# realistic substrate cost for tank size



## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

Are you opposed to root tabs? If not you could spend as little as $8-$16 plus the cost of root tabs. That would be using either pool filter sand or black diamond blasting sand. If you are opposed to root tabs you could go with something like eco complete which sells for around $15 a bag. You would need about 2-3 bags in my opinion. So that option would cost you around $30-$45.


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

You'll have to pardon my newbie ignorance...what's a root tab?


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## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

A little ball of nutrients basically which you push down into the substrate. I personally use oscomote plus root tabs if I am using pool filter sand. That is basically just a gel cap filled with oscomote plus. You can either buy the oscomote plus yourself and buy gel caps on ebay and you will have a lifetime supply. Or you can purchase from one of the members here in the swap n shop or power sellers section for cheap! 

If I want a black substrate I use flourish root tabs as they are black they cost a bit more but they blend in completely with the black sand. You can purchase flourish root tabs at most local fish stores.


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

Thanks for the help.


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## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

No problem!


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## takadi (Dec 13, 2010)

You can spend a little over 10 dollars for a 50 lb bag of turface, which is essentially the same exact thing as flourite. The problem is that it is a little tough to find.


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## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

And it can be a pain in the you know what to plant in! It does however have a few advantages over sand. Such as it will absorb some of the nutrients in the water column.


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## mrchach (Sep 8, 2010)

TactusMortus said:


> If you are opposed to root tabs you could go with something like eco complete which sells for around $15 a bag. You would need about 2-3 bags in my opinion. So that option would cost you around $30-$45.


His current status on root tabs should take no affect into what his substrate is.

First figure out the plants you want, then you will know what substrate options are available to help maximize their potential as well as how much depth is really required. 

You can dose water column with no need for root tabs as long as theirs plenty of water movement in your gravel. Root tabs aren't too horrible anyways. 

If you want something like baby dwarf tear grass you will need a fine substrate top layer in order . While jungle vals won't care either way. Get the idea?

Plants Before Tanks! Its a revolution!


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

For larger tanks, unless you've got money to burn, skip anything marketed for aquariums. +1 on the turface, blasting sand, and pool filter sand. Functionally, turface is the best bet of the three, though probably the most expensive (though, given that we're talking about inexpensive substrates, it's not terribly expensive). PFS is probably the cheapest and easiest to come by (*any* pool shop has it). Check tractor/farm supply companies for the turface. Not sure of a good generic source for blasting sand. Amazon and Evilbay have it, but shipping cost defeats the purpose of going for the cheap stuff.


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## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

mrchach said:


> His current status on root tabs should take no affect into what his substrate is.
> 
> First figure out the plants you want, then you will know what substrate options are available to help maximize their potential as well as how much depth is really required.
> 
> ...


His current status on root tabs is actually very important when it comes to his decision of substrate. Unless he is going with a all fern or anubias tank a fertile substrate in a planted tank is a must. 

You lost me there I mean all of the planted substrates I mentioned would do fine with any plant. From dwarf tears to vals. 

I have personally tried to just dose the water column and not use root tabs. At best you end up with dismal growth. You also end up with unsightly aerial roots coming off of stems. The only reason people sometimes like to stray away from root tabs is simply the fact that you have to insert new ones periodically.

No good reason to use a non nutrient rich substrate. If it is root tabs or just a substrate like aquasoil with the nutrients built in.


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## takadi (Dec 13, 2010)

I capped off my tank that has soil in it with turface and so far it has done extremely well for me. You just have to put a really thick layer on it in order to get the plants to really stay. But the roots grow crazy in it. Pool filter sand is good if you are capping something off but it has no real CEC so I wouldn't consider it an ideal substrate


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## moonshinetheslacker (Sep 13, 2010)

I do mineralized topsoil for EVERYTHING. Very cheap. Then I cap it with play sand from home depot. I also have two bags of different sized gravel from home depot, for anywhere that I want gravel. Topsoil will usually cost less than two dollars per 40lb bag. You could alwas go with the Diana Walstad (spelling?) method as well. She doesn't even mineralize the topsoil, just uses the topsoil, and that's it.

