Amano substrate issue

[tomterp80]

About a year ago I set up my daughter's 10g substrate with a base of Amano's power sand, covered by about 1.5" of the black aqua soil "Amazonia". It looked great, until I pulled up the first plant by the roots, at which point the power sand (misc. odd sized gravel, really) came up with the roots and polluted a previously pristine topography.

At first I tried jamming the individual stones back underneath, but this became untenable. It now looks awful, and I'm going to redo the tank this weekend. I plan on forgoing the power sand, not sure what benefit it really has anyway. I don't do CO2 in her tank, though I have some pretty high power AH Supply lighting in place.

Am I a bad person for wanting to ignore the power sand recommended base layer, and do the aqua soil alone?

Any down side to what I propose? Any better ideas?

[Aaron]

You can get away without using the powersand, but it does help provide macros for the plants. It's also supposed to help keep the substrate from compacting too much over time. However, it isn't absolutely necessary to use.

[tomterp80]

That aqua soil doesn't seem to compact at all, it's really a small gravel that remains loose. But I was wondering if the nutrients was a potential issue, or if the plants like the bigger nuggets of gravel to grab and hold.

Still, I can't imagine anyone setting up a tank only for it to look lousy the first time a plant is replaced.

[Aaron]

Yup, it's a trade off for sure. The porous structure of the power sand is supposed to help allow circulation within the substrate and promote beneficial bacteria as well. In such a small tank the compaction really isn't an issue as you mentioned. In larger tanks the Aquasoil is often 5"-6" deep in the back.

[krisw]

I've seen some folks only solve this problem by laying a piece of stainless steel screen over top of the powersand layer when they first setup the tank. This should help prevent it from floating to the top. I agree that it's a pain. My plan is usually to ignore it until the plants are thick enough to cover it up.

[tomterp80]

I've seen some folks only solve this problem by laying a piece of stainless steel screen over top of the powersand layer when they first setup the tank. This should help prevent it from floating to the top. I agree that it's a pain. My plan is usually to ignore it until the plants are thick enough to cover it up.

That's an interesting idea, the screen.

We don't ever get good enough growth at the bottom to cover it all, though. Maybe if I used CO2, but no plans for that. Trying to do it on light and substrate, pretty much.