today dropped u a sub
Lots of good info etc
Oooo no tropica
Thanks
how do you replace the amazonia when you have livestock? temporarily house them in a plastic tote? for how long?
Great vid, very informative.
Thanks for watching!
I didn't have problems cleaning it. I made sure it ran clear.
Nice!
What about bb sized natural river gravel? I've used that in the past and plants grew fine.
Should be fine.
I use tropica in my tanks and have amazing stem growth but to be honest don’t have great succes with carpet plants and getting plants to grow fast and bushy though it doesn’t leach much ammonia and is reliable if I don’t cap it it makes my water cloudy , if I’m honest I wouldn’t say it’s the best just like every substrate it has flaws and pros but I think it’s a really nice substrate and reliable I tried soil and it was a disaster ! All my cherry shrimp died and the ammonia never went
Thanks for sharing
Very cool, I have never tried dirt. Getting more and more interested tho
You can do it! :) It's fairly easy. Just go watch my video on how to set up a soil planted tank. :)
I used tropica sup, can I cap it with tropica soil , it a new tank and still have the white cloud of a new tank ,could it be from the substrate and soil as it has been three weeks
Probably from the soil unless you have some kind of bacteria bloom. Is it still cloudy?
I use my akadama for my bonsai trees its hard fired clay same as you get for tanks but alot cheaper and is perfect with neutral ph
Nice! Thanks for watching
thinking if i can mix fluval with organic soil hmmm🤔like, bottom organic, on top of that fluval...
or, fluval bottom, medium organic soil, top sand...
just thinking...
I have used Seachem Flourite and several others, fell in love with Denerle and has been using it in all my tanks since. Re-starting a 4-feet tank and then starting another 2 feet tank and will be using Denerle for all.
Nice!
have you thought about adding some AquaChar to your filter media to keep your water crystal clear?
I'm confused...Fluval Stratum advertises it has nutrients. Anyone know what this is about? Also, EcoComplete says same. Maybe they just don't have enough nutrients or ???
I personally prefer dirt, not just because it's cheaper but tons of nutrients and plants grown crazy, i also have eco complete and i agree with you about the iron factor in it. apart from that eco complete is ok for me.. nothing is perfect all Substrate has PROS and CONS.. it's up to us how we do mentanance..
Very good spot on sentiment! Thank you for sharing!
I made it to the end of the video Undisturbed, so I touch the red subscribe button
Awe, thanks
have you ever tried tropica soil? george farmer swears by it!
No, not yet but I hear good things.
Good if you use 1.5inches or 2inch , organic soil below bed and top 2inches of Eco-complete, that's ultimate result.I am using 1inch organic soil, 2.5 inch eco-complete.
Thanks for the insight.
Awesome video. Is it possible to just add some tabs to the soil to prolong it after it loses its nutrients?
Yes! Of course you can. :)
I have mixed feelings about Miracle gro. I had a lot of problems with water quality for my panda corys. I just started a new tank with Eco-complete & a top layer of ADA Amazonia. I already enjoy aquarium specific substrates over dirt+sand. I haven't had luck with the dirt method. It just takes longer to find a balance & I had a lot of leeching & anaerobic pockets.
Sorry about the Cory's :( I normally wait until the tank cycles out for more than two months. I think maybe that why I usually have better luck. At least that what it seems when I compare notes with some peeps. Sometimes go over 4 months. I'm thinking of trying other non miracle grow soil too. See if I can find something not so punchy. Ada and eco are great combos though!
The Water Box Thanks for the advice! If I do start another dirted tank, I will definitely wait longer before adding my bottom dwellers. My rasboras didn't mind the dirt set-up though & were completely unphased. Interesting how different fish have varied tolerances for dirted setups. Anyways, I still found your video extremely helpful!
Allison I'm glad it helped! Thank for watching!
