10gal planted tank - how much substrate?

[Anne Dyari]

I am leaning toward aqua soil, I like the dark look of it, but I don't know how much I'll need to cover the bottom of a 10gal tank (dimensions 20x11x12). Any ideas on what size bag I should get?

Also, other good substrate suggestions would be great. I have an anubias plant, and have java moss in the mail, and eventually dwarf hairgrass (if planted tank is successful).

[kfryman]

I am not totally sure... A 9 liter bag would probably be best, if not you can always save it for another tank.

Just a heads up, anubias and java moss are not going to benefit from Aquasoil that much. It is a waste to spend that much money on substrate for those plants. Fluval makes stratum as well and it is much cheaper, you would need like the 8.8 pound bag of it, maybe a tiny bit more.

Identical look, way cheaper, not as good but still great.

Keep researching aquasoil, you will find more to it. Like did you know initial setup the first week you need to be doing daily 50%s to keep ammonia down, then 50% every day the next week? It is a lot of work, and I it will take super long to master keeping those awesome ADA aquariums.

[Fasht]

If you'll be getting dwarf hairgrass make sure you're not using gravel as your cap. Also high light and Co2 is a must if you want your hair grass to propagate and not to elongate.

[copperarabian]

in my 48g I use aquatic potting media, My anubias grow extremely well and the pond Lilly I added the other day is also growing really fast. it needs a very good rinsing before use, it will be very dusty.

there are other plant gravels or even potting soil you can use, the potting media was cheap and seems to do a good job :)

[Anne Dyari]

Alright, thanks guys, I'll look into cheaper alternatives, I'm really new to planted tanks so any and all advice is greatly appreciated!
I'll read more and look into stratum and other soils.

[kfryman]

You can look into eco complete, but I can't guarantee that anything will grow. It depends on you really. I would start out with much easier plants. Water wisteria, ludwigia, rotala, dwarf sag, Crypts, Anubias, and java moss are all easy plants. Start out easy, you will feel much more confident seeing a beautiful tank, instead of one that is barely surviving.