the eternal substrate discussion.....
good place to start although im a little dubious about some of the pros/cons like eco complete...
http://www.ukaps.org/index.php?page=guide-to-substrates
obviously everyone's opinion is different depending on what they like but ill give a few pointers and my opinions on a few..
sand - can absolutely grow plants however it is definitely more of a challenge getting nutrients to you plants and you dont have any wiggle movement if you go away or forget to dose for a few days. Generally better for detail and aesthetics in aquascaping.
gravel - same as above however can work well with compost or tropica plant growth substrate underneath.
Eco complete - sure you can grow plants in it but that doesnt say much, it looks fake, massively over priced and has NO magic bacteria in it. Makes me shiver when i see it
🙂
Akadama - great CEC, as good as branded soils but no nutrients in to start with. Will have ammonia spike as will all organic compounds, all be it to a lesser extent. biggest draw back for me is colour and due to the shape doesnt hold plants as well as balls when planting.
Monado - one of the first plant substrates to hit the market. Personally i hate it, stupidly light, horrid colour and not many benefits from using it. Things have moved on a lot since this was released. Still popular mainly because lots of LFS stock it.
Fluval stratum - ok but better out there for the money
ebigold shrimp - brilliant substrate, great CEC, no ammonia spike, nice colour, good size balls and great to buffer water for shrimp etc
ebigold plant - same as above but has added minerals, believe it will spike ammonia but lightly.
Tropica plant grow - basically refined soil, must be capped with gravel etc grows plants well.
Tropica aquarium soil - as good as most other specialist soils.
Amazonia - love it, tough to beat, sure its expensive but its no1 for a reason. Can be reused over and over as has very good CEC as well. This also buffer water and has a huge ammonia spike so you need to ask about the best way to start it off.
Amazonia powder - same as amazonia only very small balls, normally used to top amazonia and easier to plant small plants in as well as pleasing aesthetically.
Nutrisoil - great again, balls a little large for my taste, does buffer water a small ammonia release.
Flora base - perfectly ok, only used it once, wasnt as impressed as amazonia
This is just a handful of whats available now and in all honesty most specialist soil substrates are pretty similar, most buffer the water and most will release some ammonia (this is a good thing, it will cycle your filters and the plants love it)
Truth is that if you get co2, light and ferts balanced then the substrate becomes semi irrelevant aside aesthetics, that said a good soil can help a lot when you are learning or being lazy.
Also avoid magic powders to add in your substrate, they are snake oil designed to remove money from your wallet only.
(can you tell im bored at work!!)
Good luck.
