# Power sand or Tropica plant substrate in media bags?



## livewire (8 May 2013)

Hello everyone, 

I will be setting up my new tank in a month or so, just in the process of making sure I have everything covered before I plan hardscape and decide on plants.

Would like to use a nutrient rich substrate under my Eco complete, I have a habit of moving plants round so would like it so if I do move plants around the Eco complete is not mixed with the substrate underneath. 

I was thinking that I could put the power sand or tropica substrate in some media bags then cover it all with the Eco complete so that the 2 substrates are not mixed when uprooting plants, would this ideal work?


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## Gary Nelson (8 May 2013)

Eco complete should give you everything you need without anything under it - I've used it several times and grew everything fine without problems.


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## livewire (8 May 2013)

Gary Nelson said:


> Eco complete should give you everything you need without anything under it - I've used it several times and grew everything fine without problems.


 
Hello, thanks for the reply. 

Would what I have suggested still work? I am just thinking that adding a little extra under the Eco complete will give it an extra kick.


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## Sean J (8 May 2013)

By Power Sand do you mean ADA? If yes, it is not a nutrient rich substrate. It is a porous media which allows bacteria to colonize. 

If you're looking for added nutrients, then go with the tropica. Just be careful when rescaping. Plant roots can dig through stainless steel mesh.


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## livewire (8 May 2013)

Sean J said:


> By Power Sand do you mean ADA? If yes, it is not a nutrient rich substrate. It is a porous media which allows bacteria to colonize.
> 
> If you're looking for added nutrients, then go with the tropica. Just be careful when rescaping. Plant roots can dig through stainless steel mesh.
> 
> ...


 

Yeah ADA power sand special, it claims to be full of nutrients, I was swinging towards to the tropica due to the obvious price difference. 

So what would be best? covering the base of tropica with mesh then covering with the eco complete, or filling media bags with tropica which would also be buried under the eco complete?


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## Aquadream (8 May 2013)

ADA Power Sand Special is actually loaded with nutrients and also usefull substrate bacteria. Thye nutrients are in form of a small capcules that release them slowly. In about 6 months to a year the nutrients from Power Sand will be depleted depending on the plant load in the tank.
In the most direct sense Power Sand is a concentarted substrate fertilizer. Tropica to, but without the bacteria.
It is hard to say which will work best.
So the price point would be probably the better judgement.

Just about any root tablets would do the same job. Crush them and sprinkle the powder on the bottom of the tank before you place the substrate.


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## Sean J (9 May 2013)

The powersand special has nutrients in it. These nutrients are there to provide food for the bacteria, which in turn provide nutrients for the plants roots. 

I have never tried powersand with any other substrates, other than aquasoil, so I cannot comment on its effectiveness with them, but in principal it should do a similar job.


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## ceg4048 (9 May 2013)

livewire said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I will be setting up my new tank in a month or so, just in the process of making sure I have everything covered before I plan hardscape and decide on plants.
> 
> ...


Hi,
	This is not really a good idea. In order to take full advantage of sediment, the plant root must make contact with the sediment particle via small hairs extended from the roots. It's best to think of this in terms of an electrical cord extension cable, because that's exactly what it is. Through electrolytic action the electrically charged nutrient ions are transported through the hairs because there is a voltage build up at the root surface.

If you isolate a different sediment in a bag, no contact is made, so this is an open circuit. The best that can be hoped for is that through osmotic pressure, the concentration of nutrients in the nutrient rich sediment diffuses into the surrounding area, is attracted to the EcoComplete and then get's passed on to the roots. Your proposal is an expensive and inefficient method and it would be much more effective to simply spread small amounts of Osmocote or any slow release fertilizer at the bottom of the EcoComplete (which has only negligible amounts of trace elements) which will then be absorbed and passed on to the roots.

Cheers,


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## livewire (9 May 2013)

ceg4048 said:


> Hi,
> This is not really a good idea. In order to take full advantage of sediment, the plant root must make contact with the sediment particle via small hairs extended from the roots. It's best to think of this in terms of an electrical cord extension cable, because that's exactly what it is. Through electrolytic action the electrically charged nutrient ions are transported through the hairs because there is a voltage build up at the root surface.
> 
> If you isolate a different sediment in a bag, no contact is made, so this is an open circuit. The best that can be hoped for is that through osmotic pressure, the concentration of nutrients in the nutrient rich sediment diffuses into the surrounding area, is attracted to the EcoComplete and then get's passed on to the roots. Your proposal is an expensive and inefficient method and it would be much more effective to simply spread small amounts of Osmocote or any slow release fertilizer at the bottom of the EcoComplete (which has only negligible amounts of trace elements) which will then be absorbed and passed on to the roots.
> ...


 
Great thanks,

How about if I used a mesh between the nutrient rich sediment (which ever I end up using), I am just trying to keep the sediment from mixing with the eco complete when moving plants about.

The part where you mention *"The best that can be hoped for is that through osmotic pressure, the concentration of nutrients in the nutrient rich sediment diffuses into the surrounding area, is attracted to the EcoComplete and then get's passed on to the roots"* is what I was hoping for, and if I use mesh some of the roots should push through to the sediment and if/when I want to move that plant I could wiggle it out gently minimising the risk of pulling a lot of sediment to the surface of the substrate.


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## Sean J (9 May 2013)

I've used a stainless steel mesh to separate layers of substrate in the past, and the plants roots make their way through the mesh anyway. Plant roots are strong. They will find a way through, and they'll destroy the mesh in time. This makes rescaping a pain in the "youknowwhat".

I've also used stockings filled with media. Same thing. 

So perhaps the osmocote idea is a better idea for long term use.


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## livewire (9 May 2013)

Thanks again for all the advice, I will go with osmocote under the substrate then.

How much should I be using under the substrate? I dont want to add to much and cause issues.


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## Sean J (9 May 2013)

Not a lot... A small handful sprinkled over the base of the tank. Maybe a tablespoon full. Perhaps some of the other guys can give you a more accurate suggestion.


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## ceg4048 (9 May 2013)

As mentioned by Sean, you don't really need a whole lot, because the Nitrogen is derived from ammonium salts. Normally 1-2 teaspoons per square foot should be sprinkled evenly at the base of the tank and then covered with the substrate.

Cheers,


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