plants in gravel

[lloyd1]

ive recently bought a arc35litre aquarium and wanted to put gravel in it.But im only having 1 samari fighter innit and wanted to heavily plant it would plants thrive in gravel thanks if not what wuld i have to do

[Stan193]

There's different types of gravel/substrate. There's the basic gravel or sand that doesnt really do aa great deal for the plants other than hold them in place. There other types of substrates that provide nurishment for the plants so they will do better if planted in that, you can use differnt layers eg a layer of peat then a substrate on top or I think theres some called fluorite that provides iron for the plants. I'm no expert but the ones specifically for making your plants grow should be a lot better. It will be a bit more expensive but with the size of tank you have its still shouldn't cost that much.

[Trillian]

It all depends on the plants you choose but IME they do fine in gravel. It's the lighting aspect that's the most important for their growth.

[Grond]

Originally Posted by Stan193

that doesnt really do a great deal for the plants other than hold them in place.

That's all it needs to do. As long as you have a decent nitrogen cycle going on in your tank, your plants will get their nutrients from the water.

Originally Posted by Trillian

It all depends on the plants you choose but IME they do fine in gravel. It's the lighting aspect that's the most important for their growth.

Agreed! Hold them down, feed them, give them enough light. Perfick!

[lloyd1]

cheers for that ill just put white gravel in and fill it with plants and give them pkleanty of lighht also can i out a sucking loach in there with a siamese fighter to keep it clean????