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Permalink Reply by Nick's Wet World (0_o) on March 18, 2012 at 6:49am

Here in the uk, most people from here have been trying out Moler clay " clay based compound", its a great substrate for growing plant and should give you the option of uprooting your plant with no worries.It has a very high, high high CEC , Captation Exchange Capacity "ca'nt stress that fact enought" which is very good, actually "excelent" when considering a substrate. The grain come in a 1-3 or 3-5mm size which is very ideal for root developement and aeration.

Another interesting fact about this substrate, is it's ability to keep warm to a degree, which is another stable importance to strong root growth. It is packed with iron contents also and hold nutrients for slow release.

The substrate is very light at first and some people have said thats how eco is also. I have'nt kept e-co complete before so i ca'nt debate on that. Because it is very light at begining it will be a hassle to keep plants down and you will require to have a faire amunt of it down first to get the plants to hold. However, after the substarte starts to obsorb it will get significantly heavier and hold plants down more sturdily.

I can go on and on about this substarte, but I'll leave some answers your your questions.

Its advertised in the Uk as kitty litter but I doubt you will find it in America advertised as kitty litter. 

A few people from the US are using a simular product turf. Contact GSP or Kevin as they are the only ones I know which have converted to Moler in the US.

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Permalink Reply by 2apes2gp667wr on March 18, 2012 at 10:45am

The product I used is called Turface. It is used in baseball infields. Very similar to the moler clay. From what I read its nearly identical to the aquariumplants.com substrate. I got a 2 fifty pound bags for $10 each. If you want to see what it looks like its in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B77cPGeV0a8

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Permalink Reply by Andy on March 18, 2012 at 1:49pm

Thank you very much I found a distributer near me that sells Turface.   I want to get the amazon color though,does it grow plants welll? Thank you very miuch

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Permalink Reply by GSP on March 18, 2012 at 4:25pm

Sand, turface, fluorite, eco complete... they all work great!

i do like turface though.

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Permalink Reply by Andy on March 18, 2012 at 7:49pm

I was looking forward to your reply GSP thank you. Do you add liquid frets or substrate ferts   To keep the substrate full of nutrients

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Permalink Reply by GSP on March 18, 2012 at 7:52pm

Yes, when the plants are needing the nutrients I put them in. In highlight plant tanks where the nutrients are in high demand, I dose ferts daily, and regularly add tabs to the substrates.

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/EI.htm

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Permalink Reply by Jody has Angels on March 18, 2012 at 11:53pm

Thanks for the link GSP- Just getting a 90 set up...big decision between dirt or another substrate. I will set up my own forum Q & A now

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Permalink Reply by Andy on March 19, 2012 at 3:54am

Jody , recently I saw your post. I like dirt but it is a mess I would like to change my setup around as far as aquascape but it is hard to do with dirt. GSP with Turface are tabs necessary  or can I just use liquid ferts. I am using the mix you recommended from aquariumfertilizer.com. It works well, how much do you spend per bag of Turface ?

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Permalink Reply by GSP on March 20, 2012 at 5:58pm

Tabs necessary? No, but beneficial for the root feeding plants.

Also clay substrates have a high CEC Cation Exchange Capacity- so it grabs onto things tor long term release. So it is beneficial to use root tabs anyways.

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Permalink Reply by Eric on March 19, 2012 at 10:18am

i got eco-complete in my 20g and 5.5g and so far my plants seem to love it, and it was only 22 bucks for a 20lb bag.  As nick was saying it is a little light but my plants seem to hold down fine, just as long as you put them deep enough. when i move my plants around the tank gets a little messy but it quickly settles. ive had it for almost a month now and so far all is well. so id say if you can find it cheap or on sale go for it!

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Permalink Reply by Andy on March 19, 2012 at 1:08pm

Thank you!

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Permalink Reply by Braden on March 24, 2012 at 1:54pm

Hi guys! I'm planning on redoing my substrate and i don't want to do dirt i dont think. Right now i have dirt and then it is capped with eco complete. I'm thinking about either doing just turface or doing an inch of turface and then about an inch or so of eco complete that i already have. I just think the eco complete will still help even though it's been in the tank since christmas, plus i like the black tone. I would probably use root tabs aswell. I just want to achieve a really good substrate to put some harder plants in. What do you think?

Thanks, Braden

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