# Adding nutrient substrate to existing tank



## karlheinz.falk.5 (Jul 24, 2015)

Why don't you get some anubias and ferns that you can put on the driftwood and the rocks? 
Also if you want to put the substrate in. Just take some tank water and put the substrate in containers with the tank water and freeze it. Then just put it in the tank on the bottom.


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

eco complete is not 'nutrient substrate'

big fish like arowana and large plecos are probs going to rip up anything you put in there anyways


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## ed.junior (Feb 2, 2017)

With less than an inch this is very hard. You have no space to put anything underneath. 

You could ignore your current substrate and just top it with ADA AS. Have no idea which kind of crazy cycles your tank would go through. 

One thing to consider is that you do not need a rich substrate. You could make the substrate thicker by using the same CaribSea stuff (because with less than an inch you cant even hold the plants down) and just dose the water column. It will work just fine.

I would be more concerned about how the fishes will react. Those big fishes could easily destroy all your work.

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## Eric Yan (Feb 28, 2017)

karlheinz.falk.5 said:


> Why don't you get some anubias and ferns that you can put on the driftwood and the rocks?
> Also if you want to put the substrate in. Just take some tank water and put the substrate in containers with the tank water and freeze it. Then just put it in the tank on the bottom.
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910H using Tapatalk


I like your idea of icing the substrate, but the only problem will be it will be a huge piece of ice or I need to make many smaller piece. But that's definitely workable :smile2: Maybe I could use some oven pan to freeze a large but thin layer of substrate.

Bump:


klibs said:


> eco complete is not 'nutrient substrate'
> 
> big fish like arowana and large plecos are probs going to rip up anything you put in there anyways


The arowana is a top swimmer, so likely it will leave my lower plants alone? I'm also thinking about donating my large pleco.

Bump:


ed.junior said:


> With less than an inch this is very hard. You have no space to put anything underneath.
> 
> You could ignore your current substrate and just top it with ADA AS. Have no idea which kind of crazy cycles your tank would go through.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the suggestion. It would be great if nutrient substrate is not "Must have", it will make things easier. What if I only make the lower half of tank planted and leave the top half open swim space for the arowana, will it work? I'm considering to donate my pleco. Sorry for him but it seems he is the biggest challenge for a planted tank so far.


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## karlheinz.falk.5 (Jul 24, 2015)

My extra ada aquasoil i added to one of my tanks. 

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## MtAnimals (May 17, 2015)

Don't even bother with the eco complete.I recently set up a 20 gallon with it,and I can take 2 plants from the same package,and the one I put in my 55 with old inert substrate grows plants better than the new eco-complete! I added DIY root caps to both tanks,both have the same lighting and same ferts added.

The one with mature inert substrate is clearly superior than the new eco.


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## Eric Yan (Feb 28, 2017)

MtAnimals said:


> Don't even bother with the eco complete.I recently set up a 20 gallon with it,and I can take 2 plants from the same package,and the one I put in my 55 with old inert substrate grows plants better than the new eco-complete! I added DIY root caps to both tanks,both have the same lighting and same ferts added.
> 
> The one with mature inert substrate is clearly superior than the new eco.


Would you say root caps + regular substrate will just be sufficient as nutrient substrate?

Bump:


karlheinz.falk.5 said:


> My extra ada aquasoil i added to one of my tanks.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910H using Tapatalk


Did you just top the ADA Aquasoil on the regular substrate?


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## karlheinz.falk.5 (Jul 24, 2015)

Just added ada aquasoil on top of the ada aquasoil to get some hight at the back 

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## MtAnimals (May 17, 2015)

root tabs added to your existing substrate will be as good as eco,maybe better,depending on how much mulm is in it.People used to grow plants in regular gravel for years.add ferts to the water column as well.More substrate depth would be nice if you can though.


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## Eric Yan (Feb 28, 2017)

MtAnimals said:


> root tabs added to your existing substrate will be as good as eco,maybe better,depending on how much mulm is in it.People used to grow plants in regular gravel for years.add ferts to the water column as well.More substrate depth would be nice if you can though.


