I am just getting back into Fish keeping and now learning about plants : ) This video was perfect for me : ) Things and information have changed in the last 40 years : ) Loving it Again : )
Hello, Like your video very mutch. And that you compare the different substrate is very informative. I have also done many dirted tanks but also had Good results with just sand. Even better results if i have put a undergravel filter and using sand. The undergravel filter will pull nutrient ritch water down in the substrate to feed the roots. You should try that sometime, sorry for my bad English😊
This is good stuff. I got my first little tank and instantly hated how plastic it felt. Im trying my first father fish method tank today! Yours look great!
i havent done it in awhile cause im currently using sand but my favorite has been just gravel put java fern and anubias with some floaters for like 6 months then plant everything else
I do like sand substrate now that I am using.. the best sand I had ever used I currently don't have it now. That sand is crushed granite sand . Tanks are looking awesome
Mr. Scotty, very good presentation and a lot of good info! I am looking at doing a Father Fish tank as I have heard nothing but good results. I knew already abut the expensive fertilized substrate, which only last about 1 year before losing nutrients. I was curious about your sand substrate tank only. Was he sand you used straight form a bag or from a previously set up tank? How long has the tank been set p?
@@randyfrost6573 yes so I pull the white sand out of my 180 gallon Cichlid tank which has been running about 4 years. Then I setup my small tank and just throwing plants in it and they took off to my surprise
Great subject and video Scott, I actually touch on this subject a bit in a video I filmed for a couple weeks from now. The octopus plant is Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus. Love your tanks by the way😁👍
@@pattys_aquatics thanks. Lush and salty tells me those plants in my shrimp tank with the sand are actually luwegia and not rotalla like I thought it was. So that's good to know
I enjoy father fishes videos but also look into diana Walstad's ecology of a planted aquarium. I started there. But I am also by no means an expert. I have only ever had one dirted aquarium. Best of luck and keen to see more videos.
Boy your planted aquariums are so beautiful. I need to start all over with my 20 gallon long plant tank. It was doing well my plants were growing fast until I added more fish. I'm thinking that some of the fish are eating all my plants. I took the two dwarf gouramis out. It slowed down some. But I think there's still some other fish still eating the plant.
@@dannyaquatics yea I've come to love the planted tanks. But I do plan on eventually converting all my planted tanks to a natural style tank with dirt and a sand cap. But for now I will just let them do what there doing until I have to restart a tank then I will convert
@@tiffanyclark-grove1989 yes Father Fish style tanks are awesome. Eventually I will convert all my planted tanks to a dirted tank. The plant growth is so much better
That's great to see. Now I want to see you graduate to a deep mixed soil with a sand cap lol. In truth you don't need much nutrient content but it's better to have more room for the roots and to establish a good source of microbes in the soil bed which will be most effective for the plants. Most simple method is to use 50/50 Peat and coco so it doesn't drive the ph down too much too fast, crushed coral, some pool filter sand, a little bit of worm castings or long term compost not fresh/hot, and add a bit of basalt rock dust and let the nutrients from the tank get delivered down into the soil bed. You can also add crushed leaves, which is really good for plants like crypts, or other organic plant nutrients like kelp meal, alfalfa meal, biochar/ash/charcoal, and some clay based things or iron. Oh, and you don't need a large cap of sand with this, in one of my tanks the sand is less than half an inch. As long as there's still enough room and not too much nutrients.
@@shadeaquaticbreeder2914 yep already have 2 tanks with dirted substrate with sand caps. And the plant growth in them is better than all my other planted tanks
I use sand 1 mm (her we call it fine gravel to contrast with beach like sand) for more than 50 years now. With the fish waste and poop it becomes a good substrate. I think your plants in the small shrimp tank could grow better it you combine it with fish to produce waste and poop (this will sink in the gravel, has no to stay on top of the sand.). The shrimps do not produce enough waste to fertilize the sand. Occasionally I put fertilizer capsules or plant sticks with heavy root feeder plants.
Father fish is always saying that aquarium plants will grow well in just sand, and get so many people say that it's just not true. Well I believe him and your tank shows here that he is correct..
