Plain gravel + PS vs Aquasoil substrate for 450L tank?

[Sanniejop]

Hello all,
I am planning a new tank with size 160x60x55h cm. I am not very experienced, have had a 175L tank for eight years.
My biggest twisting point for the ew tank is what to choose for substrate/soil or what so ever. In my old tank i used Colombo Nutribase and black colored quartz gravel. No clmplaints with that.
My aim with the new tank is to set it up and enjoy it for many years. Because of this i am a bit hesitating about using those socalled aquasoils. This because i understand those soils turn into mud. I really dont like that idea when maybe some replanting is needed.

So i am planning using plain gravel as thick top layer (5-7cm) but still figuring out which grain size to use. Was thinking about 1-2mm as i was used to. But ada has also one gravel in their assortiment which is a bit coarser 2-5. If some people have any experience with this ada gravel i like to hear it. Is it easy to plant stems in it and do they keep well stuck in it?

Another point i am questioning myself about is if it would be usefull to use ada Powersand? It sounds a bit like the nutribase i used before. Ada says it is for long term effect use. But i read it is also leaching a lot of stuff in the beginning and then less. Would it be usefull to use or shall i skip it?

I'm aiming for a lower maintenance intensive setup.
For planting i am planning a mix of a lot of crypto's, anubias, different types of java ferns, bolbitus, eichnodorus, vallisneria, and different sorts of stem plants. Using PPS and root tabs if needed.

What do you all think?
thanks in advance

 

[PARAGUAY]

Because l like to keep Corydoras l tend to use just Playsand,although one as Tropica substrate underneath. Unless you intend to grow the more difficult plants or carpets ,gravel and sand should be fine. You can add root capsules . It sounds like a long term aquarium so Tim Harrisons excellent soil substrate article might help. Ada is ia very expensive way to go and probably more suited to high energy aquascapes

 

[Sanniejop]

Because l like to keep Corydoras l tend to use just Playsand,although one as Tropica substrate underneath. Unless you intend to grow the more difficult plants or carpets ,gravel and sand should be fine. You can add root capsules . It sounds like a long term aquarium so Tim Harrisons excellent soil substrate article might help. Ada is ia very expensive way to go and probably more suited to high energy aquascapes

I also really like the Corydoras so I am also planning a playground for them with only sand.
My fist thought was using Tropica Substrate with gravel. But I switched plan because I understood that the ADA Powersand was also for long term use.
But after reading again about the Tropica Substrate I understand this acts like a aqua soil but also for long term. It is much cheaper than the ADA PS.
But I guess this substrate is initially already like mud. Making uprooting and replanting plants a mess.

 

[Connswater]

Because l like to keep Corydoras l tend to use just Playsand,although one as Tropica substrate underneath. Unless you intend to grow the more difficult plants or carpets ,gravel and sand should be fine.

Easiest and cheapest long term option for me, washed and kiln dried fine sand, have used pond soil under stand and gravel, but for maintenance play pit sand with no soil underneath wins - so long as you never use a a magnetic scraper, scratches I have had few but too few to mention! Ran a tank for a decade with fine sand and the occasional, very occasional, addition of nutrient tabs. Most bothersome tank I have ever had, I used a leading manufacturer's pelleted aqua soil, algae blooms for the first two months and within a year or so, I had a tank of mud, or at least within 18 months.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

but for maintenance play pit sand with no soil underneath wins

That is <"part of my recipe"> for <"long-term success"> as well.

...... When I set up a new tank I just mix a small amount (5 - 10% by volume) of the PYO soil, with a similar proportion of Beech (Fagus sylvatica) leaf mold and ~90% silica sand.

I'm always willing to trade <"short-term gain"> for <"long-term stability">.

This is partially because I'm incredibly lazy, so <"do nothing"> is always my opening gambit, but I sincerely believe that <"good things come to those who wait">, <"if it ain't broke don't fix it"> and in <"KISS"> solutions.

I understand we can only move forward as a hobby if people are willing <"to try new things"> (and <"keep an open mind">).

When I first read about EI my initial thought was that it had a <"snowball in hell's"> chance of working, but as you read through the forum (and particularly look at the pictures) it becomes obvious that it does work. At that point, after the pictures, you really have two options, you can either try and <"understand what is happening">, or you can become an "EI denier", in face of overwhelming evidence.

cheers Darrel

 

[Sanniejop]

Can I conclude it would be most wise just to use plain gravel (1-2mm) and sand? And just leave out the substrate layer with CEC properties?

 

[Connswater]

substrate layer with CEC properties

In the distant past I used fairly soft laterite clay pellets, red and in theory iron rich, they came rolled and hard to the point of not being something that I could squash by hand, but they did soften up after a few weeks in the substrate, I am not convinced they really helped much and the last time I bought laterite it was baked really hard and dry, rather like clay hydroponic pebbles which wasn't quite what I thought might be useful and it never softened in the tank, not after many months. Honestly, I really would just stick with fine gravel, sand and root tabs. Good luck and let us know how things pan out after a few months.