COCOPEAT HELP!!

[ai[k²]wan]

hi everyone,

i used cocopeat as my base as its cheap.but after using it, i found that even with 10kg of gravel on top of the cocopeat, some one it still starts floating when i move my gravel. what should i do? will the condition get much better if i plant a lot of plants in that area?

[zmzfam]

what is the size of your tank? 10kg will be enough for 2ft to prevent the floating pieces

[ai[k²]wan]

its 2ft.. when i stir the gravel a bit, some bits will fly up then some will sink and those coconut things would float.

[nbk3]

would more gravel help ? or u want to try to put some gravel that is larger in size thus will help press down everything , provide better anchorage for plants , and also theres at least some water circulation down there []

[zmzfam]

did u mix the cocopeat with the gravel or did u put the cocopeat followed by gravel on top?

it should be the second method. anyway, you should not be stirring your gravel too much.

[vinz]

You shouldn't be stirring the substrate, period.

Large gravel is not a good idea. Plants prefer a gravel with a grain size of about 2 to 3mm. Besides, the gaps between the larger gravel are larger as well... more stuff can float thru.

[bclee]

What's the thickness of the cocopeat layer and the gravel layer?

1" thickness of gravel should be able to hold the cocopeat down. Personally, I would prefer up to 2" of gravel on top of the cocopeat.

BC

[ai[k²]wan]

my cocopeat and gravel are about 3-4 cm each, same height for both cocopeat and gravel, guess i wont go and distuirb the substrate anymore. but there are some shallower parts(gravel) so when planting the cocopeat might come out..iput in the cocopeat 1st then all the gravel.

[juggler]

Maybe a stupid question from me here: did you have water in the tank before adding the cocopeat and gravel? []

Over the weekend, I just setup a tank with 2" cocopeat base again. I covered it with 1" of gravel. Top up water. No leakage of cocopeat into the water. In fact water has been clearing up today.

For you, don't worry, just scoop the extra cocopeat away. They are harmless even when exposed to the water column as they are not that fertile with nutrients.

When planting, try not to uproot too much and replant.

[peterkoh]

just curious ... what happen when you intend to rescape the tank or slope the substrate a little ?

is there any special technique when pulling out plants, esp. those with deep roots ? reason why i'm asking is even when i'm using base fertilizer sticks which is supposed to be less messy, i'm already pulling out some and the water column gets really rich and lead to algae problem.

also, for major redo, do you just scrap off the gravel, do what u want to do then put back the gravel ? or throw everything away ? i can't imagine sifting out the gravel from the coopeat and reuse them.

thks.