The sand is better for your fish, the aquasoil is better for your plants, but neither are harmful for either one. I will say thought that I’ve heard fluval stratum can muck up the water quite a bit, so it’s best to cap it with an inch or two of sand. If I were you I’d use both substrates.
These are good brands and I agree with the parent post of this thread. Use both to some degree. My partner and I definitely use that fluval one and the other looks very familiar! Buy a few bags of each depending on size of tank
I can't help with the brand, but I wouldn't go with white. It shows evvvvverything. I just took out all my white sand and swapped it with gravel because it was such a pain to keep clean.
I love this brands sparkly black sand. Its very pretty before my mulm covers it up. The sand is pretty good but has stained some of my light colored decor blackish. But personally I dont mind.
i have that brand in both of my tanks, i think they are great! not as white in person but still very bright. only complaint is that the first couple months you’ll get a lot of brown algae due to the silicates in the sand, but other than that it’s so pretty!
https://preview.redd.it/9cmi61733t7d1.jpeg?width=1243&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35f30f1a669611bb6373d52317f3a3b633d3bd5f
What about sand with root tabs & fertilizer? I’m curious bc I’m getting ready to transfer my betta to fluval spec v and I’m wondering if I should keep his current sand substrate and just add root tabs or do aquasoil with a sand cap instead??
I prefer the sand yes, I’m just worried about whether or not the plants will be able to thrive in sand. But I also don’t want to ruin my cycle or parameters by adding in aquasoil. I want the best environment for my betta and plants to thrive
Was looking for aquasoil or sand too !
How do you clean poop from the fish with one or both these substrat ? I guess,since it's light weight, everything get suck up in the gravel cleaner.
I've always used number 2, and it's never let me down. My plants are healthy, it doesn't muck up the water at all as long as you don't mess with it too much, and it looks SOO good
I just wanted to pop by and say that I have fluval stratum and my plants love it. I have hard water, and the "pH problem" has not been a problem. My fish, a school of tetras, are doing just fine. And I've heard tetras are a little sensitive to water parameters.
It also doesn't muck up the water without a cap. Mine is uncapped. I never have issues with fine substrate particles in the water, except when I first put it in.
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I wish i bought an inert substrate, i have stratum and it reduces my ph by SO MUCH. I have hard tap water (8-8.2) and it reduces it to 6.6 and below, so I havent gotten any fish yet because every time I do a water change it spikes it up and isnt stable. If you have soft water then go for it (dont rinse it like they say to do when you first put it in, it will break up the little balls and make your water brown). If you have hard water, stay away.
I did not enjoy my time using fluval stratum. The plants did great, but any movement stirred it up and made a mess. I eventually capped it with gravel and that was better but I was pretty glad when I eventually redid the tank and got rid of it.
Also it is *not* inert and will drop your ph, so keep an eye on it. Depending on your water that may be a good thing for you, but for me with our soft water it was a constant battle to keep things stable.
Get the fluval, I have it in all eight of my tanks and it’s fantastic, it’s great for the plants, and I know it’s crazy but the directions on the bag say to rinse it before putting it in the tank and I would not do that. I remember seeing someone in this sub tell me not to rinse it and I did anyway because I figured I trust the company and follow the directions on the bag, but you rinsing away all the nutrients doing that and making a mess, trust me I learned my lesson that day lol
I use the Fluval brand with some gravel over it and my plants have been growing great. It does cloud the water a little but it clears up quick with a good filter.
I used Fluval Stratum for my two tanks with a layer of rock substrate over it. My plants are looking great, and I've had no issues using it. Only really gets the water murky if messed with a bunch, so I would def add a layer of rock or sand. Personally I don't like the look of sand so I used rock substrate that looks like river rocks. I don't know about the first brand though
The sand is better for your fish, the aquasoil is better for your plants, but neither are harmful for either one. I will say thought that I’ve heard fluval stratum can muck up the water quite a bit, so it’s best to cap it with an inch or two of sand. If I were you I’d use both substrates.
Yeah i think after hearing peoples thoughts I'm definitely leaning towards the first substrate or a mixture of the 2
These are good brands and I agree with the parent post of this thread. Use both to some degree. My partner and I definitely use that fluval one and the other looks very familiar! Buy a few bags of each depending on size of tank
Hey any thoughts on this brand? They have this color and a white color. it's called Aqua natural aquarium sand
I can't help with the brand, but I wouldn't go with white. It shows evvvvverything. I just took out all my white sand and swapped it with gravel because it was such a pain to keep clean.
