I may have made my first mistake, I’ve bought a bag of CaribSea eco-planted substrate. I admit I was attracted to the ‘no rinsing’ bit as for reasons I won’t bore people people with, rinsing substrate is a challenge for me. I now wonder if I should have gone with Tropica aquarium soil. Since it a lot easier to buy another bag before setting the tank up should I go with the Tropica or stick with CaribSea?
Never used it, however, it sounds like a pretty good base, I've used, silver sand, cat litter (under sand), soil (under sand, and under fine gravel, and topped at the front with pea gravel - to protect the glass), horticultural grit, all with success, all have pluses and minuses. Sand is easily caught in a magnetic scraper and will therefore potentially scratch the glass. If, as I gather, this product doesn't contain macro nutrients you will probably have to add fertiliser to the water column, definitely if using CO2. However, my one reservation would be if it doesn't compact like sand, if you add root tabs they will leach macro nutrients into the water column rapidly.
The expensive pellets of aquarium soil turn to mush over 18 months or so, and I think are best covered in an inch of sand, I've used them, but too expensive for me, pond soil in filter bags with a mixture of sand and horticultural grit worked well for me for years, eventually I did have to add substrate tabs, but not for years.
You could top it with play pit sand, it doesn't normally need washed, and push some root tabs deep into the substrate. Osmocote is cheap and effective, just don't go overboard.
You have lots of options to deploy this substrate. Good luck, and send us a picture when things are growing well.