@@hemkeshyeole4630 So you have 2 options you can buy his ready made soil that has the supplement in it already. Which 2 of my tanks are that way. And option 2 just buy the supplements and mix it up with your own soil mixture. Which I did in 2 of my systems as well
@@hemkeshyeole4630 so I can't say it's needed but I can say that it will allow you to have a sustainable substrate until you get a food web going which will keep your substrate full of nutrients for your plants and all those tiny organisms that keep your tank going strong
Hello, I really enjoyed this video! So, I have a question: what kind of ground would you recommend for a beginner? I recently bought a 30L tank, but I'm doing researched about the different materials what people use for their own tanks. I've had my fish for about a month now, and I got into this because I had a 15L bowl and wanted to aquascape it. For the ground there I used gravel but the gravel stones are not exactly small but they're not too big either, and they're smooth and round stones. Underneath that layer I have Tropica substrate, however, I made this mistake recently when I changed the water - a plant got stuck behind a piece of driftwood and then it got torn from the ground and the whole bowl was full of the substrate - at the time I didn't know that the gravel layer had to be at least 4 cm thick, but in my bowl it's only 1-2 cm. So, now when I'm setting up the real fish tank I want to do everything right. I like gravel a lot because it doesn't get sucked out when I do my water changes, but some dirt gets stuck between the stones which makes it hard to clean, more so if I don't want to contaminate the water with substrate again so I have to be extra careful. Also, lets say I use the same gravel for my 30L tank: how well would plants do in that scenario? Because I haven't seen anyone use the same sized gravel with carpeting plants - can they even spread through these stones? At first, when I started to research about the ground materials I thought that aquasoil would be the best option because many fishkeepers in youtube seem to love it and use it in most of their tanks, however one other creator called Girl Talks Fish tried it out once and some of her shrimp died in that tank even though it was prepared accordingly, in the end she said that she won't be using it ever again. After that video, seeing a real fishkeeper struggle with the soil, I decided that I won't be doing that. And when I researched about the sand, I found out how it makes these air pockets that can be deadly for the fish, and it's also said that the sand layer needs to be thin - how can it be thin if I have substrate underneath it, also it's prone to get sucked out when I'm water changing, and then the substrate would be in the water again. I have a male betta fish and a pleco fish, but the pleco is really tiny at the moment, so I don't think he would move around the sand enough to eliminate these air pockets. Sorry for the long rant, I'm just trying to understand how this works. Greetings from Estonia. :)
@@merilynmikiveer1476 wow that's a lot to unpack there. So a 30L tank is relatively small. If you're wanting to grow plants in the tank then I would use some planted substrate. Now this is just in my planted tanks I do not vacuum the substrate I let the wasted break down which in turn helps feed your plants. If you're not wanting live plants then a gravel or coarse sand will be fine. I hope this helps a small bit. And thanks for your comments they are always welcomed
@@razinfishes1918 Thank you for answering. But now I have other questions: what is the difference between "planted substrate" and the usual aqua substrate (the one I'm currently using)? I definitely want live plants in my aquarium, since I'm a plant enthusiast - but have not grown water plants before. Is the planted substrate in your aquariums without any other layer? If so, then how come it doesn't get mixed with the water?
@@merilynmikiveer1476 so I know your not in the US but I suspect that your local fish store would have substrate designed for plants. So 3 of my tanks my 125 gallon 75 gallon and 40 gallon all have just a planted substrate nothing else. Now with that said depending on the type of plants i.e. rooted plants or plants that are not rooted you may need plant fertilizer or roots tabs to begin. It takes time for your tank to get seasoned. You may go through algae issues but as your plants take hold and get glowing it will help starve out the algae. Algae is not a bad thing it just looks ugly. The the next trick is balancing lighting feeding and if you need to continue fertilizers. My tanks are well seasoned and I do no fertilizer at all, but I did at first for the first couple of months. Patience is the key. And you will find some plants that don't do good in your tank where others do just great. But don't give up keep plugging away and you too will figure out what works and what doesn't. One other thing once my planted tanks are established and stable I rarely do water changes I basically just top it off. As the plants do an awesome job filtering out all the ammonia and nitrates
Hey razin- I'm pretty sure that those are Ludwigia not Rotala in the sand tank :) I think one can get away with sand only if the fish waste gets in to it...