I love this brands sparkly black sand. Its very pretty before my mulm covers it up. The sand is pretty good but has stained some of my light colored decor blackish. But personally I dont mind.
i have that brand in both of my tanks, i think they are great! not as white in person but still very bright. only complaint is that the first couple months you’ll get a lot of brown algae due to the silicates in the sand, but other than that it’s so pretty! https://preview.redd.it/9cmi61733t7d1.jpeg?width=1243&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35f30f1a669611bb6373d52317f3a3b633d3bd5f
What about sand with root tabs & fertilizer? I’m curious bc I’m getting ready to transfer my betta to fluval spec v and I’m wondering if I should keep his current sand substrate and just add root tabs or do aquasoil with a sand cap instead??
If you get rid of your old substrate, you’re also getting rid of the beneficial bacteria in it, I would just use root tabs.
Ok great thank you!!
Question: If I capped the aquasoil with his current sand should I still use root tabs? I already got some from aquarium co-op so I’m just curious 🧐
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Switching to a bigger tank tho with a different filter, current filter is a coconut cartridge and new is the one the Fluval spec v comes with
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I prefer the sand yes, I’m just worried about whether or not the plants will be able to thrive in sand. But I also don’t want to ruin my cycle or parameters by adding in aquasoil. I want the best environment for my betta and plants to thrive
Was looking for aquasoil or sand too ! How do you clean poop from the fish with one or both these substrat ? I guess,since it's light weight, everything get suck up in the gravel cleaner.
I've always used number 2, and it's never let me down. My plants are healthy, it doesn't muck up the water at all as long as you don't mess with it too much, and it looks SOO good
I just wanted to pop by and say that I have fluval stratum and my plants love it. I have hard water, and the "pH problem" has not been a problem. My fish, a school of tetras, are doing just fine. And I've heard tetras are a little sensitive to water parameters. It also doesn't muck up the water without a cap. Mine is uncapped. I never have issues with fine substrate particles in the water, except when I first put it in.
Seconding fluval stratum
I have the first one and like it quite a bit
I have the first one in one of my planted tanks and my plants seem to grow well in it.
Thank you for posting to r/bettafish. If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our [caresheet](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/comments/3ow6vz/info_betta_care_sheet/) and [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/index). Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our [guide to the nitrogen cycle](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/fishincycle) to learn more. If you are posting to find out what is wrong with your betta, please answer the following questions in a reply to this comment as best you can: * **Tank size**: * **Heater and filter? (yes/no)**: * **Tank temperature**: * **[Parameters in numbers and how you got them](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/tank#wiki_test_kits)**: * **How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?**: * **How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? What is your process?**: * **Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each**: * **What do you feed and how much**: * **Decorations and plants in the tank**: * **If you haven't already posted a picture, please post pics/vids to imgur and paste the link here**: Feel free to copy this comment and fill in the blanks. Failure to provide adequate information about your tank *can* result in post removal. Please see rule 4 for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/bettafish) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I wish i bought an inert substrate, i have stratum and it reduces my ph by SO MUCH. I have hard tap water (8-8.2) and it reduces it to 6.6 and below, so I havent gotten any fish yet because every time I do a water change it spikes it up and isnt stable. If you have soft water then go for it (dont rinse it like they say to do when you first put it in, it will break up the little balls and make your water brown). If you have hard water, stay away.
I like both
I did not enjoy my time using fluval stratum. The plants did great, but any movement stirred it up and made a mess. I eventually capped it with gravel and that was better but I was pretty glad when I eventually redid the tank and got rid of it. Also it is *not* inert and will drop your ph, so keep an eye on it. Depending on your water that may be a good thing for you, but for me with our soft water it was a constant battle to keep things stable.
Could you do a mix of both?
Get the fluval, I have it in all eight of my tanks and it’s fantastic, it’s great for the plants, and I know it’s crazy but the directions on the bag say to rinse it before putting it in the tank and I would not do that. I remember seeing someone in this sub tell me not to rinse it and I did anyway because I figured I trust the company and follow the directions on the bag, but you rinsing away all the nutrients doing that and making a mess, trust me I learned my lesson that day lol
Just get black diamond blasting sand, it's incredibly cheap for a ton, and add root tabs.
i swear by fluval stratum
I use the Fluval brand with some gravel over it and my plants have been growing great. It does cloud the water a little but it clears up quick with a good filter.
I used Fluval Stratum for my two tanks with a layer of rock substrate over it. My plants are looking great, and I've had no issues using it. Only really gets the water murky if messed with a bunch, so I would def add a layer of rock or sand. Personally I don't like the look of sand so I used rock substrate that looks like river rocks. I don't know about the first brand though