Aquasoils and Active Substrates for Planted Tanks - Substrate 101 - Why They're so Good!

Welcome back to Substrate 101 where we'll be covering active substrates, most commonly referred to as aquasoils. There's a reason they're so popular and I'll explain it all in-depth.

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[Szu-Ping]

What a wonderful video! So informative! I have been doing planted tank for four years and used Eco Complete, Seachem Flourish and Fluval Stratum and not knowing the difference... 😅🙄🤣

[patricklaundra]

I love the way you explain things from a practical, this is how "I" got good results - your mileage may vary - relevant to your style & some basic variables. without needing a science degree. I do like some of the deep details also. but I basically sift through all that to develop my own practical version of "this is how to get good results". I've watched a bazillian videos. checked out web sites. and got lot's of different information and "opinions" lol :) .. so far I've got 4 inches of CaribSea Echo Planted. a Fluval 3.0 light & a Tidal 75 filter. on a 20 gallon tall. the only plant I have so far. is a terrestrial Spider plant on some floating drift wood. it's growing like a weed under that 3.0. with long roots in the water. I'll be getting some Pathos & Philodendron to .. just cuz it's easy & it'll look cool .. I'm saving up for a Co2 Art Pro SE complete system. & I'm planning to try Florin Multi to start with. I like the idea of it not having any Nitrates or Phosphates. I'm thinking I should be able to provide those with livestock and not have to worry about a drastic algae outbreak from too much Nitrate before my plants get going. I can always adjust or change to a different fert. if that idea doesn't pan out. I plan to start with super easy plants. a couple small Amazon Swords, some Jungle Veil & maybe a Cript or 2. I've grown Swords & Jungle Veil with really bad florescent light and inert under gravel filtration years ago. so with good light, active substrate, easy plants + low & slow Co2. I think I'll be pretty well set up for instant success .. then once I've gotten familiar with how to "tweek in" all of that. I can move up to what ever plants strike my fancy .. Thanks So Sooo Much for sharing all the great content & (super helpful) information ..

[nooza]

This video was extremely interesting. I love researching things that I'm currently addicted to in a lot of detail. So far, this channel gives the most detail from the ones I know. Thanks a bunch!

[moffitdrew]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience BP

[lbox]

"I have used a dirted I am never going back"

Subscribed lol. I've not been back into fishkeeping long but doing planted tanks this time, tried dirt and pool filter sand, gravel+root tabs+loose osmocote, Stratum, aquarium sand and omsocote balls jammed into the roots of plants. I had so high of expectations of dirt with PFS as a cap, it was so far my worst disaster of a tank.

[allendaniell]

I have a 55g with home depot river gravel. I love the look of my tank, going for a North Georgia creek bottom look. Should I redo it and add aqua soil under the gravel, and how can I do this the easiest way possible.

[Hartwig]

The reason people say it dies after a year or two isn't because it won't grow plants anymore, its that it's buffering capability is gone. Big deal if you're using it for Caradina shrimp. I replace half annually.

[glantern]

I really appreciate all of the hard work and research you put into your videos! Just a friendly suggestion... try to modify the colors on your introduction logo/banner, because your first name is unreadable on my computer.

[dusk]

This is a fantastic video Sir.

Just to get super deep in the weeds. Technically, most of the inert substrates you're discussing also have a level of CEC and are not truly inert. Even silicate sand has some level of CEC. Only a chemically neutral compound, with no ionic surface charge will be truly inert. It's just that most sands and gravels have to small of a surface area to be of any chemical significance. As you go down in grain sizes to silts, and then clays; the surface area increases exponentially, and the CEC increases with it. It's why the active substrates generally have a large clay or organic matter compositions, those two categories have the highest degree of CEC.

However, for the level of discussion you're concentrating on; you are entirely correct in how the scientific theory is applied to "active" and "inert" substrates. I'm talking at a deeper level because I enjoy the topic, and you're quite correct in bypassing this level of detail in your video. But seeing a content creator dig this deep into substrates is great.

And to touch on a very specific point as a soil scientist (14:00). Fired clay never "dies". From a chemical perspective, two things can happen to degrade the aquasoil.

First, your binding cites (the CEC sites) can become saturate with less useful ion and essentially become "full". This is based on the chemical charge of the ions in your water. For example something like K+ which has a +1 charge is more likely to be easily lost and re-gained over time. However, something like Mg2+ has a stronger ionic charge, and so it is less likely to be "knocked" off the exchange site. Thus, if your aquasoil becomes inundated with ions like magnesium and calcium, over time the CEC sites are less likely to bind lesser charged ions like potassium or sodium. They effectivly become "clogged". While they're not dead, they become less able to readily exchange ions, and thus exchange a more narrow (and less desirable) number of ions.

Second, Organic matter (OM) tends to slowly break down over time. highly decomposed OM like humus is quite stable, and it too has a very large amount of CEC. But it too slowly breaks down. Thus any aquasoil with a large OM constituent, simply lost it over time. which lowered the overall amount of CEC available in that soil.

The third issue is a physical property, and that has to do with compression and compaction. These aquasoils can simply loose shape over time. Or they can have their pore space clogged due to erosion of the aquasoil, detritus, mulm, or polymeric films (bacterial bio films). This cuts down water movement and diffusion, leading to anoxic and even anaerobic conditions. While not "dead", if these aquasoild compact it can lead to conditions that are far below a desired aerobic soil.

Barring those 3 things, generally speaking: aquasoil should be able to last for decades! Fertilizers, fish food, & nutrient cycling (form invertebrates and bacteria) all renew the available ionic nutrients the plants generally need.

I hope that helps answer that point of discussion.

[Zaku]

Ok i need to be watching this in order and watching vids over and over until i get it till i move on the to next. this is absolutely packed with game changing info.

[MasterPhotographer]

Great content, my friend! I’ve watched, and rewatched, this video, and every time, I learn something else.

[angiemoore]

Thank you for this series. I am newly addicted to planted tanks and am so fascinated by learning all I can to be successful. My first tank was set up with just gravel with root tabs. my second tank has been set up with eco complete because I had learned a little more. I am having significantly better plant growth with my second tank. Enjoying getting to know all of the wonderful folks on the YouTube fish community!

[newmexicoaquatics]

Thank you for sharing! Love your channel Bentley! - Little Bobby

[TankTastic]

So well put together. Crazy knowledge here. I just did a basic test on eco complete because I got in this hobby with people saying it is inert, but its not.

[inevitability]

These series on fertilizers and substrates of yours are awesome. Thanks!

[pingguin]

Thanks for sharing this to the world. I am taking down notes and am looking forward to.watching about your explaination about dirtied tank garden soil next

[OfMiceAndTrains]

Great info. I’m enjoying this series very much. Thanks

[stevecox]

I have modeled my tanks using Kevin Novak's advice of setting up a plenum, and baked clay (cat litter in my case) with a sprinkle layer of Florinbase laterite powder. I also use a thin layer of aquarium gravel for aesthetics and I found it helps to keep stem plants anchored better. So far so good

[keniag]

This video is very useful. I'm learning about planted tanks and this was exactly what I needed. Thank you sir

[mattr]

What a great video! Thanks Bentley for helping us be more successful.