# Tetra Substrate



## Medoka (18 Sep 2020)

Hello,
I have 50 lt nano and will be scaping very soon.  Being a novice to the hobby, I can not decide the substrate. Tank has an external filter, high-quality light and proper Co2 system. and I am planning to have a plant-heavy tank with shrimps and maybe 10 tetras.
So my questions what would be the decent substrate you would recommend?
I had some research on the web and tetra active on the bottom and tetra complete on the top can be a good choice for a starter. Any ideas on these substrates?
Thanks
Med


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## alto (19 Sep 2020)

I’d suggest Tropica Aquarium Soil - I’d use the Powder version in a 50l aquarium

While Tetra product may be alright (hopefully they’ve vastly improved their base product since I tried it years ago), Tropica is in the business of growing and supporting aquarium plants


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## milla (19 Sep 2020)

Hi and welcome,

Novice to which hobby?  Aquascaping,  planted tanks, fish keeping?


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## dcurzon (19 Sep 2020)

I have a 70liter, with shrimp, black neons and plants, so not dissimilar.
I used Tropica  soil powder. 9kg bag


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## Medoka (19 Sep 2020)

Hi,
Thank you for warm welcome and replies. Novice to planted tanks. Had reef tank previously.
Then going with tropicana 9lt. Excellent advice,thank you all. Just checked,the price arounf 30£. It seems a bit expensive to me. So you all agree it is worth it?


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## Nick potts (19 Sep 2020)

Medoka said:


> Hi,
> Thank you for warm welcome and replies. Novice to planted tanks. Had reef tank previously.
> Then going with tropicana 9lt. Excellent advice,thank you all. Just checked,the price arounf 30£. It seems a bit expensive to me. So you all agree it is worth it?



The Tropica soil is good stuff, but it is not essential.

Soils like Tropica, ADA etc do have advantages such as ease of use, good shape and they are good at holding ferts, but you can have a planted want with no soil at all if you wish.

I have no experience with the tetra stuff so can't comment on it personally.

However, as you said you have good quality lights, CO2 and filtration, £30 for some good quality soil that will last years nothing


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## Medoka (20 Sep 2020)

Yes, after your commends, i ordered tropica 9lt. Meanwhile, when i do some further reseaech, i have noticed some people put some,small rock type, soil(excellent description! )under substrate.They say that it is good as it is usefull for bacteria. Any idea about this? Should i buy it as well?  Or tropica substrate is enough.


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## alto (20 Sep 2020)

What are your tank dimensions?

I use straight Tropica, as then no worries over substrate mixing when I rescape etc BUT I also don’t use deep substrates
If you watch Green Aqua videos, or ADA videos, substrate may vary from a few cm’s at front to 20-30cm at back ... if you like the idea of a deep/high substrate area, I’d use a product similar to ADA Power Sand (which looks similar to a porous lava rock)/JBL Volcano Mineral etc

Others like to use layers, and you can use various ways to keep layers separate, eg mesh (or not bother)


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## Nick potts (20 Sep 2020)

Medoka said:


> Yes, after your commends, i ordered tropica 9lt. Meanwhile, when i do some further reseaech, i have noticed some people put some,small rock type, soil(excellent description! )under substrate.They say that it is good as it is usefull for bacteria. Any idea about this? Should i buy it as well?  Or tropica substrate is enough.



As above, for the high area's in my tank I used JBL volcano mineral under the soil, 2 reasons, first is cost, second, it has a nice light, porous structure which is good for bacterial population.

Depending on your layout and substrate hight it might be useful


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## Medoka (21 Sep 2020)

alto said:


> What are your tank dimensions?
> 
> I use straight Tropica, as then no worries over substrate mixing when I rescape etc BUT I also don’t use deep substrates
> If you watch Green Aqua videos, or ADA videos, substrate may vary from a few cm’s at front to 20-30cm at back ... if you like the idea of a deep/high substrate area, I’d use a product similar to ADA Power Sand (which looks similar to a porous lava rock)/JBL Volcano Mineral etc
> ...


My tank is 50×36×32.
After your comments,i watched green aqua and George Farmers videos  And i really like  the perspective when they create inclination. Probably i will also try the same. Lets see how successful i will be. Eventually all of these efforts are part of learning curve. Another quick question, i  the videos,these guys are using some plastic sets which prevents soil to drag down the hill. Do you know what kind of material is that and how i can find it? Is it a metal mesh?


Nick potts said:


> As above, for the high area's in my tank I used JBL volcano mineral under the soil, 2 reasons, first is cost, second, it has a nice light, porous structure which is good for bacterial population.
> 
> Depending on your layout and substrate hight it might be useful


And i think the cost of JBL volcano is same as tropica soil,both same range in amazon. Cost effectiveness is coming from volume? Does it cover bigger volume than tropica soil?
Many thanks both for your inputs!


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## Mr.Shenanagins (21 Sep 2020)

You don’t need brand name to create depth in the substrate.  Find some sort of crushed pumice or lava rock, will provide the same benefits and it’s essentially the same thing for much less cost.


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## Medoka (27 Sep 2020)

Hello,
I bought 9l tropica soil and 10l lava rock from pro shrimp. Especially 10lt lava rock is 7£ which is,i think, a good deal.
Thanks all for your support


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