@@LushSaltyAquariums your more than likely correct. Because I had got those in a stem plants bundle from father fish a while ago. So none of it was labeled.
I think if youre a fishkeeper before an aquascaper there's no reason to be picky with the substrate. There's are zillions of weed like plants that grow in this jungle type of way in any substrate. When you are making full tank displays and professional aquascapes yourecmore focused on aesthetics so precise palnt care is much more important.
The plant in the sand substrate tank is long & leggy, its a sign of lack of nutrient in the substrate. Theres a limited space in the aquarium, so having a long, leggy growth is an eyesore. In comparison to a rich nutrient substrate the plant would be more compact & bushy. Aesthetically, FF method look much better.
@@angryzombie8088 I tend to disagree with that. These are stem plants that's the way they grow. And I started with just 1 and when it grew to the top I cut it and planted the cutting. As you can see there are several cuttings growing just fine. Eventually this tank will be full of those cuttings definitely not staving for nutrients.
@@razinfishes1918 No, you need to look at the distance between the leaves. Thats what "long & leggy" is about. Stem plant growing straight is a common knowledge. In fact most plants will grow straight. Light & amount of nutrients in the substrate will affect the distance between the leaves. Take a look at the plants in FF method tank & the sand tank, are they exactly the same? No.
Or long and leggy growth is a sign of lack of light. The symptoms of lack of nutrients is purelly deficiency or reduced growth speed. Or at least that is what I have been taught in plant fysiology class.
So the conclusion would be that substrate makes no difference. I am not really supriced. Most, if not all, aquatic plants are primarily evolved to feed from the water, not through their roots. It would be very interesting to do the same comparison between your tanks based on light intensity, bioload or awailable macro nutritions in the water. That is parameters that are scientificly proved to make a difference. Substrate is not. Hreat video and some lovelly vild tanks there.😀👍
@@greenmachinesweden thank you sir. And in my opinion my Dirted tank really out perform the others for sure in my experience. But like I said in the video I was always sold on the fact you need a planted tank substrate. But in my sand substrate tank I wasn't expecting good growth but I am seeing that. But this tank I took the white substrate out of my 180 Cichlid tank which is well seasoned full of good bacteria and nutrients which helped kick start that tank
I would like to differ regarding your assertion that most aquatic plants are primarily evolved to feed from the water, and not through their roots. On reviewing the evolution of aquatic plants, it becomes abundantly clear that the number of truly aquatic plants is vastly outnumbered by the numbers of facultative aquatic plants. This is easily proved by looking at how the aquarium trade classifies these plants. Stem plants and root plants. Stem plants such as Najas, Myriophyllum, Egeria, Cabomba, do not rely on a root system to assimilate nutrients and gain most of their nutrients through their leaves and stems. This is the primary reason why they can be propagated via stem cuttings. They don't need roots to grow. Taking some popular examples of root plants such as Cryptocoryne, Echinodorus, these are marsh plants that have adapted to fluctuating water levels and can withstand inundation for prolonged periods of time. They thrive in a nutrient rich substrate and, as the aquascaping community will vouch, benefit from the addition of fertiliser at the roots. They also benefit from the addition of dissolved minerals such as potassium, and are influenced by concentrations of minerals such as calcium and magnesium. However, they can survive in soft, nutrient poor (oligotrophic) water, as they often do in their natural habitat. Many other genera fall into this category, which I shall not mention here. There are a few aquarium plants that have evolved an amphibious lifestyle where they grow in the close vicinity of water, but spend most of the year emerged. Genera such as Anubias, Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum and Bolbitis live next to running waters where they are constantly splashed. Substrates are not too important for their growth. So these genera rely more on photosynthesis to grow, although in aquaria they demonstrate the facultative ability to absorb dissolved nutrients. The topic of substrates is a subjective one amongst aquarists. There are many differing and conflicting opinions on their use and composition. Plain media, such as sand are not always deserts. The smallest amount of circulation and diffusion can transport dissolved nutrients to roots, where a suite of microorganisms makes these available to the plant. Given good light, the plant will appear to grow satisfactorily. Stem plants are the ones that usually take off quicker than rooted plants in a new substrate, because they have the advantage of leaf absorption. To complicate matters, some aquatic plants, eg, Cabomba, develop a simple root system primarily for anchorage but which is capable of nutrient absorption. These genera will grow out of water when they rely on photosynthesis for nutrition. Floating plants (Lemna, Limnobium, Eichornia, some Utricularia sp.) whilst floating, possess roots through which they absorb nutrients. Their leaf surfaces are water repellant, thus they cannot absorb nutrients through them. These species rely on photosynthesis a lot.
