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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V4 #492
Scott-
> Some what of a newbie here,
> What exactly is laterite?
A weathered clay that is added to the substrate. It has the ability, in a
nutshell, to hold nutrients in a way that plants are able to use, helping
anything with roots in your tank to grow better.
> Where can i get it?
> How much should i expect to pay for it?
A well respected brand (and the one I'm hoping will arrive today) is Karl
Scholler's Substrate Gold. You can mail order it directly from Karl, and it
runs $45 for an 11 pound jug. He has some smaller quantities available, but
I'm not sure what they cost.
> My tank is currently running an off the back +/- 300 gph filter with home
made
> biological setup, a 100 gph power head, a 8 inch bubble wand. The tank is
a home
> made 75-80 gallon tank and is lit currently by 2 40 watt florescents, but
they hang
> over the edge as the tank is not 4 feet long. I currently have plants in
it, they
> exist, but I would hardly say they grown much over the 8 months i have had
them. The
> tank has river gravel (10-20 mm) in size for its substrate.
> What other setups in substrate could I consider for a planted tank?
Sounds like you have a pretty good start. Smaller gravel would help. Most
people reccomend 1-3mm, and I've found this to be a pretty good guideline.
I'd lose the bubble wand, as you're probably stripping out pretty much all
of your CO2 with it. Spend some time looking over www.thekrib.com, feel
free to ask questions as they com up. Also, check the APD archives for
answers to questions, as they've probably been asked before. Go to
www.actwin.com.
Justin Collins