# Best substrate



## klibs (May 1, 2014)

Not Eco Complete
Not Gravel (especially with corys)

Never had flourite or Flora Max.

IMO do dirt capped with a cheap black sand.


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## ej155 (Jan 4, 2015)

Thank you. Has anyone heard of JBL aquabasis or manado?


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

Use either ADA (or similar soil based alternatives) or a dirt substrate; they perform much better than fracted clay substrate (eco-complete, flourite etc) in growing plants. Fracted clay substrates last longer though - soil-based substrates are nutrient rich and tend to get depleted over many years.


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## ErtyJr (Jun 21, 2014)

Mr aqua soil is supposedly a bit cheaper then ada but just as good.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

Everyone has opinions. I use Eco Complete and I like it. It is affordable and the plants respond to it very well. Having said that it really gets down to how much that you want to spend and how much work that you can put into it. Dirt gives good results and is relatively inexpensive, but there are some drawbacks such as hydrogen sulfide pockets, rescaping, and after a year or two it seems to lose it's nutrients and you have to add ferts anyway. you have to know what you are doing with dirt, but, done right, dirt is good. 

The ranking if you will is kinda as follows: 1. ADA Aquasoil (if you can afford it), 2. Mr. Aqua aquarium soil, and 3. Ecocomplete. The problem that I see is that you want to add Cory cats; therefore, I would say ADA Aquasoil, Mr. Aqua aquarium soil, or Dirt capped with black sand as *Klibs* recommends above. Corys like sand so dirt may be a good choice.

If you do choose dirt, please watch a few Youtube videos so that you can be better educated on how to use it. I have used it before and it grows plants really great, but it seems to lose it's vigor after a while. There are all kinds of dirt used by hobbyists, but most people tend to recommend Miracle Gro Organic Potting soil Mix. You can find it on Amazon if it is not locally available.


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## schnebbles (Jan 10, 2015)

Can I add a little question here? I am starting up too - I got a 37 gl, and I had gotten a bag of Eco complete and 2 bags of flora-max because it was easy to get. I will probably want a couple catfish. Should I get some finer stuff to top it off with?


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## ej155 (Jan 4, 2015)

Thanks for your help.. Not sure i'm brave enough to go for dirt but I will definitely do some research into it.

My cory cats are my absolute faves so it's going to have to be sand by the sounds of it ? 

These are the 2 I've been recommended to mix, topped with sand or gravel (sand). Any thoughts?


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## ej155 (Jan 4, 2015)

Whoops, here are the pics

Hm, they don't seem to want to work. Here are the links:

http://www.jbl.de/en/aquatics-freshwater-products/detail/2348/jbl-aquabasis-plus

http://www.jbl.de/en/aquatics-freshwater-products/detail/3398/jbl-manado


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

If you can find it, I'd look into Activ-Flora. Much better alternative to Eco-Complete, IMO. Pure black, much heavier, and smaller, more uniform grains. There are a few threads somewhere around here comparing the two, and AF mopped the floor with EC.


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

For the record, I've used both activ-flora and eco. I don't find one to be better than the other in terms of growing. In terms of grain size, activ-flora is nicer. pure black as mentioned above and uniform as said. It's just impossible to find in quantities you'll need.

Corys have no issues with eco also. At least the fine grade. I've used fine grade eco in all my tanks the last year and my corys are very happy and have no barbel issues. Maybe with eco regular they wouldn't be as good.


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## ej155 (Jan 4, 2015)

Ok eco fine grade, that's sounds better, I'll swap for regular eco on the list, thank you. I'm really keen to find if anyone has used the jbl products as they're available at the shop when I pick up my tank. Will order online however if I find these other products are better for my fish


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## wrenn420 (May 22, 2014)

Eco Complete, Brightwell Aquatics, ADA, whichever. All are a great way to start and all have medium and fine grades of size. It also sounds like you have plenty of room to do both substrate with an area of sand. Make sure you post some pictures when you do decide.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

schnebbles said:


> Can I add a little question here? I am starting up too - I got a 37 gl, and I had gotten a bag of Eco complete and 2 bags of flora-max because it was easy to get. I will probably want a couple catfish. Should I get some finer stuff to top it off with?


What I have done is to use a carpeting plant.


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## ej155 (Jan 4, 2015)

Great thanks everyone.
On the subject of carpeting, what's the best substrate for that, one if the eco complete / soils with a topper or without? Just trying to consider all options.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

I used ecocomplete by itself, but I do not have any Corys.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## octo (Jan 18, 2015)

ej155 said:


> Whoops, here are the pics
> 
> Hm, they don't seem to want to work. Here are the links:
> 
> ...


Hello! Aquabasis plus is a good product, but its used only under the main substrate..as a first layer.
JBL Manado: its a clay-based soil, but thats the only advantage of it...You have to wash it, which is painful. The soil particles are so light, that you cant build small hills or anything like that. It also increases kH-gH of the water.
So, in short; its a budget soil for planted tanks, but there are many downsides of it.
I think JBL is working on these issues, maybe they come up with a better soil in 2015.
The problem here in EU is, that there is only 1 budget soil (manado), and the rest of the decent soils cost a lot (ADA, Ista, Environment, Oliver Knott, Tropica)
Im not sure whats the price of the JBL Manado overseas, but I'd definitely avoid it, there are way better alternatives there ...like Eco complete (tho I never tried it, it seems to be way better)


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## octo (Jan 18, 2015)

I dont know whats the price tag of this elsewhere, but here its pretty cheap , thatswhy many newbies use it
(sorry about the double post...I cant find delete post anywhere)


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## ej155 (Jan 4, 2015)

That's really useful thanks. To be honest I'd rather pay and get it right because otherwise it'll end up costing more in the long run and be a lot more hassle. I'm going to look up ADA.


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## ej155 (Jan 4, 2015)

OK - I like the look of ADA. I'm guessing the powder would be ok to use with my Cory's? Would it help my plants to layer on a larger soil, or would they be ok with powder only? I can still layer sand over, so could use soil + sand. Any thoughts as to what would be best? Thank you.


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