# Carpet plants and Safe T sorb



## JConner3 (Sep 8, 2012)

I recently switched substrate to this stuff and while I like it, it's really light and I couldn't get my dwarf hair grass to reroot before the cories accidentally pulled it up so I just ended up putting it in another tank. I ordered a 12x12 mat of microsword today to replace it, and I was wondering what would be a good way to keep in down long enough to root. I was thinking that instead of breaking it up into small clumps I could leave it in 2x2 clumps or something and use an unfolded ( U shape) paper clip to hold each of the larger pieces down until they can stay down by themselves. Does this sound like a good idea? Any other suggestions?


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## seanski21 (Mar 4, 2012)

yeah the paper clip method works. you can use stainless steel mesh as well. if you have the patience you could take all of the water out and restart by using the dry start method, but I doubt you want to do that since you said that you already have fish in there


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## JConner3 (Sep 8, 2012)

seanski21 said:


> yeah the paper clip method works. you can use stainless steel mesh as well. if you have the patience you could take all of the water out and restart by using the dry start method, but I doubt you want to do that since you said that you already have fish in there


How long should I leave them paper clipped down?


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## keep_on_keepin_on (Mar 6, 2013)

would vary on your tank conditions and growth rates...i would leave it a month then try to take one side out and see if it floats up.


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## nikonD70s (Apr 6, 2008)

yeah, downside of safe t sorbs. its so darn light. makes planting like hell. u will def need something weighted to keep it down. or if u have no fish in the tank u can try the dry emersed way?


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## bpb (Mar 8, 2011)

Op stated he has fish so unless he has another tank to transfer them to, the dry start method is out. 

I'm using turface and have the exact same problem. I have a featherfin catfish and a bala shark in my tank and being that they are both substrate feeders, I'm constantly replanting. It's been a month since I made the substrate switch and replanted and I'm having to replant at least one little sprig daily. No big deal though. I think if its deep enough, and the roots get long enough it'll stop happening. I have both Brazilian micro sword and Pygmy chain sword planted. I separated them all out into individual stems and spaced them in a rough 1"x1" grid across about half the footprint. That was a long painful process. They're still getting pulled up regularly but have had some decent root growh. I'm confident once they reach the mineralized topsoil at the bottom the root growth will speed up substantially as will growth and I can stop replanting. Just takes time and patience


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## JConner3 (Sep 8, 2012)

bpb said:


> Op stated he has fish so unless he has another tank to transfer them to, the dry start method is out.
> 
> I'm using turface and have the exact same problem. I have a featherfin catfish and a bala shark in my tank and being that they are both substrate feeders, I'm constantly replanting. It's been a month since I made the substrate switch and replanted and I'm having to replant at least one little sprig daily. No big deal though. I think if its deep enough, and the roots get long enough it'll stop happening. I have both Brazilian micro sword and Pygmy chain sword planted. I separated them all out into individual stems and spaced them in a rough 1"x1" grid across about half the footprint. That was a long painful process. They're still getting pulled up regularly but have had some decent root growh. I'm confident once they reach the mineralized topsoil at the bottom the root growth will speed up substantially as will growth and I can stop replanting. Just takes time and patience


I tried a couple of times planting very small pieces but unfortunately I couldnt get it to stay down at all. I planted the new microsword in very large clumps and weighed them down with paper clips. Im hoping it grows in ok and stays down on its own pretty soon.


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## Bear Sage (Mar 18, 2012)

I'm using STS myself and have tried several foreground plants. Hard to get anything to "carpet" but my ET is finally establishing well, although a bit patchy.
Glosso came in second place....


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## snake_doctor (Mar 22, 2013)

Is turface less "dirty" than safe t sorb? I bought a small amount of oil dri to test (safe T sorb is not locally available) and it seemed extremely dirty and made water cloudy despite multiple rinsing. 

I am considering building a sand sifter to help clean and remove fine particles prior to rinsing. I am worried about lingering cloudiness of the water. Would the lack of these fine particles hurt plant development?


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## bpb (Mar 8, 2011)

Can't comment on that much. I've never used safe t sorb. My turface required a fair amount of rinsing. Lots of clay dust. When I actually planted and filled the tank it was 100% cloudy and couldn't see anything but after about 6 hours on running the canisters, it cleared up enough to see everything. Next day it was crystal clear. I think just about any plant specific substrate will cloudy the water temporatily, besides actual rock gravel (natural, or the painted crap from the pet store).


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## Bear Sage (Mar 18, 2012)

Very dusty substrate. Not sure you ever do get rid of it all. A few months into a tank using STS and my purgien still gets dirty fast.


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## JConner3 (Sep 8, 2012)

All my micro sword ended up floating at the top of the tank and i couldnt get it looking good again so i trashed it all. I was thinking about mixing/capping the safe t sorb with a single bag flourite or something just so I can keep some kind of carpet. Is this a horrible idea or has anyone done it successfully.


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## jarsofkimchee (Nov 22, 2011)

Reviving this old thread.

Any updates or success stories on carpeting on safe t sorb? I am planning my next 100 gallon high tech project and I would like to have some sort of carpet in there. Maybe glosso or s repens. I've never had experience with safe t sorb or the other montmorillonite clays. I’m wondering if a cap of black diamond blasting sand over the safe t sorb would help carpet plants root and stay put. Any suggestions?


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