Substrate for heavily planted?

[zshuzshu]

New 75 gal setup. Has water, circulation going, pea gravel with large rocks and medium rock/fossils. This tank is going to be heavily planted. Am in the process of getting it set up mechanically before introducing anything live. Have been doing research and reading and wonder about the substrate. Is it possible to have heavy vegetation with just rocks and no soil underneath?

[Dave66]

New 75 gal setup. Has water, circulation going, pea gravel with large rocks and medium rock/fossils. This tank is going to be heavily planted. Am in the process of getting it set up mechanically before introducing anything live. Have been doing research and reading and wonder about the substrate. Is it possible to have heavy vegetation with just rocks and no soil underneath?

In a sense, yes you could with just rocks, but you'll drive yourself up the wall pushing planted tank fertilizer tabs around the roots all the time, and it'd be very, very difficult to rate how much to administer and when you need to add them.
And no, you couldn't develop lush growth in such a manner.
You need to take all that stuff out of the tank, drain it, and start over. A nutrient-rich substrate is just as important as proper lighting and Co2 in a planted tank. A low watt heater cable is very helpful, snaked along the glass bottom; topped with a half-inch layer of laterite and and then with a planted tank substrate like Eco-Complete or Florite. They'll say you don't need the laterite, but don't believe them, you do. Your substrate should be one and a half to two inches thick at the front, and three to five inches thick at the back. That serves to add depth to your layout and the debris (fish mulm, plant remains) move down the slope for easy removal. Several plants, like the mid-sized and larger sword plants, also need the depth at the back for their root systems.
I could write you a book about what to do and how to do it, but thankfully, someone already has: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
No pretty pictures, but exactly what to do and how to do it. Worth every penny.

Dave

[smaug]

Is it possible to have heavy vegetation with just rocks and no soil underneath?
Nope.Read the book dave mentioned or any other book about how to have a planted tank.Many things are truly neccesary such as fine gravel with some sort of ferrtilizing substrate mixed in,good liquid ferts,proper water chemistry IE,low ph low overall hardness,you positively cannot do with out proper light.You can do with out pressurized or DIY co2 and you can do with out heating cables in the substrate.Good luck.

[zshuzshu]

Thanks for the replies. I will re-evaluate what needs to be done. The one question I have is about the comment to remove everything, drain, start over. Can't I just remove the stone, add the dirt, let it settle, re-introduce the stone and go for it. It might seem like a dumb question for you if there is some strong reason for draining but I don't see what it might be. I have had this water in the tank for more than a month, circulating. It was cloudy for a long time and has finally become crystal clear. Well water. pH in a good range.

[Rocky06fx4]

Flourite without a doubt is the best and most expensive substrate for a planted tank. If you really want a good substrate you mix the flourite which is the consistency of sand and add some natural gravel. So this way you have a mixture of sand for the roots to grow through and gravel to root themselves down.

[smaug]

there is no reason you would have to drain and start over.You can easily do what you propose.But you still do not really want the bigger stones you speak of.finer substrate is better for plants,always.