# Unipac sand only?



## Wulfen (20 Jul 2018)

Hello all.
Now that I have decided on most of the hardware to go with my Evolution Aqua The Aquascaper 600, I have started looking at what substrate I will use.
The price of the ADA and other similar products seems really excessive.
From what I have read these substrates are very good but are they absolutely required?
If I am using Co2 and dosing ferts would I still stand a chance of success with just unipac sand?
I will be going for the jungle island look with wood, mosses, ferns, some larger plants at the rear and possibly some Cuba around the base of the jungle.
Setup will be:
Evolution Aqua The Aquascaper 600 Tank (L60 x W50 x H36) (108ltr)
Twinstar LED Aquarium Light 600S
Oase biomaster thermo 350 aquarium external-filter
Aquarium CO2 Kit Pro-SE Complete System
I will be dosing the water column with ferts.
Cheers


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## techfool (20 Jul 2018)

I have tanks with unipac sand (1mm size, so not superfine but not gravelly either) and some with tropica soil. I've also mixed the two together as the grain size is somewhat similar.I think soil is a better start for them but after a few months I can't see any difference.  I dose a complete fert in all tanks.


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## Edvet (20 Jul 2018)

I've been using riversand in almost all my tanks, it's in my large tank since i started it (somewhere in 1999-2000). I use EI ferts depending on the amount of light but usually high dose.


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## Siege (20 Jul 2018)

If you go with the inert sand on top you’ll need a layer of planting substrate underneath (Tropica?)

Soil is better for plants. If after all planted look you’ll need 1 X 9L bag of soil and 1 of powder on top (the powder will make it easier to plant). So 2 bags in total.

All depends on the look you are after.


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## Zeus. (20 Jul 2018)

Also don't forget that Aquasoil due the it's CEC properties buffers the ferts and the toxins, giving a little more flexability out of getting the ferts and WC right


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## Tim Harrison (20 Jul 2018)

If you're new to planted tanks it makes sense to take a belt and braces approach. Yes you can grow plants in marbles with water column fertz dosing but some sort of soil with give you much more wiggle room when it comes to compensating for mistakes. Mistakes like under dosing, and missing doses. I'd at least go with a soil like Tropica Growth Substrate https://tropica.com/en/plant-care/substrate/ capped with sand or gravel. 

And if your budget is really tight try Aquatic compost (use it in the same way as Tropica Growth Substrate), I've used Westlands in the past and it works really well https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/the-soil-substrate-or-dirted-planted-tank-a-how-to-guide.18943/


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## Wulfen (21 Jul 2018)

I would like a sort of jungle island. The image is a rough top-down view. The green for the planted area white for bare sand. If I can get away with one bag of say Tropica and the rest sand it won't be so bad. I won't be banking much towards the back as I would like a lot of vertical wood to mimic a submerged root mass.


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## Barbara Turner (16 Aug 2018)

This place is a little cheaper if you want something a bit different to standard sand. 
http://www.specialistaggregates.com
You have to spend a long while washing it though. 

Other one have read is good is pool filter sand. I couldn't find it locally and everyone wanted crazy money to ship a 25kg bag.


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## Wulfen (16 Aug 2018)

Barbara Turner said:


> This place is a little cheaper if you want something a bit different to standard sand.
> http://www.specialistaggregates.com
> You have to spend a long while washing it though.
> 
> Other one have read is good is pool filter sand. I couldn't find it locally and everyone wanted crazy money to ship a 25kg bag.


Many thanks, Barbara.  I went with Tropica soil for the planted area in the end.
Decided to take Tims advice as its my first planted setup. I also got some unipac Kivu sand for the non planted area.
I really wanted fine white sand you sometimes see in the South American clear water habits. Unfortunately, all the white sand I could find looked more marine environment and was too white. if that makes sense


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## Pav123 (4 Nov 2018)

You would have to look for ADA La Planta Sand if it's still in your interest or ADA colorado but it's a bit yelowish. Have a look on The Green Machine website as they closing down and sell everything off.


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