"Dax Mickelson" wrote in message
...
Richard Sexton wrote:

In article ,
Dax MIckelson wrote:
Hello all. I've had a fish tank for most of my life. Recently
I've
decided to create a tank that is mostly plants with some supportive
fish.

I've created a substrate that is composed of vermiculite and soil
(50/50
and about 2-3 inches deep) topped by about 1/2 inch of general
purpose
sand. My plants are growing well and showing good color and my
fish
look healthy too. HOWEVER, my substrate has swelled about 1/2 to 1
inch. If I push on it a ton of gas bubbles come out. Is this a
bad
thing?

It's not particularly bad. People still use vermiculite? That's so
80's
:-)


(There's no particular advantage to using vermiculite, it's more
important
to fertilize properly).





Not vermiculite? That is all I've read about to use. I'm new to
aquascaping. What do you recommend then?

There are a number of online articles that might
be helpful. Here is one that I found useful:
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_substrate.htm

I use Profile with gravel over, and it works
well enough. I don't add CO2, use plants that
do well without much fuss (light, fert, etc.), and
I have small jungles in my tanks. Fish are
healthy, monthly partial water changes are
sufficient.

Gail