# Budget Substrate



## Julip (Nov 26, 2018)

What is the most budget-friendly, off brand substrate to use in a low-tech aquarium?

There will be shrimp, fish, snails in said tank.

It will be my first tank.

I'm only planning on using a 9-gal tank so the bag doesn't need to be huge!


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## sfsamm (Apr 3, 2017)

Pool filter sand is quite popular as is black diamond blasting sand. BDS is generally in a fairly large bag in my experience and usually available at tractor supply stores.. PFS can be found at Lowes, Home Depot or your local pool/spa place if you have one.  

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## MtAnimals (May 17, 2015)

Black diamond blasting sand,imo.9 bucks for a 50 pound bag.You want size 20/40 and rinse rinse and rinse some more until the oily residue is gone.Get it at TSC.it also makes a great cap for miracle gro potting soil,which is also "dirt" cheap and grows plants well.


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## Proteus01 (Mar 12, 2017)

You’ve got your two cheapo substrates right there: PFS and BDBS. I have both with many many plants. I went down the osmocote-plus road instead of dirt, because of my typical propensity for moving plants around. No need for either of those with only water column feeders, if you go that way.


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## thechibi (Jan 20, 2012)

EcoComplete is about 18 bucks for 20 pounds, which is a little on the upper end of budget but you don't have to cap it, so that's a plus. I can also move plants around without worrying about causing an ammoniastorm, which is nice.


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## Vadim Shevchuk (Aug 28, 2009)

I've spent a good amount of money on eco complete. Now in my 150 gallon I use BDS with root tabs. I don't think it's worth the premium prices for substrate unless you need another buffering agent for shrimp tanks.... I only use ADA Amazonia in my small nano tanks.


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## MandatoryLegends Here (Nov 18, 2018)

Yeah, I would suggest eco complete with root tabs supplements. Or learn walstad method.

comparison of ada aquasoil and eco complete
https://thegoodalgae.com/plants/ada-aquasoil-vs-eco-complete/

and if you rather do a sand-capped setup
https://thegoodalgae.com/plants/a-guide-on-how-to-plant-aquarium-plants-in-the-sand-not-soil/


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## Kubla (Jan 5, 2014)

I just read the linked articles. In the first the author says sand and EC take more initial maintenance than Aquasoil. Really? I would consider daily water changes to alleviate an ammonia spike as much more maintenance intensive than adding fertilizer.


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## MtAnimals (May 17, 2015)

I don't consider eco complete any better than sand.Tanks I've set up with ECO take about a year or so and added o cote tabs to grow anything,and I've had BGA issues in tanks with eco that I have never seen in any tanks set up with aquarium gravel,sand or dirt and sand cap.Just my experience with substrates.


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## MudLark (Dec 4, 2017)

I started my first tank a year ago with EcoComplete and found it very hard to plant in and not really any better than plain sand with root tabs, and definitely no better than dirt from my yard (caveat: I live in a place with beautiful black soil) capped with sand. ADA Aquasoil is so expensive that I've never tried it.


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## thechibi (Jan 20, 2012)

I haven't done much with the stuff that buffers for shrimps, but so far ecocomplete has worked great for all my tanks. Granted, I live in an area with cichlid-approved tap water, so that might be something to consider. I just think ecocomplete is easier to handle than sand/soils. And I don't have to worry about causing mayhem if I accidentally stir it up - where that might be an issue with 'capped' substrates.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

I literally dug dirt out of my veggie garden and washed the dirt out of it to get very nice sand. It took several days to get enough (only getting a couple pounds of sand a day) and lots of water, but I paid nothing to put substrate in one of my 20s. It totally depends on the type of dirt you have, but mine is 70-90% sand, so it worked. I've had excellent success with it. Plants LOVE rooting in it and I think there's residual nutrients, because in one tank I've never added ferts, but the plants still thrive, even over 6 months later.

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Cleaned and in the tank:


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Safe-T-Sorb. $5 or $6 for a 40lb bag at Tractor Supply. It does take a lot of prep work, though.


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## Kubla (Jan 5, 2014)

JJ09 said:


> Safe-T-Sorb. $5 or $6 for a 40lb bag at Tractor Supply. It does take a lot of prep work, though.


Plus, since it's so light weight, a 40 pound bag is a lot!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Well, I always sift out the dust and finer particles while it is still dry, so I end up only using half the bag. Not quite as cheap when you look at it that way.


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## thechibi (Jan 20, 2012)

Well, I only suggested ecocomplete, because with some root tabs and pouring it in (no rinsing), it's probably the easiest in terms of set up and not needing a bunch of work ahead of time. It'd be pretty beginner friendly, and you don't have to worry about the mayhem of stirring up some substrates.


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