Your not supposed to clean it very long. Like 2 seconds with super soft power. I just learned you just rinse off the dust but don’t want to break into the dust/nutritious layer inside each pellet. Dirt clod etc.. At least that’s what I understood in the Seachem Tutorial.. however upon using it for the first time it is no doubt more dusty and apparent in the beginning. it does clear up and starts to look pretty nice with the red however it takes a few water changes. I used the water clarifier and it just settled and carpeted the entire aquarium with red dust.. after cleaning house and dusting the plants off it looks cool. But that red stuff stains everything. I think its better for a deep substrate or even just for a terrarium setup.. not a huge fan but if they clean it up a bit it would be a cool color to have available to use in our scapes..
Good to know!
Lmao I used number 1 MGOPM with number 2 Eco Complete for cap. Works like a charm with barely any mess!
Gelums awesome! I dunno why that's funny though!
Amazing review, just the info I needed. I have a question, I think the eco complete suits my need the best , does the eco complete disintegrate after a year or its good for life of aquarium ?! And can you just use eco complete or you need to top layer with gravel or sand ? Thanks a lot mate
As far as I seen personally, Eco-Complete last way longer than a year. I'm not sure why some people have different results. No, you don't need to cap it with anything. That's just a preference thing.
I almost never see content that compares these kinds of substrates across continents. I always see Fluval Stratum vs Eco-Complete vs Seachem Flourite, but it's so hard to find comparisons to ADA Amazonia, UNS Controsoil, and Tropica Aquasoil.
It's hard to set up a bunch of tanks just to compare soils. I compare them based over time and use and since I've used them, I can make a video about them. Like ADA Amazonia and UNS controsoil I can do but I never touched Tropica Aquasoil and don't plan too. It also has to do with most tanks I start now a days uses soil.
have you tried adding AquaChar to your filter media mix to help absorb any ammonia that organic substrates tend to leach into your tanks?
No. I've talked to them at aquashella though but I haven't had the need to use aquachar
If you were to add aqua soil under an existing substrate how would you go about it? I wanted to add it in pockets where there are plants are but don’t want to disturb the tank too much or risk an ammonia spike... When I first started my aquarium I didn’t think I would ever go planted (I was very wrong haha)... love the video and info btw 🙌
Just put the soil in the places you wish to plant and cap it carefully
Thanks for the info brother! New subscriber here. I kept going back and forth between Fluval Stratum and Eco Complete. I like the idea of not having to change out when the nutrients get depleted. My problem is, I have a high PH out of the tap of 8.2 and a GH of 15. I have never had a problem keeping all types of fish over the years with this water but I am new to the planted tank. I know some substrates lower PH and soften the water. Would this be ideal for my situation? What happens when I do water changes? I would imagine that adding tap water would just throw everything out of whack and everything alive would get stressed. What are your thoughts?
You can always mix the tap with RODI water. That'll lower the PH. How much would depend on the amount of water change you're doing. I'd just grab a container and fill them up at a LFG that sells RODI or even use one of those drinking water dispensers. Use a large wood decoration will help as wood will help soften the water a little. I advise against using chems to lower the PH cause it's temp and can cause swings.
i like organic potting soil, however, i found it to be acidic when using RO/DI water and likes sit around a pH of 6.6, unless I continuously add small amounts carbonate buffer.
In any case of using RO/DI you need to boost it anyways.
Surprised that Tropica substrate system is not in this list. Can you let me know your thoughts on how Tropica soil figures out when compared to the top list?
This is MY list based on what I used. Since I've not used tropica and it's not very easy to get here in Los Angeles (at least not to the places I shop at) nor do I want to "special order" it (Why? I have other great alternatives like Controsoil or just Soil) there's no reason to put it on my list.
Some organic potting soils tint the water.
Yes, tannin's is something to expect when using soil.
Thoughts on Controsoil?
From what I heard, works great. I haven't used it yet but will in some future setups.
I just saw your channel mentioned in another video so I stopped by to check it out👍🏻 I am going to be setting up my first dirted tank, so I need all the advice I can get😀Instead of replacing the organic soil after a few years, why couldn’t you just use root tabs to replenish the nutrients?