I will definitely add more substrate. I've some gravel left from my old tank and will sterilize it with bleach and reuse it. If not enough I'll get some more. Any suggestion for root tab?


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## MtAnimals (May 17, 2015)

Eric Yan said:


> I will definitely add more substrate. I've some gravel left from my old tank and will sterilize it with bleach and reuse it. If not enough I'll get some more. Any suggestion for root tab?


From what I've heard,seachem rot tabs work well,though I've never tried them.Cost on them ends up about a dollar per tab.I used osmocote + in size 00 gel caps,make them myself,usually referred to as DIY root tabs.I found my bottle of osmocote at Ace hardware,and the gel caps at the health food store.

you can also freeze the osmocote + into ice cubes and use those to insert into the substrate.


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## Eric Yan (Feb 28, 2017)

MtAnimals said:


> From what I've heard,seachem rot tabs work well,though I've never tried them.Cost on them ends up about a dollar per tab.I used osmocote + in size 00 gel caps,make them myself,usually referred to as DIY root tabs.I found my bottle of osmocote at Ace hardware,and the gel caps at the health food store.
> 
> you can also freeze the osmocote + into ice cubes and use those to insert into the substrate.


That sounds a good idea. I search for the osmocote+ and it's available on Amazon as well. But will it be releasing nutrient too fast because of direct contact of water? and why put them in capsule or ice cube, since they are already slow release. Once the capsule melts then they are in direct contact with water anyway.


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## ed.junior (Feb 2, 2017)

You "need" zero soil or nutrient layer on the substrate to have success. Water column dosing will be enough. 

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## MtAnimals (May 17, 2015)

Eric Yan said:


> That sounds a good idea. I search for the osmocote+ and it's available on Amazon as well. But will it be releasing nutrient too fast because of direct contact of water? and why put them in capsule or ice cube, since they are already slow release. Once the capsule melts then they are in direct contact with water anyway.


The small balls float.the gelcaps or ice cubes are merely a way to get them into the substrate.


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## Eric Yan (Feb 28, 2017)

MtAnimals said:


> The small balls float.the gelcaps or ice cubes are merely a way to get them into the substrate.


I'll try this method for sure. But how often do you replenish the tabs into substrate and how many tabs do you put (one per square inch for example). I know this will also based on your tank size and how dense the plant and what type of plant you have. Could you give me your condition as a reference? Thanks.


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## MtAnimals (May 17, 2015)

Generally I use about 1 gelcap for every 6 square inches.My tanks seem to need to be replenished about every 4-6 months or so.


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## Carpathian (Dec 23, 2016)

This will get you dirted in no time but it takes a bit of prep and quick working. Since you have issues with ammonia ( saw your other thread)it might not be too bad to work in with a 50% WC. I saw DFT do this video a week or so ago. Let's get dirted

If you think this may be too intrusive while your dealing with ammonia issues I would suggest osmocote root tabs, if using high light you need to replenish tabs as early as 1 month, if low to medium then you can stretch them to 4-6 months.


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## Eric Yan (Feb 28, 2017)

Carpathian said:


> This will get you dirted in no time but it takes a bit of prep and quick working. Since you have issues with ammonia ( saw your other thread)it might not be too bad to work in with a 50% WC. I saw DFT do this video a week or so ago. Let's get dirted
> 
> If you think this may be too intrusive while your dealing with ammonia issues I would suggest osmocote root tabs, if using high light you need to replenish tabs as early as 1 month, if low to medium then you can stretch them to 4-6 months.


Thanks for the info. I think I will go with the easier route by just adding more regular substrate and use osmocote+, after my ammonia is back to none. Catching all the fish out and draining out all the water could easily lead to a mess for me. :|


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## Carpathian (Dec 23, 2016)

Eric Yan said:


> Thanks for the info. I think I will go with the easier route by just adding more regular substrate and use osmocote+, after my ammonia is back to none. Catching all the fish out and draining out all the water could easily lead to a mess for me. :|


If you like to change your scape up often then root tabs only will be the the way to go, I have a few dirted tanks with black diamond sand capped and an occasional mystery snail will uproot something and replanting gets a bit dirty.


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