LECA Filtration Media/ Substrate

I've been successfully using leca for years now. I make up bags with anchovy weave and then place the bags in my sumps. Once saturated they do sink with time. I have tested it as a substrate, but don't recommend that as detritus will build up in the gaps. I get it wholesale in 20kg bags. I use the 8 to 10 mm size.

 

That's awesome, how much do you pay for a bag +- if you don't mind me asking

 

Gosh I don't remember, less than R200 a bag, I bought plenty at the time.

 

Hydroherbafrica.co.za has leca they in rosettenville jhb. Talk to zane i got mine from there and it works great in both my canister filters

 

Does leca have any beneficial properties for planted tank? @f-fish will it be beneficial to lift my inert substrate and add layer of leca?

 

Funny you should ask this ... was actually thinking of doing a low tech easy going PFS tank with exactly that. Leca of sorts - same stuff I used in 36 degrees (maybe need to see what I have left) and then "cap it" with PFS.

But then I looked around me ... that is actually what 75% of my tanks are ... the other 25% is either a pure substrate experiments or a long running on - like 550tl - that still has the first ADA soil I ever bought. So that 75% mixed ... most of them have some form of PFS and then some form of clay - mostly heat expanded like leca, hydroton etc. (akadama does not fall into this category for me).


Example .. this is Lucky 13 ..

Right side


Left Side



And a bit of a zoom ... yes yes several years of adding substrate types ;-)

But I like deep substrates ... even on the 550tl



This is all ADA .. - was way more when it was fresh ;-)


At some point ... my substrates get mixed up even in the purest of tanks - think the longest running that still is only type is the 550tl.

In the end - and because I like the low maintenance thing I like having more than just inert PFS in a tank ...

Later Ferdie

 

Yeah - had that many moons ago with the round hydroton - but must say the finer leca stuff we get these days, I think I have less of an issue, or maybe the tank is just more in balance that something eats some another's waist all the time.

Was rather pleased at how clean the substrate in Lucky 13 is...



mostly like this for the first 1cm if that much.



Wonder how much of it is because of the rent a crowd that is in the tank.



And I do have algae ....



did find one stretch of muck, and this is in the lowest point in the valley - but this is all on top - not actually in the deeper substrate.

Later Ferdie