@@majorbruster5916 indeed. The heavy rootfeeders feeds from the roots when emersed. When submerged they can do both. Makes really no difference submerged. The nutrients is awailable in almost the same concentrations in water and bottom thrue diffusion. Adding already mineralized nutritions in the water will make sure the roots have what they need.
I am just getting back into Fish keeping and now learning about plants : ) This video was perfect for me : ) Things and information have changed in the last 40 years : )
Loving it Again : )
Loving your take on natural aquariums. Thanks so much for sharing your learnings, very cool!
@@FlowstateAquatics thank you appreciate your comments
Live sand containing bacteria and some detritus will grow plants. It will also grow substrate. Nice job. Enjoy your channel.
@@FatherFish thank you FF you have been an inspiration to me in doing dirted tanks.
Hello, Like your video very mutch. And that you compare the different substrate is very informative. I have also done many dirted tanks but also had Good results with just sand. Even better results if i have put a undergravel filter and using sand. The undergravel filter will pull nutrient ritch water down in the substrate to feed the roots. You should try that sometime, sorry for my bad English😊
@@jon-arildolsen8178 lol no worries about bad English I'm not good at it either lol. I have used under gravel filters in probably 40 years now
Some great channels making their own marks in styles 👍👍
Nice
This is good stuff. I got my first little tank and instantly hated how plastic it felt.
Im trying my first father fish method tank today! Yours look great!
@@TyPiacella thank you so much. The father fish method for sure is a winner as long as you take your time and build the substrate correctly
Looking great thanks for sharing 😊
i havent done it in awhile cause im currently using sand but my favorite has been just gravel put java fern and anubias with some floaters for like 6 months then plant everything else
@@TemperateTanks yea I'm not a fan of gravel. I removed all gravel and changed to sand and dirted tanks
I do like sand substrate now that I am using.. the best sand I had ever used I currently don't have it now. That sand is crushed granite sand .
Tanks are looking awesome
Nice 😀 have you tried HTH pool filter sand? Stuff is awesome and super clean.
@@BassManStrikes never tried that I did however just setup my new summer Tub using black diamond blasting sand
Mr. Scotty, very good presentation and a lot of good info! I am looking at doing a Father Fish tank as I have heard nothing but good results. I knew already abut the expensive fertilized substrate, which only last about 1 year before losing nutrients. I was curious about your sand substrate tank only. Was he sand you used straight form a bag or from a previously set up tank? How long has the tank been set p?
@@randyfrost6573 yes so I pull the white sand out of my 180 gallon Cichlid tank which has been running about 4 years. Then I setup my small tank and just throwing plants in it and they took off to my surprise
Great video razin! Thanks for putting this ❤️
@@TheSalient1 thank you appreciate your comments
Great subject and video Scott, I actually touch on this subject a bit in a video I filmed for a couple weeks from now. The octopus plant is Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus. Love your tanks by the way😁👍
@@pattys_aquatics thanks. Lush and salty tells me those plants in my shrimp tank with the sand are actually luwegia and not rotalla like I thought it was. So that's good to know
I enjoy father fishes videos but also look into diana Walstad's ecology of a planted aquarium. I started there. But I am also by no means an expert. I have only ever had one dirted aquarium. Best of luck and keen to see more videos.
