fishandting
Member
Hi all,
I've been perusing this forum for a while as I've been planning setting up my tank. There's a wealth of information on here and some very helpful, knowledgeable members on here!
In short, due to space and time constraints, I'm setting up a nano tank, a Fluval Flex 34 litre, low tech.
My original plan, helped in no small part by the legendary Soil Substrate thread on here, was to set it up using some potting soil in mesh filter bags capped with sand. I've bought some hopefully not-too-demanding plants - crypts, hygrophila polysperma, java fern, java moss, bucephalandra etc.
I haven't bought any fertilisers yet, but am thinking to go with TNC Complete as it seems to be well thought of on here, but am open to recommendations from others.
Doing a bit more reading led me down the rabbit hole of the various threads on sand vs other substrates so now I'm considering whether I should forget about the soil and just go with sand on its own?
It seems to me that the advantages of the soil are that it contains nutrients that are beneficial to the plants, but presumably these could also be provided through dosing? The downside of soil is the mess and potential ammonia spike in the beginning?
Sand seems to be more stable overall but may be harder to plant into initially?
Any advice would be welcome as I can't really decide at the moment, in case you couldn't tell already!
Thanks in advance
I've been perusing this forum for a while as I've been planning setting up my tank. There's a wealth of information on here and some very helpful, knowledgeable members on here!
In short, due to space and time constraints, I'm setting up a nano tank, a Fluval Flex 34 litre, low tech.
My original plan, helped in no small part by the legendary Soil Substrate thread on here, was to set it up using some potting soil in mesh filter bags capped with sand. I've bought some hopefully not-too-demanding plants - crypts, hygrophila polysperma, java fern, java moss, bucephalandra etc.
I haven't bought any fertilisers yet, but am thinking to go with TNC Complete as it seems to be well thought of on here, but am open to recommendations from others.
Doing a bit more reading led me down the rabbit hole of the various threads on sand vs other substrates so now I'm considering whether I should forget about the soil and just go with sand on its own?
It seems to me that the advantages of the soil are that it contains nutrients that are beneficial to the plants, but presumably these could also be provided through dosing? The downside of soil is the mess and potential ammonia spike in the beginning?
Sand seems to be more stable overall but may be harder to plant into initially?
Any advice would be welcome as I can't really decide at the moment, in case you couldn't tell already!
Thanks in advance