Some Gex soil / aquascaping questions

[dknight]

Hi, i'm starting a 1.5 ft shrimp tank with some plants/moss.. although i doubt if i'll move on to CRS eventually.

Just a couple of questions hope you guys can help me with :

At the moment i have laid already laid my Gex 'red' substrate. If i lay another layer of lapis / fine sand on top of the Gex soil will it negate the 'lowering PH value' qualities of the Gex soil? Or is it alright as long as you have it as a substrate?

Secondly, after scaping and beginning cycling, if i decided to change the landscape to accomodate a driftwood or rock (eg. adding a higher slope or 'dig' a trench etc) will it mess up the soil/water really bad?

Finally, i've seen other planted tank hobbyists with lapis/fine sand on top of Amazonia/Gex/Magicsoil substrate in their tanks. When you do planting do you actually push the roots way into the substrate or do you just push the roots in and let it grow into the substrate on its own?

Thanks a lot in advance.

[williamng]

Hi

1) I dont recommend adding lapis/ fine sand on top of GEX soil. It will look weird and in my opinion, it could mess up the substrate if you do any replanting. The GEX soil itself is good enough and according to reports, the PH will be stable at 7.0

2) I believe so. It is better for you to plan out the scape and do the final scape rather than making changes.

3) For me, I make sure the roots is hidden inside the sand. The roots will find its way into the nutrients so you need not worry.