Cheap substrate and substrate substitutes

[takadi]

So I was having a conversation with someone who used some very interesting substitutes for the expensive substrates you usually buy. Instead of maybe flourite black sand or power sand, he uses a sandblasting sand called "black beauty" that has low silica and is supposed to be carbon based (not sure on this one). But apparently you can get 100 lbs of this stuff for 14 bucks. I'm a little skeptical about it though, and I'm pretty sure it might be some byproduct and might contain heavy metals, but I'll leave someone else more knowledgeable to decide

Another substitute for flourite or clay based substrates we discussed is using oil zorb, which they sell for dirt cheap at auto or hardware stores. Not too sure how clean it is, but apparently it has lots of trace minerals.

A good additive for mineralized top soil is also peat moss, which apparently has really high CEC and has good acid buffering properties.

Of course, nothing is cheaper than plain old back yard dirt gone through the mineralization process.

As a gardener, a staple that is used is leaf mould, which is basically fully composted leaves. Another interesting substrate thought would be to use vermicompost or worm poop, which apparently is pretty well mineralized from worm digestion. I am not sure how organic materials fare in aquarium substrates though



Anyone have any creative substrate ingredients they use or would like to add to the brainstorm?

[krisw]

The most proven cheap substitute for clay-based ones is Turface MVP, formerly SoilMaster Select. It lowers the KH, which is nice, has a high CEC, but is lighter than flourite/aquasoil, so you need more of it to hold plants down, and high flow rates are to be avoided.

Peat is a good additive, but is definitely not a replacement medium for mineralized top soil. They have different nutrients, and peat is super high in organics, some being tannins that will stain your water. Using a little is commonly done, particularly in the form of peat cubes in a filter or a sprinkling under your substrate, but too much is a bad idea.

I've used worm castings in several of my tanks with some mixed results. I still needed to add additional fertilizers for optimal growth, but it definitely added some value.

See one of my experiments:
http://www.guitarfish.org/2008/03/26/wo ... -substrate

[scientist0724]

Merrifield sells Turface for $20 for a 50 lb bag. Can't beat that!!! I'm thinking of trying it out for my next tank set up!

Arlene

[ingg]

Black Beauty (and most sandblasting materials) are intentionally made with sharp cutting edges to the granules.

These are absolutely fabulous for, among other things, shredding bottom dwellers like Corys and young or molting shrimp, as well as the stems of stem plants.

[Jim Miller]

If you use MTS which is cheap and top it with a bag or so of Flourite Black Sand it doesn't seem to be a significant expense compared to all the other stuff bought for a tank.

Jim

[takadi]

I have sooo much turface that I bought a while back from merrifield that I used for container gardening (50 lb bags for 12 bucks each). I refrained from using them though because I had heard from different people that turface is too light and clouds the water too easily

[Cristy Keister]

I have Soil Master Select in a 75g, about 4-6" deep. It holds all but the most buoyant plants, or small plants that have almost no roots like HC or UG. As for stems, I've really only had trouble with Limnophila aromatica, which can be tough to plant in any substrate if it's too shallow. I think depth is the key to hold stems. I've had no problems with SMS floating or clouding (after the initial setup).

[takadi]

Is soil master select like turface? Sounds expensive

[Cristy Keister]

No, it was cheap. It's out of production now, but I've heard that Turface is the same thing.

[krisw]

Yes, they're basically the same thing, rebranded. A single 50lb bag will fill a 75G, maybe more. The cost is about $15-$20 depending on the retailer. That's cheap!