On 2 Feb 2003 05:52:10 -0800, (C.S.) wrote:

Dave Millman wrote in message ...
linda mar wrote:

Hi all,

as I was planting the aquarium, I have become aware that the gravel I have
is probably a bit too coarse for the plants. like, I can't seem to keep
blubs from dislodging itself, every time I try to plant near one (4in away)
that's already in the gravel, ones nearby gets dislodged etc...

will this become a problem once the roots are allowed to settle? the gravel
is pea-sized standard aquarium gravel...

It is probably too coarse. Recommended size is 2-3mm, while peas are more like
4-10mm. What you are experiencing now will continue to happen, only slightly
less so if the roots can get established.

I use gravel that is 1/2" - 1" in size, more like small rocks. New
plants without roots are a little bit of a headache but you can use
weights to keep them down (LFS). Now that my plants are established
they dont move, regardless of what I do in the tank. I've pulled up
some plants and found whole rocks wraped in roots.

I have to concur, my gravel is larger sized natural stone and once the
plants get rooted you have to take up rocks and all to get them out.
They work fine for me, but to each his own as to what they like. Most
old hands with plants recommend smaller, therefore lighter substrate to
make the rooting easier, but all the types of plants I have tried so far
have not found my top layer of larger stone to be a major problem