@@fishermansfriend5145 thank you appreciate your comments
Boy your planted aquariums are so beautiful. I need to start all over with my 20 gallon long plant tank. It was doing well my plants were growing fast until I added more fish. I'm thinking that some of the fish are eating all my plants. I took the two dwarf gouramis out. It slowed down some. But I think there's still some other fish still eating the plant.
@@dannyaquatics yea I've come to love the planted tanks. But I do plan on eventually converting all my planted tanks to a natural style tank with dirt and a sand cap. But for now I will just let them do what there doing until I have to restart a tank then I will convert
@@razinfishes1918 I have a father fish 55 gallon and I love it. I need to buy more plants. I love the plants in your video.
@@tiffanyclark-grove1989 yes Father Fish style tanks are awesome. Eventually I will convert all my planted tanks to a dirted tank. The plant growth is so much better
That's great to see. Now I want to see you graduate to a deep mixed soil with a sand cap lol. In truth you don't need much nutrient content but it's better to have more room for the roots and to establish a good source of microbes in the soil bed which will be most effective for the plants.
Most simple method is to use 50/50 Peat and coco so it doesn't drive the ph down too much too fast, crushed coral, some pool filter sand, a little bit of worm castings or long term compost not fresh/hot, and add a bit of basalt rock dust and let the nutrients from the tank get delivered down into the soil bed. You can also add crushed leaves, which is really good for plants like crypts, or other organic plant nutrients like kelp meal, alfalfa meal, biochar/ash/charcoal, and some clay based things or iron.
Oh, and you don't need a large cap of sand with this, in one of my tanks the sand is less than half an inch. As long as there's still enough room and not too much nutrients.
@@shadeaquaticbreeder2914 yep already have 2 tanks with dirted substrate with sand caps. And the plant growth in them is better than all my other planted tanks
Great video, same boat as you, whatever works for you.
@@UnkyjoesPlayhouse thanks appreciate your comments
I use sand 1 mm (her we call it fine gravel to contrast with beach like sand) for more than 50 years now. With the fish waste and poop it becomes a good substrate. I think your plants in the small shrimp tank could grow better it you combine it with fish to produce waste and poop (this will sink in the gravel, has no to stay on top of the sand.). The shrimps do not produce enough waste to fertilize the sand. Occasionally I put fertilizer capsules or plant sticks with heavy root feeder plants.
@@MarijkeWillemsen990 there are fish in there they are CPD's but they hide when I'm in front of the tank
Father fish is always saying that aquarium plants will grow well in just sand, and get so many people say that it's just not true. Well I believe him and your tank shows here that he is correct..
Tanks look GREAT!😊
@@tiffanyclark-grove1989 thank you
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
does your father fish tank have his mix of suppliment added?
@@hemkeshyeole4630 So you have 2 options you can buy his ready made soil that has the supplement in it already. Which 2 of my tanks are that way. And option 2 just buy the supplements and mix it up with your own soil mixture. Which I did in 2 of my systems as well
@razinfishes1918 you are lucky I live in india , I don't think I can get it here , I need make it for my own , that's why I was asking, is it needed
@@hemkeshyeole4630 so I can't say it's needed but I can say that it will allow you to have a sustainable substrate until you get a food web going which will keep your substrate full of nutrients for your plants and all those tiny organisms that keep your tank going strong
Hello, I really enjoyed this video! So, I have a question: what kind of ground would you recommend for a beginner? I recently bought a 30L tank, but I'm doing researched about the different materials what people use for their own tanks. I've had my fish for about a month now, and I got into this because I had a 15L bowl and wanted to aquascape it. For the ground there I used gravel but the gravel stones are not exactly small but they're not too big either, and they're smooth and round stones. Underneath that layer I have Tropica substrate, however, I made this mistake recently when I changed the water - a plant got stuck behind a piece of driftwood and then it got torn from the ground and the whole bowl was full of the substrate - at the time I didn't know that the gravel layer had to be at least 4 cm thick, but in my bowl it's only 1-2 cm. So, now when I'm setting up the real fish tank I want to do everything right. I like gravel a lot because it doesn't get sucked out when I do my water changes, but some dirt gets stuck between the stones which makes it hard to clean, more so