Could this be used as potting material? - Orchid Board

ridethespiral · #1 08-16-2013, 03:34 PM

I have a 75g fishtank and the filter I bought for it came with this stuff. It is meant to be used as a surface for bacteria to grow on to convert ammonia to nitrate but my tank is planted so I have no need for bio filtration.

I can't attach a picture, but a quick google of "EHEIM Substrat pro" will bring up the pictures

It holds onto water as it is porous, while also letting all of the excess drain out. I'm just really curious because another post mentioned hydroton and I saw it looked similar. It is called EHEIM Substrat pro. It seems like it might be little too rough.. They're about 1 - 1.5cm in diameter.

Don't think I'm crazy! :P

Tim C. · #2 08-16-2013, 08:27 PM

I'm familiar with Substrat Pro - spent many years in the planted tank world. So many things can be used as a potting medium, as long as the growing environment, watering schedule, etc. is adjusted to meet the plant's needs based on the type of medium it's in. Speaking specifically of Substrat Pro, I'd say go for it definitely. I grow a lot of my plants in semi-hydro culture using LECA (PrimeAgra, Hydroton, etc.), so I wonder if Substrat Pro would work similarly. I imagine it would hold moisture well, and be pretty airy also, so would work well in traditional potting methods too.

I'm curious as to your results, so I'll definitely be watching for updates.

-Tim

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ridethespiral · #3 08-16-2013, 09:30 PM

Cool, that's all I needed to hear.

I re-potted the two orchids I have that were desperate to get out of the sphagnum moss into this stuff. It looks like it's going to work amazingly.. Extremely easy to water vs soaking root bark. It doesn't float either so it's easy to just dip into water with a little bit of fertilizer.

Will give updates eventually. For now, I'm going to research into semi-hydro.. I imagine if it works well, and I get a nicer orchid (not noid) I will have to reuse this stuff. I only have enough for about 3/4 of a pot now and this stuff is crazy expensive lol.

Tim C. · #4 08-16-2013, 09:42 PM

I didn't even think about them not floating - that's one of the qualities I look for in a potting medium. Can't wait to see how your two plants take to this method.

-Tim

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ridethespiral · #5 08-17-2013, 12:25 AM

I think there's a chance it won't work as well as I thought. It seems to be drying out very very fast. I'm not sure if it has good capillary action either.. Was reading and saw that that is a good attribute. I threw some in a cup with water at the bottom and will see if it can make its way to the top.

What do you use?

Tim C. · #6 08-17-2013, 01:15 AM

For my semi-hydro plants, I use PrimeAgra. The rest of my plants are in sphagnum moss, or in a bark based mix I make myself (seedling-grade fir bark, medium grade sponge rock, and smaller-sized horticultural charcoal).

I love the semi-hydro method, and my bark and moss work well for my other plants, but I'm always looking for new potting mixes and methods. Since I grow indoors, under lights, I'm constantly building an arsenal of ways to bend my indoor environment to the needs of my plants, and their needs to fit my environment - kind of a meet in the middle approach.

I'm curious as to whether the Substrat Pro is dry on the inside of the pieces. It's been a while, but if I remember correctly, those porous bio-filter materials grow aerobic bacteria on/in the outer areas, and grow anaerobic bacteria on the inside, since these two types of bacteria work in tandem to move the Nitrogen Cycle along. With that in mind, I'd imagine the inner-most areas of the Substrat Pro still contain water to one degree or another, I'm just not sure how much.

Either way, I'd imagine it'd make a good additive to a homemade or store bought potting mix, though of course not very cost-effective, as you mentioned. Experiment with the stuff you have on hand, but definitely give one of the LECA products a try if you're interested in semi-hydro (PrimeAgra, Hydroton, Aliflor, etc., etc..). If you prefer to buy in person, look for hydroponics stores in your area - LECA products are staples in those stores, since they're so widely used.

By the way, what are the genera of the two orchids you're working with, and what are your growing conditions? My growing area is warm (85 or so during the day, 75 at night), has about 40% humidity, and moderate airflow. I use the semi-hydro method for my moisture loving plants (Phals, Paphs/Phrags, and Oncids), since the moss and bark mixes i use tend to dry very quickly in my growing area.

-Tim

ridethespiral · #7 08-17-2013, 01:42 AM

I was using bark + charcoal + gravel mix for another orchid, and I do agree, it doesn't stay saturated long enough for me for the amount of work it takes to water it.

I wouldn't mind giving these guys a quick water every 3rd or 4th day if it's needed, just because of how simple it is with this stuff. I'm still not all up to date on this semi-hydro stuff, but it seems that being able to just water it and have some excess in the plate thingy so it wicks up would be ideal. I should have soaked the substrat pro before potting the orchids as to saturate the middle.

Unfortunately, it's extremely hard to keep the humidity up in here as there is no central humidifier. I tried one for the room but it just did nothing at all. The humidity level is usually around 20-40% in the summer, and as low as 10% in the winter.. (I know, terrible!) My temp/humidity monitor ran out of batteries and I haven't replaced them yet lol, so not too sure what it is now, but prob 40-50%.. It's supposed to storm soon.

I currently have them on top of my fish tank, which has a 2x T5HO fixture hanging above it, so that warms up the area when it's on, and the fish tank itself is around 21C (70F?).. the house is usually 20-25C (sometimes 30C.. no AC) in the summer. (68-77ish F?) In the winter we have the heat down at night and it drops to around 15C (59F) at night time.. Not much airflow other than when it's hot and we have fans running in the living room.

They are both noid walmart phals btw.. I also just checked the cup of substrat pro with water at the bottom, and it looks like it's making it's way to the top

ridethespiral · #8 08-24-2013, 03:04 PM

Just a quick little update..

These two orchids seem to love the new potting material. There's a whole bunch of 'happy sap' along some of the leaves of both orchids! I've never even seen this before. I haven't switched over to 'full' semi-hydro yet since there wasn't really any new roots growing. Just watered them one time and left some aquarium water in the dish. I sprinkled some rooting powder around the stems to encourage them a bit as well.

I think the substrat is almost dried out now, but I think I'm going to wait another day before I water them. It stays moist for a long time when there's water in the dish which I shouldn't have done at first. It does an amazing job at wicking the water which is perfect for when I do switch over.

One question though. Once they start putting out new roots, how long should the roots be before I go semi-hydro? I just don't want to kill off all of the roots and not have new roots adjusted to the amount of water.

edit: Also, should this maybe be moved or reposted in the semi-hydro section?