If you look at the mineralized topsoil thread, most people go through a 1 - 3 week process of wetting, and drying the topsoil on a tarp. I just either boil it for half an hour, bake it at 500 degrees for half an hour, or both. It took me a full day to get the soil ready for my 75g, but everything so far is growing like crazy. I had to turn down the lights, because I don't have co2, and my daily doses of liquid carbon isn't quite enough for some of my plants, and they are yellowing. My red tiger lotus is going CRAZY though. I also go with much easier to find additives instead of clay and dolomite. To replace the clay, I use steel wool. And instead of either *muriate of potash* or *dolomite* (don't remember which) I use no-salt.

Once my aquarium is a little more filled in, I'll take some pics of it for you. But in my opinion DIRT is the only way to go.

*spoken by an inexperienced aquarist, so take it as you will*


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## JasonG75 (Mar 1, 2011)

Planted substrate runs 20$ a bag, you will need 3 I am thinking. = 60$


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## JasonG75 (Mar 1, 2011)

kevmo911 said:


> Not sure of a good generic source for blasting sand. Amazon and Evilbay have it, but shipping cost defeats the purpose of going for the cheap stuff.


TractorSupply


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

Thanks everyone! So many options to choose from. I'll keep you
posted.


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

So, my wife is wanting me to get this thing in gear...lol What is the best of the easy substrates to use? I've gotta check my LFS today. I just really don't want the hassle of mixing up the mts.


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## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

The easiest is going to be aquasoil however it is also the most expensive. The cheapest is going to be blasting sand or pool filter sand which is still easy. Just requires the extra step of adding root tabs.


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Since you seem to want to go with "aquarium substrate" rather than a repurposed alternative, I'm gonna suggest Flourite sand (not the original). Pretty cheap, and if you order through DrsF&S, you pay flat rate shipping. Probably not available at a LFS, but you can check. I believe PetSmart sells Flourite and PetCo sells EcoComplete.

Flourite and EcoComplete are both completely inert (I promise - ignore what the bags, or anybody else, says) but have a high capacity for absorption, so any root tabs or nutrients from the water column or mulm will partly be absorbed into the substrate, which is good for root feeders, as well as an insurance policy for when you start forgetting to dose fertilizers.

The reason I suggest Flourite sand, rather than the original, is for the reason mrchach states - plants with very small root structures might have some difficulty with the larger grain size of the regular Flourite.

No matter what you get, though, RINSE VERY WELL, or your tank will be cloudy for a good long time.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

It depends. In my lazy/low tech/do whatever tank I just have Miracle Grow Organic capped with pool filter sand for my crypts. Over time, it's aged and darkened in color compared to the brightness it was originally. Very cheap as well and great for root feeders. Please please please PLEASE do not do what I witnessed a guy do yesterday though and buy 120lbs of gravel....from Petsmart. $17/20lbs x 6 made me cringe when sand is so much cheaper and if you really want the rocks you can just cap it with them...  I wish that more people took the time to research prices and such before a large setup like that (not disrespecting anyone who has done this). My vote goes for sand and root caps/soil for cheapness. Good luck!


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

hmmm...I haven't thought of capping some soil. since they is my first planted tank and I am more than likely going to re-scape it several times, is that still a good option? My wife would probably not like murky water as this is in my office.


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## Doc7 (Apr 7, 2011)

I used 5 bags eco complete on my 36x18 40 breeder to get 2-3 inches of substrate - free shipping from DrsFosterSmith where I also order 2 x Eheim 2217, an inline heater, and some other goodies... Was quite the shipment arriving at the storeroom of my work!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9650 using Tapatalk


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## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

chansman said:


> hmmm...I haven't thought of capping some soil. since they is my first planted tank and I am more than likely going to re-scape it several times, is that still a good option? My wife would probably not like murky water as this is in my office.


The dirty people (people who use dirt in there tanks) . Will try to tell you otherwise but I have done it before and if you are moving stuff around frequently it becomes a huge pain to try and keep your tank from looking very messy.


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## darkestsky (Dec 11, 2008)

I'm going to put my vote in for Turface. It's almost as cheap as potting soil (approx $10 for a 50lb bag) and doesn't look too bad either. It's inert so you'll need to add root tabs or the like to get good growth, and it is very light so you may want to cap it with something. Not as messy as potting soil. Huge CEC capacity so it will store a lot of nutrients.

-Clay


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

I'll have to see what the Turface looks like...you think Tractor Supply would have that?


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## touch of sky (Nov 1, 2011)

I have tried plain aquarium gravel with root tabs, Eco-Complete and pool filter sand with root tabs. My vote goes for pool filter sand. It is inexpensive, it looks good, and it is easy to plant in, and I find that the plants do great in it.


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

Does it matter what kind of plants I'm going to use? My only concern is that this is my fist planted attempt and I almost want to take the brains out of it. But is all that's required is to bury a few tabs...that doesn't take much brains either. ;-)


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## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

chansman said:


> Does it matter what kind of plants I'm going to use? My only concern is that this is my fist planted attempt and I almost want to take the brains out of it. But is all that's required is to bury a few tabs...that doesn't take much brains either. ;-)


That is about it unless you go with something like aquasoil where there is no need for root tabs.


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

Ok, will I need root tabs with eco complete?


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## Doc7 (Apr 7, 2011)

I've only used it for a couple of months. I add root tabs under crypts and other rooted plants (not my rotal etc). From what I understand the eco has a high exchange capability which will help pass water column dosing along to root feeders as well, and also become more "nutrient rich" as time passes and mulm etc accumulates in it.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9650 using Tapatalk


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## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

I would use root tabs.


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

My local TSC has the Black Diamond blasting sand...I'm thinking maybe about mixing it with some Eco-Complete. That sound reasonable?


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## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

No need unless you like the look of eco complete. Just get the sand they both need additional ferts.


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## djscotty (Sep 14, 2010)

Just put substrate in my 36 gallon. I paid 7.99 for a 50lb bag of Black Diamond and two bags of Miracle Grow which was on sale for around $6.00 a bag. Very cheap and looks nice. My 10 gallon substrate I bought at Petsmart for 20.00 for a 13lb bag of eco-complete.


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## m00se (Jan 8, 2011)

chansman said:


> I'll have to see what the Turface looks like...you think Tractor Supply would have that?



+1 for Black Diamond 20/40 blasting sand. Tractor Supply sells it for $8 a 50 lb bag. I just replaced 45 lbs of Flourite with it and I am so far very pleased.

Tractor Supply does not sell Turface. You'll have the best luck finding it at a landscaper or landscape supply company. It's not as easy to find, and of course that's also regionally dependent.


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

One last question before I do the deed this weekend...lol

Should I put anything underneath the blasting sand? Miracle Grow or laterite...or something like that?


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## galabar (Oct 19, 2011)

For Turface, you can use the "FIND A DISTRIBUTOR" for input in the upper right of the link here:

http://www.turface.com/turface-products/infield-conditioners

I got it from a John Deere store in Issaquah, WA. You might check with them in your area.

The 50 lb bag was $20-something.


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## m00se (Jan 8, 2011)

chansman said:


> One last question before I do the deed this weekend...lol
> 
> Should I put anything underneath the blasting sand? Miracle Grow or laterite...or something like that?


I bought a 4.5 lb jug of Osmocote *PLUS* fertilizer and plan to use gelatine capsules to place it near/under my plant roots. I'm waiting on the caps from the guy I bought them from on Ebay. The Osmocote is a polymer coated comprehensive time release fertilizer that's supposed to be pretty good. I had a heck of a time finding it locally - I live in a metropolitan population area of 1.5 million people, and only 2 places had it in stock. It's expensive for terrestrial fertilizer so I guess it's not so popular around here. You can find it easily on Amazon etc.

The gel cap size you want is 00, and from what I've been reading, hold .9 gm Osmocote per cap. Use 5gr (5-6 gel caps)/ square foot.

Good Luck!


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

So you just use blasting sand with the tabs?


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## m00se (Jan 8, 2011)

I also fertilize the water with dry macros (NO3, K2HPO4, K2HSO4) and Flourish Comprehensive. My water is liquid rock so I don't need to add CA or MG.


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## chansman (Oct 25, 2011)

Alright, Got it up and running over the weekend. Black diamond with root tabs. The back sand look amazing! I'll get some pics up soon...my newbie work in progress...lol.

I threw some jungle vals in there to help with the cycling.

swap n shop here i come.


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