if I don't want to contaminate the water with substrate again so I have to be extra careful. Also, lets say I use the same gravel for my 30L tank: how well would plants do in that scenario? Because I haven't seen anyone use the same sized gravel with carpeting plants - can they even spread through these stones? At first, when I started to research about the ground materials I thought that aquasoil would be the best option because many fishkeepers in youtube seem to love it and use it in most of their tanks, however one other creator called Girl Talks Fish tried it out once and some of her shrimp died in that tank even though it was prepared accordingly, in the end she said that she won't be using it ever again. After that video, seeing a real fishkeeper struggle with the soil, I decided that I won't be doing that. And when I researched about the sand, I found out how it makes these air pockets that can be deadly for the fish, and it's also said that the sand layer needs to be thin - how can it be thin if I have substrate underneath it, also it's prone to get sucked out when I'm water changing, and then the substrate would be in the water again. I have a male betta fish and a pleco fish, but the pleco is really tiny at the moment, so I don't think he would move around the sand enough to eliminate these air pockets. Sorry for the long rant, I'm just trying to understand how this works. Greetings from Estonia. :)
@@merilynmikiveer1476 wow that's a lot to unpack there. So a 30L tank is relatively small. If you're wanting to grow plants in the tank then I would use some planted substrate. Now this is just in my planted tanks I do not vacuum the substrate I let the wasted break down which in turn helps feed your plants. If you're not wanting live plants then a gravel or coarse sand will be fine. I hope this helps a small bit. And thanks for your comments they are always welcomed
@@razinfishes1918 Thank you for answering. But now I have other questions: what is the difference between "planted substrate" and the usual aqua substrate (the one I'm currently using)? I definitely want live plants in my aquarium, since I'm a plant enthusiast - but have not grown water plants before. Is the planted substrate in your aquariums without any other layer? If so, then how come it doesn't get mixed with the water?
@@merilynmikiveer1476 so I know your not in the US but I suspect that your local fish store would have substrate designed for plants. So 3 of my tanks my 125 gallon 75 gallon and 40 gallon all have just a planted substrate nothing else. Now with that said depending on the type of plants i.e. rooted plants or plants that are not rooted you may need plant fertilizer or roots tabs to begin. It takes time for your tank to get seasoned. You may go through algae issues but as your plants take hold and get glowing it will help starve out the algae. Algae is not a bad thing it just looks ugly. The the next trick is balancing lighting feeding and if you need to continue fertilizers. My tanks are well seasoned and I do no fertilizer at all, but I did at first for the first couple of months. Patience is the key. And you will find some plants that don't do good in your tank where others do just great. But don't give up keep plugging away and you too will figure out what works and what doesn't. One other thing once my planted tanks are established and stable I rarely do water changes I basically just top it off. As the plants do an awesome job filtering out all the ammonia and nitrates
Hey razin- I'm pretty sure that those are Ludwigia not Rotala in the sand tank :) I think one can get away with sand only if the fish waste gets in to it...
@@LushSaltyAquariums your more than likely correct. Because I had got those in a stem plants bundle from father fish a while ago. So none of it was labeled.
@@razinfishes1918 We don't need no stinkin' labels -lol.
@@LushSaltyAquariums well some of us old folks still would like labels hahaha
I think if youre a fishkeeper before an aquascaper there's no reason to be picky with the substrate. There's are zillions of weed like plants that grow in this jungle type of way in any substrate. When you are making full tank displays and professional aquascapes yourecmore focused on aesthetics so precise palnt care is much more important.
The plant in the sand substrate tank is long & leggy, its a sign of lack of nutrient in the substrate. Theres a limited space in the aquarium, so having a long, leggy growth is an eyesore. In comparison to a rich nutrient substrate the plant would be more compact & bushy. Aesthetically, FF method look much better.
@@angryzombie8088 I tend to disagree with that. These are stem plants that's the way they grow. And I started with just 1 and when it grew to the top I cut it and planted the cutting. As you can see there are several cuttings growing just fine. Eventually this tank will be full of those cuttings definitely not staving for nutrients.