You can. No one said you can't :) Here's some more of my videos on setting up a dirted tank: th-cam.com/video/_nkfTAh3I8M/w-d-xo.html and here's a video on how to buy soil for your tank: th-cam.com/video/3yOmQcmk6kQ/w-d-xo.html
@@TheWaterBox Thanks! I have already started watching them😆
Then that two year mark come, instead of replacing the soil could I add root tabs?
I’m trying to find the best way to go about soil substrate.
On another question could I capp fluval with pool sand?
Yeh to both questions. Soil will most likely last longer than 2 years though but that was a minimum I stated.
@@TheWaterBox
Thank you so much
One thing i’m worried about with dirt is that i want a large hill in the back of my tank kind of retained behind rocks and i don’t want it to break through
Stuff the cracks with padding/filter floss and large mesh bag filled with lava rocks.
how long will the fluval stratum last 1 year too? how about eco complete
Both fluval and eco-complete will last as long as it doesn't break down. They are inert substrates (no active nutrients baked in) so there's no "how long does it last" questions with either of these products.
Can I put Ada basic sand S like a basic first coat ,on top fluorite(or Jbl volcano mineral? Does that have sense? I like fluorite structure, color and I choose them for top coat. Thanks for advice i follow you.
You can, sure.
old video but about eco-complete. . . i just switched my entire substrate in a heavily stocked cycled tank. i have over a week had no ammonia spikes or nitrite spikes so I think the bacteria is legit. water has been crystal clear with slowly rising nitrates as would be expected. once again 100% swap with gravel so you would figure it would fail somewhere if it werent legit
Your aquarium was already cycled as you said. There shouldn't be any spikes.
How is tropica soil
Works great
What's your opinion on using root tabs?
They work.
In your video, you say that Eco-complete doesn't leach ammonia, but I did an experiment by putting some leftover eco-complete in a tub of tap water and waited 24 hours, my test kit showed ~1.5ppm ammonia, why is it leaching ammonia?
Have you just tested the water itself to see if there's any ammonia in it? Just to rule that out?
@@TheWaterBox Yep, 0ppm ammonia in my water.
@@shinypoke1234 Then I have NO clue why it would show ammonia. I'll have to double check that if I ever get a new bag. It might be part of the bacteria that helps jump start the cycle of the tank.
What’s your favorite brand of organic
The one I used to use they don't sell anymore. But any soil that doesn't have weird stuff in it should work.
Yo, do a review of aqua forest lava soil, it’s small clumps of volcanic rock that is a pleasure to plant in. It does not break down because it is rock however the elements will deplete, I found it perfect after hours of online searching. You guys should check it out! It is quite cheap and looks cool too!
Maybe. will have to look it up. Thanks for the suggestion
Do we have to replace the substrate? Because in some point the plants will consume it all right? I'm confused. 😕
It depends on the substrate you use. Commercial planted substrates can break down over the years but it would be a long time if ever that it would and you would want to change out then.
Some people switch out substrates because the substrates that are originally supercharged with nutrients runs out and they decide to just switch it out. Of course you can start usually fertilizer tabs if that does happen but it depends on the person. The supercharged substrates include brands like ADA Aquasoil and contra-soil. This also includes substrates like garden soil.
@@TheWaterBox Thanks for the reply. 👍
@@3KTH-camrKaran np
How is cay soil?
It works.
my happiest tank is the I used normal organic substrate it it
YAY! Good to hear it
what do you think about a UP AQUA Sand ? is it worth buying ? also is it safe for plecos ?
I've never used it but looking it up it reminds me of a less fertilized ADA aqua soil alternative. You may still have to dose right away when you use it. I don't see why it wouldn't be safe for plecos. Since it lowers PH it's probably great for them. Here's a good thread about it: barrreport.com/threads/up-aqua-soil-an-ada-alternative.11513/
thank you
Welcome!