What's the best soil substrate for your plants?
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Breezeyfans - Posts: 21
- Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2023 1:54 pm
What's the best soil substrate for your plants?
So I'm wondering, what's the crème de la crème of soil substrates out there? I've got plants in gravel and they're not exactly thriving. Specifically, my African swords and Anubis. The Anubis are hanging in there, but the African swords are looking pretty rough - they've got this black rim around the leaves and they're super thin. I don't think they're a goner or anything, but I'm not sure if replanting them in soil will do the trick or if I'll need to get new ones.
Re: What's the best soil substrate for your plants?
I'd suggest trying plant tabs, see if that gives them a boost.
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Breezeyfans - Posts: 21
- Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2023 1:54 pm
Re: What's the best soil substrate for your plants?
Tried something similar, kugeln balls, didn't work out for me. Water changes made the water go super cloudy, and once it cleared, it left a residue on the plants. Anyone have experience with plant tabs, are they any good?
Re: What's the best soil substrate for your plants?
They do seem to help the plants so far. My plants mostly get what they need from the water, but I also have African Swords and I do use the tabs for those.
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Breezeyfans - Posts: 21
- Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2023 1:54 pm
Re: What's the best soil substrate for your plants?
What plant tabs are you using, are they a specific brand or type that work well with your swords?
Re: What's the best soil substrate for your plants?
I'm not a fan of enriched substrates, they can cause more harm than good to your fish. My tanks are all set up with regular dark-toned play sand, and the plants do just fine.
Looking at your issue, it seems to me that the main problem is an imbalance of light and nutrients, and maybe a need for some extra nutrients. The black rim on your plants is likely a form of black beard algae, which I've dealt with before. As for the yellowing of the older leaves on your swords, that's pretty normal - the plant is just putting its energy into new growth, and the old leaves will eventually die off.
Swords are hungry plants, and they love substrate tabs. I've been using Seachem's Flourish Tabs for years, one tab per plant, replaced every 3-4 months. Never had any issues with cloudy water or anything like that. The nutrients don't get into the water column, which is better for the fish and helps keep algae under control.
To tackle the algae, we need to know more about your tank's lighting - what type, watts, spectrum, and duration are you using? Are you using any plant additives like liquid fertilizer? Once we get the balance right, the algae should be easy to manage.
Looking at your issue, it seems to me that the main problem is an imbalance of light and nutrients, and maybe a need for some extra nutrients. The black rim on your plants is likely a form of black beard algae, which I've dealt with before. As for the yellowing of the older leaves on your swords, that's pretty normal - the plant is just putting its energy into new growth, and the old leaves will eventually die off.
Swords are hungry plants, and they love substrate tabs. I've been using Seachem's Flourish Tabs for years, one tab per plant, replaced every 3-4 months. Never had any issues with cloudy water or anything like that. The nutrients don't get into the water column, which is better for the fish and helps keep algae under control.
To tackle the algae, we need to know more about your tank's lighting - what type, watts, spectrum, and duration are you using? Are you using any plant additives like liquid fertilizer? Once we get the balance right, the algae should be easy to manage.