@@razinfishes1918 No, you need to look at the distance between the leaves. Thats what "long & leggy" is about. Stem plant growing straight is a common knowledge. In fact most plants will grow straight.
Light & amount of nutrients in the substrate will affect the distance between the leaves. Take a look at the plants in FF method tank & the sand tank, are they exactly the same? No.
@@angryzombie8088 well there not the same between the two tanks but I guess we will just need to agree to disagree
Or long and leggy growth is a sign of lack of light. The symptoms of lack of nutrients is purelly deficiency or reduced growth speed. Or at least that is what I have been taught in plant fysiology class.
@@angryzombie8088 I agree with you.
So the conclusion would be that substrate makes no difference. I am not really supriced. Most, if not all, aquatic plants are primarily evolved to feed from the water, not through their roots. It would be very interesting to do the same comparison between your tanks based on light intensity, bioload or awailable macro nutritions in the water. That is parameters that are scientificly proved to make a difference. Substrate is not. Hreat video and some lovelly vild tanks there.😀👍
@@greenmachinesweden thank you sir. And in my opinion my Dirted tank really out perform the others for sure in my experience. But like I said in the video I was always sold on the fact you need a planted tank substrate. But in my sand substrate tank I wasn't expecting good growth but I am seeing that. But this tank I took the white substrate out of my 180 Cichlid tank which is well seasoned full of good bacteria and nutrients which helped kick start that tank
I would like to differ regarding your assertion that most aquatic plants are primarily evolved to feed from the water, and not through their roots. On reviewing the evolution of aquatic plants, it becomes abundantly clear that the number of truly aquatic plants is vastly outnumbered by the numbers of facultative aquatic plants. This is easily proved by looking at how the aquarium trade classifies these plants. Stem plants and root plants. Stem plants such as Najas, Myriophyllum, Egeria, Cabomba, do not rely on a root system to assimilate nutrients and gain most of their nutrients through their leaves and stems. This is the primary reason why they can be propagated via stem cuttings. They don't need roots to grow.
Taking some popular examples of root plants such as Cryptocoryne, Echinodorus, these are marsh plants that have adapted to fluctuating water levels and can withstand inundation for prolonged periods of time. They thrive in a nutrient rich substrate and, as the aquascaping community will vouch, benefit from the addition of fertiliser at the roots. They also benefit from the addition of dissolved minerals such as potassium, and are influenced by concentrations of minerals such as calcium and magnesium. However, they can survive in soft, nutrient poor (oligotrophic) water, as they often do in their natural habitat. Many other genera fall into this category, which I shall not mention here.
There are a few aquarium plants that have evolved an amphibious lifestyle where they grow in the close vicinity of water, but spend most of the year emerged. Genera such as Anubias, Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum and Bolbitis live next to running waters where they are constantly splashed. Substrates are not too important for their growth. So these genera rely more on photosynthesis to grow, although in aquaria they demonstrate the facultative ability to absorb dissolved nutrients.
The topic of substrates is a subjective one amongst aquarists. There are many differing and conflicting opinions on their use and composition. Plain media, such as sand are not always deserts. The smallest amount of circulation and diffusion can transport dissolved nutrients to roots, where a suite of microorganisms makes these available to the plant. Given good light, the plant will appear to grow satisfactorily. Stem plants are the ones that usually take off quicker than rooted plants in a new substrate, because they have the advantage of leaf absorption.
To complicate matters, some aquatic plants, eg, Cabomba, develop a simple root system primarily for anchorage but which is capable of nutrient absorption. These genera will grow out of water when they rely on photosynthesis for nutrition. Floating plants (Lemna, Limnobium, Eichornia, some Utricularia sp.) whilst floating, possess roots through which they absorb nutrients. Their leaf surfaces are water repellant, thus they cannot absorb nutrients through them. These species rely on photosynthesis a lot.
@@majorbruster5916 indeed. The heavy rootfeeders feeds from the roots when emersed. When submerged they can do both. Makes really no difference submerged. The nutrients is awailable in almost the same concentrations in water and bottom thrue diffusion. Adding already mineralized nutritions in the water will make sure the roots have what they need.
Boy scout you have a green thumb.