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Hi:

I'm setting up a 950 gallon poly stock tank as a backyard summer pond for some of my turtle collection in southwestern KY. A buddy & I put up one of those quick assemble 10x10' chain link dog kennels around it to keep out wandering toddlers & dogs (neither of which should be here, but I'm cautious...).

I want to plant some live plants to aid on water quality, serve as turtle food & 'look good.' Yellow pond lilly is planned; probably Lizards-tail, and maybe Lotus. I also plan some water hyacinth.

I bought some plant baskets for the pond, but I don't know what kind of substrate to use. The yellow pond lillies will be wild-harvested, so we're talking mud! I'm thinking that might not be the way to go.

What do you guys recommend for substrate in large plant pots? In an aquarium I'd use Flourite, but for this project it's not cost-effective.

Richard.

You can use plain pond gravel that can be bought in garden centres, just make sure that it's marked for pond use and wash it first. You can also use the gravel found in fish shops, but the gravel from the garden centre will be cheaper.

I don't know anything about turntles, but if it's not an issue, you can also plant them in peat, but that will make your water more acidic in time, which might not be good for the turtles, but I don't know.

Cool. So plain gravel typically works okay without 'enriching' it with soil, fertilizer, etc...?

Richard.

I've used both plain pea gravel found in the landscaping section of DIY stores like home depot, and Shultz's Aquatic Plant soil. Shultz's is more like baked clay (similar to florite but @a fifth of th cost) and won't turn muddy in the water, although it does need to be rinsed before using it. Because of it's smaller size the shultzs may be better since it allows the plants to dig in more easily.

If you've got some wild collected plants you might want to try a mix of store bought substrate with some of whatever you've collected them from.

^_^ [hr width='40%']"Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness
I need to calculate,what creates my own madness...
and I am waiting for disaster"

I agree with Babel (can you believe that) and I have found that with water lilies mine seem to do better, by that I mean bloom more often with some sort of clay mixture added to the gravel.

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Kittylitter Look for the cheap, generic brands that have no additives. A 25 pound bag costs about 2 dollars. Cat litter is just low-fired clay that has been crushed. I pot with it dry, then soak and rinse it before putting it into the pond. As the clay soaks up water it expands a bit, locking in the roots of the plants. I then put a covering layer of pea gravel on top to prevent digging.

Great idea Dolf! I had never thought of using it before. I'll be replanting some of my water lilies this spring and I'm going to give it a try./:'

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain