# Thoughts on AquariumPlants.com's own Substrate?



## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Costs more per gallon than aquasoil, but the shipping for the AS will make the total price higher.

Apparently the aquariumplants.com stuff is pretty much the same as soilmaster select/turface, which is super cheap.


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

It sort of sounds expensive, given the pricing on the site...


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## bradac56 (Feb 18, 2008)

I agree it would be better to buy your substrate locally if you can as the price will be far better. I'd look at SMS or Turface as they have the best CEC rating out of most of the substrates commonly used if you can't find it then PFS would be cheaper tho not quite as good a CEC rating or even Eco for Flourite for that matter.

Anything in the 1mm to 3mm range will work well as a substrate so it comes down to the price and what you like looking at best. The more important thing is to decide what type of lighting (low/med/hi) and fertilizer your going to use. I'd recommend some sort of water column ferts no matter what type of lighting.

- Brad


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## EdwardN (Nov 7, 2008)

*And the winner is TURFACE!!!!*

Soaked in the usual water column fertilizers before placed in a tank, Turface makes the best substrate there is!

Turface allows fair water circulation and oxygen and water column nutrients penetration to the root zone of plants, and by this it is, Turface is all what one should be looking in a substrate for growing plants.

I use Turface topped with pool filter's small gravel and cannot imagine a better plants growth in an aquarium.

Besides all that, Turface is good for one's stomach!!!

One doesn't get sick paying for it!!!!


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## tsweers89 (Nov 18, 2009)

So i buy Turface and then add a 1" layer of whatever gravel i want over the Turface? What i want to see on the top is something that is as small as Turface pro league but in black.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I have something just like black Pro League and I have extra. Do you ever come through Madison?


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## bradac56 (Feb 18, 2008)

You don't need to cap Turface, I use it without anything else without problems. If you do decide to cap it with sand it will slowly settle to the bottom since it's a smaller grain than Turface.

- Brad


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## tsweers89 (Nov 18, 2009)

I agree on getting Turface. only problem is i want a blck substrate and this is brown,


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## bradac56 (Feb 18, 2008)

Ask for Turface MVP Gray it's almost as dark as the old SMS Charcoal.
Turface comes in about eight or nine colors now and not all Lesco's or John Deer dealers carry everything.

If you can't find that then Flourite Black is probably the way to go tho it's normally $20 fora 15lb bag which doubles Turface ($8-$10 for 50lbs).

- Brad


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## anastasisariel (Oct 4, 2009)

The PFS in my area is white with some other colored granules. Really looks great partially capped with black aquarium gravel. Hard to beat 6.87 a bag! You can get an idea of what it looks like by viewing my 29 but the picture quality really stinks.


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## khanzer22 (Jan 14, 2008)

AP.com really makes money on their substrate nowadays :icon_eek:... I remember buying 2 buckets (5 gal) of their charcoal substrate last year for only $49ea w/ free shipping (their ongoing promo that time)...


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## tsweers89 (Nov 18, 2009)

Anyone have any pics of Turface charcoal? Im tryin to compare the color to the AP.com Charcoal substrate. I want as close to black as i can get.


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## Grouchy (Dec 2, 2009)

I have AquariumPlants substrate in my 40 gallon aquarium, charcoal Soil Master Select in my 55 and 10 gallon, and brown Turface All Sport in my 29 gallon aquarium.

I contacted Profile Products for samples of grey and red Turface Pro League yesterday. The rep that responded stated that grey has been discontinued in manufacturing but area distributors might still have bags in stock.

As others have stated, a 50 pound bag of Turface equals two containers of AP's substrate at 1/5th the cost. I used a local John Deere store to get SMS and Turface.

I can get you a picture of the SMS grey in my 55 or 10. I like the grey but to be honest, I really like the brown. The brown Turface blends in really well with the plants and driftwood.

The AP substrate has faded over the years so I assume the SMS and Turface products will as well. It will not be as black as colored gravel. Spots with full light look grey and shaded areas look black.


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## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

Grouchy, is the brown Turface All Sport the same size/material as the Turface Pro?

I'm looking to plant a large tank and have been trying to track down the Pro/gray without much success. I hadn't included the All Sport on my radar... would you reco???


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## Grouchy (Dec 2, 2009)

The Profile rep said charcoal/gray Pro League was not being manufactured anymore.

Profile Pro League is about the same as MVP (All Sport) but slight smaller in granule size and more dense per cubic foot. (37 lbs vs 35 lbs)

When I went to the local John Deere Landscape here in Columbus back in August to get the gray Turface they had to ship a bag in from another location since they stocked only the brown product. They found a bag of Soil Master Select a little closer so I ended up with that instead. It was labeled Oil-Dri (who I am also pursuing samples from).

When I returned in November I was simply looking for the brown Turface, they had a bag, I paid $19, said Happy Holidays, left and had it clean and ready to go the next day.

Comparing the gray SMS vs brown Turface All Sport; I am starting to like the brown a little better than the gray. The Turface cleaned up much, much faster that then SMS.

I don't know if I can recommend anything but if you are looking for a low cost alternative the Turface appears to be working for me. Check the "Where to Buy" tab on ProfileProducts corporate site.

I should also say the Aquarium Plants product has also done well but was definitely more expensive.


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## JennaH (Sep 28, 2009)

found this other thread .. there is a great picture from someone who bought some of the aquarium plants substrate and compared it to turface

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/substrate/39832-new-substrate-anybody-tried.html


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## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

thanks grouchy, thoughtful response and advice.

turface seems a great solution for someone needing $4-500 worth of substrate at conventional pricing. my emails to a local vendor and profile have not been replied to. guessing 3 bags isn't worth the hassle of a discontinued (gray) item.


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## Brownthumb07 (Dec 8, 2009)

Wish I would have found this thread before I bought my two red buckets. Oh well free shipping at least.


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## mgamer20o0 (Mar 8, 2007)

one good and bad thing about turface/sms is it doesnt weigh a lot. some people find this troublesome when planting. the good thing about this is you get a lot for your money. 1 50 pound bag was more then i needed for a 60 gallon tank. i have 7+ tanks with sms. my crypt tank is sms topped with eco.


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