is my gravel too coarse for plants?

[sunup]

I've been struggling to get my Amazon Swords to root properly. The gravel in my 20-gallon tank is about 5mm in size. Could that be why they keep floating up? I've got a basic LED light and dose liquid ferts weekly.

[hydroflux]

5mm gravel is definitely on the coarser side for Amazon Swords. They prefer finer substrates to anchor their roots. Have you tried using root tabs? They'll help compensate for the lack of nutrient retention in larger gravel. Also, what's your lighting schedule? Swords need at least 8 hours of moderate light.

[daxonel]

Dude, just glue those bad boys to a rock or something. Gravel's a pain for swords, but super glue gel works like magic. I've got mine chilling on lava rocks, and they're thriving. Way easier than messing with substrate.

[breezy]

Dude, just glue those bad boys to a rock or something. Gravel's a pain for swords, but super glue gel works like magic. I've got mine chilling on lava rocks, and they're thriving. Way easier than messing with substrate.

Gluing might work short-term, but long-term, swords need their roots in substrate to absorb nutrients. Maybe try mixing in some sand or finer gravel around the base?

[juluxe]

Y'all are overcomplicating it. Grab some pool filter sand, cap that gravel, and call it a day. Swords will root like crazy, and it's cheap as heck. Just rinse the sand first unless you wanna cloud up your tank for a week.

[starfinder]

Pool filter sand is a solid move, but if you're not into rescaping, try weighting the swords down with plant weights or small stones. It's a temp fix, but it'll buy you time to figure out a permanent solution.

[nexus]

gravel size matters less if you're dosing heavy. just pump more ferts and they'll adapt. seen it work in my buddy's tank.

[landon]

Man, I threw some swords in my gravel tank last year and they just melted away. Switched to sand and now they're taking over. Coarse gravel's a death sentence for those guys, no cap.

[sunup]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I'll try adding root tabs first and see if that helps. If not, I might go the sand route.

[hydroflux]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I'll try adding root tabs first and see if that helps. If not, I might go the sand route.

Root tabs are a good start, but monitor the swords closely. If you see yellowing or stunted growth after a month, it's definitely a substrate issue. Sand's a safer bet long-term.