When you're shopping for your first aquarium, you're often asked: "Do you want a substrate for your aquarium?" To which I often think, "Is that really necessary?" We've researched it for you and gathered all the answers in this blog post about substrate and aquariums!
It's best to start by adding liquid plant food yourself; the soil doesn't matter. Then you can enrich the soil with nutrient capsules. This prevents expensive substrate from mixing with regular gravel, and you'll save money!
Is a substrate necessary for aquarium plants?
Once you have substrate under your aquarium gravel, it's quite difficult to remove it, so our question is: is it really necessary? A substrate acts as a kind of buffer for your plant nutrition. It usually lasts for a year and provides all the basic needs of your aquarium plants. The downside is that it's under your aquarium gravel, making it harder to vacuum your aquarium with a gravel vacuum because the gravel gets mixed with the substrate, which doesn't look good.
If you also want to keep more luxurious plants, a nutrient-rich substrate isn't always enough; CO2, trace elements, and iron are often needed. These substances are rarely, if ever, present in the substrate.
That's why we always recommend an alternative substrate. If the gravel in your aquarium is a bit older, it will also harbor beneficial bacteria that, with the right composition, can also support your plants.
The best alternative to traditional substrate
Instead of filling the aquarium with substrate first, fill it with aquarium gravel. This can be either new or older gravel. Older gravel is better because it often contains some detritus, which helps your substrate get started faster.
Fill the aquarium with a thick layer of gravel, at least 10 centimeters or more. This will form the foundation for your aquarium plants. You can also use coarser gravel under the regular gravel; this improves circulation around the plant roots.
You can now simply set up the aquarium the way you want. Once you've set it up, all you have to do is place the nutrient capsules near the plants. These capsules slowly release nutrients directly into the plants over a longer period. Anything not absorbed disappears deeper into the aquarium gravel. You essentially create a nutrient substrate from your regular gravel substrate.
Flourish Caps 10 Pieces
FlourishCaps are capsules containing complete plant food for your aquarium plants, which absorb nutrients through their roots. It's important not to vacuum or stir the gravel, but only siphon the surface. Also, once a week, poke your finger through the gravel to allow any accumulated air to escape. As your aquarium ages, more organic waste will accumulate in the gravel. This is broken down by bottom bacteria into beneficial substances for your filter and aquarium plants.
What if your plants still develop a deficiency with this alternative soil?
If you notice after a few weeks that aquarium plants are still experiencing nutritional deficiencies, this could be due to a number of things:
- Your lights are on for too long or too short
- You didn't put enough nutrients at the roots
- You have to start adding extra CO2
- There are plants that mainly absorb nutrients through the leaves and not the roots.
So, if you have plants that primarily absorb nutrients through their leaves and roots, you'll need to supplement with liquid nutrients. (Plants like Vallisneria absorb nutrients primarily through their leaves.) But don't worry, this is a lot easier than it sounds.
Instead of using individual plant food, choose a specific all-in-one feeder. This contains everything your plants need. It's also much cheaper than having to administer each nutrient separately.
With Aquatic Plant Solutions (the same brand as the caps), you pay only €0.14 per week for plant food .* This is much cheaper than most plant foods, which can cost you up to €1.00 per week!
*With average planting and average lighting with a 100L aquarium.
