# undecided on new tank substrate



## rachelsands (5 Apr 2012)

First of all Hello! i am new to the forum and im newish to planted tanks

I recently purchased a juwel vision 450litres. i have a choice of substrates in mind, i have been using bonsai potting compost (akadama) and fluval stratum. i havent been overly impressed with this combo and i would like to try something different. The equipment i have is:
bag of organic farm manure
big bag of sand
bonsai potting compost (akadama)
fluval stratum

My first question is, can i mix them E.g stratum mixed with akadama on top of compost?

I am after some advise on what to use?
The tank will have pressurized co2 and dosing EI

Thanks in advance   

Rachel


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## Aqua sobriquet (5 Apr 2012)

Until someone who knows what they're talking about comes along ...  have a look at the Tesco cat litter thread on here. It's nice looking stuff and cheap to buy - only £2.95 for 10L. Seems a few folks are using it to good effect.


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## Alastair (6 Apr 2012)

I had a vision 450 too, and used the tesco cat litter it was great stuff. You can mix what you have together too and you'd have a great substrate, never heard of manure being added as a base substrate though. The stuff you already have alone is excellent stuff. 



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## ceg4048 (6 Apr 2012)

Umm...first of all, it is very unwise to blame you lack of success strictly on you Akadama, which is an excellent plant substrate. You failed to specify what went wrong, i.e. what the symptoms were so no one can have any idea where to lay blame. Secondly, it would be incredibly  unwise to put manure in a CO2 enriched tank. This is just asking for trouble, especislly since you intend to dose EI? I mean, adding manure is really pointless. Bonsai substrate plus EI dosing is all that you need. In Co2 enriched tanks, the idea is to reduce as much as possible organic waste. Why don't you look at the stivky at the top of this sub forum wherein JamesC demonstrates the usefullness and excellent performance of  the molar clay Akadama. This shows that if you are having difficulty using this substrate, that means you are doing something wrong.

Cheers,


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## Aqua sobriquet (6 Apr 2012)

If it makes a difference it might be worth noting the Tesco stuff seems to be smaller in size compared to the Akadama. Have a look on this site, I think I've seen some comparison pics somewhere.


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## Alastair (6 Apr 2012)

There's pics of it in my journal sig


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## rachelsands (7 Apr 2012)

Right i decided not to put any compost on the bottom and just went for a mix of the akadama, stratum and some black gravel. it holds the plants down quite nicely.
Yesterday was fill up day so heres what i have at the moment ( still abit cloudy)





im not overly happy with it at the mo and the wood in the middle is from my old tank and the moss will take abit to change direction but its soo thick with it i didnt wana not put it in.

The plants need to grow abit also before they can be put in thier proper positions, so let me know what you think

I am by far good at scaping so i accept critizism without getting in a huff   

Rachel


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