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Adding zeolite and vermiculite to inert gravel

A

Ajm200

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19 Feb 2010
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538
Location
London
Hi

I'm setting up a 90l tank this pm and I'm thinking of using inert gravel with vermiculite and zeolite to the bottom layer as I think I read somewhere that this can help to enrich the substrate.

My original plan had been to use an Eco-Complete and gravel mix but the EC delivery has been delayed and I don't have room to store the tank until it comes. I will have to get a basic setup done and move the fish and filters across from my other tanks asap.

I've read so much on here and other sites that my head is spinning. Is this mixture worth trying or am I wasting my time?

Thanks
Amanda
 
Hi Amanda

You will need to dose the water column, as zeolite and vermiculite on there own do not contain nutrients, but their high CEC allows them to take nutrients from the water and deliver them to the plant roots. It should certainly perform better than plain gravel.

Basically substrate choice, although an important piece in the planted tank puzzle, is not as important as things like appropriate lighting, CO2, circulation, and water column nutrients. You can grow anything in plain sand, as long as you have good nutrients elsewhere.

A good substrate, however, will give you more room for error with regards nutrient management. This is why the like of ADA Aqua Soil and the latest complete substrates perform so well with lean dosing.

All the best with the 90 litre and don't forget to start a journal, if you can.
 
Hi George,

Thanks for such a fast response.

I've been using Tpn+ after reading about it on here and have started to see results after a few days so I intend to use it in both new tanks. Will move to dry ferts later.

I will try to keep a journal, just need to work out how to upload my photos as I relying on an IPod for Internet access at the moment.

Thanks again
Amanda
 
Nice article, Amanda. I've not seen that one. Looks like vermiculite does contain some nutrients after all.

Interesting to see some old 'scapes on there too from the big guns like Senske, Knott and Navarro. Amazing how far the aquascaping hobby has progressed over the years. Now those 'scapes would be regarded as fairly average, but back then they were pretty groundbreaking.

Anyway, I digress! All the best with the set-up and let us know how you get on.
 
Vermiculite is incredibly light, and not very pretty. I wouldn't want to use it in a tank, but if you are going to try it I would suggest mixing it with just 1/3 of your gravel, and just have plain gravel on the top 2/3. I'd also try and avoid pulling plants out of it when you're maintaining the tank - try and just cut them off at the base rather than uprooting them, then you won't bring the vermiculite up into the water column.

Can't wait to see the journal start, good luck!

Mark
 
Hi all,
You can squash the vermiculite to some degree to stop it floating (this will lower its CEC to some degree), the section in the link about vermiculite/perlite refers to it's use in potting composts for terrestrial plants, not in aquariums.
cheers Darrel
 
Ok. The aquarium is set up so I'll have to see how it goes. I've heaped loads of gravel on top so hopefully it will stay put. Found another link about using it in the aquarium as a base layer with just enough garden soil to turn brown so what I'm doing has been done before. Just don't know how successful it will be.

Worst case, when the 5 footer is cycled I can strip this tank out and start again with Eco complete or flourite as the base. If vermiculite is as floatly as predicted it should be easy to get out of the gravel if I need to.
 
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