Aquarium Substrate & Hardscape
Active aqua soil substrate for planted tanks, fine white aquarium sand, seiryu stone hardscape and spider wood driftwood.
10 products
Type
Price
Active aqua soil substrate for planted tanks, fine white aquarium sand, seiryu stone hardscape and spider wood driftwood.
10 products
Substrate and hardscape are the parts of a planted tank you cannot swap out easily once it is running. Get the layout right on day one and the aquascape earns itself for years; get it wrong and you're rebuilding the tank to fix it. This page carries the substrate and hardscape we would buy for our own builds.
Use an active aqua soil if you are growing rooted stem plants or keeping shrimp: it holds nutrients, buffers pH downward and lasts about 18-24 months before nutrient release tapers off. Use inert sand or fine gravel if you mainly keep epiphytes like Anubias and moss attached to hardscape, or if you want your tap water parameters unchanged.
Seiryu is the classic iwagumi hardscape — angular grey rock with deep white mineral veining that catches light through the water column. It hardens the water slightly, which suits Amazon-style planted tanks and does not bother most shrimp species. Layouts use one dominant stone (the oyaishi) with two or three supporting pieces.
Fresh spider wood floats until saturated. Soak it in a bucket of dechlorinated water for a few days before planting, changing the water once when it turns brown from tannins. Once waterlogged it stays put without weighting, and the tannin release settles down within a week or two.
