Hi I've tried everything from sand ,cat litter ,peat,sphagnum,top soil, and african violet soil. Flourite ,laterite,all sizes of gravel with different compositions to no substrate at all. Undergravel, plenum, heavy water movement to no movement at all.heating cables with and without reverse flow filters. Talk about trial and error lol. What else is there ?? The remarkable thing about all the experimentation is that all these methods work and have serious drawbacks in long term management. IMO the most important thing is LIGHT. proper color,intensity and duration.Next comes water chemistry right elements at in the right amounts at the right time. A good algae management system started as soon as you add water to the tank. You won't stop it but you can keep it in check. Right now ,in the 150 I'm using top soil with a light coating of small gravel and sand. I'm also using natural sunlight and growing only rooted plants. An area near the filter intake is covered with fracted acrylic due to the 1200 gph water movement. So far it has been my most successful tank. I've actually got Lace plants through the dormant period and produced viable seed. No luck with seedling as yet Water changes are at 100 percent per week with rainwater. Might also mention that this tank is conected to two ponds so there is a total of 1500 gallons of water. I could also add that I've had very long lived 10 gallon tanks using cat litter and flourescent light lol. Bring on the contentious discussion !!!! lol gary

For seedlings, I like to use plain garden soil mixed 50-50 with fine gravel used in aquariums. Some vermiculite can be mixed in to lighten it up, since it is very dense and heavy. Please, DO NOT USE PEAT if you plan on keeping the seedlings in the same mix for more than 2-3 years. Smashing the leca may result in very fine clay particles, which may not work well, but I don't know for sure.

I grow mine in sphagnum in a hanging net pot. Started my calyptratum seed in water like all other hippeastrum, but while writing this post I am thinking I will start them in sphagnum in the future. This should allow me keep them in the compots longer, make the transition to separate pots seamless and lower, if not eliminate stress. Sounds good anyway! - J

I like foam core best and I use 24 x 36" sheets. But I've used poster board also and I just ignore the wrinkling. For me, the point is to get several really large samples. I tape them up in different places to see how the color looks throughout the day. Those are lightweight. You can do a corner, tape it to the ceiling, do one near a window and one on the opposite wall etc. I only do one color at a time as doing them side by side can distort, especially if they are muted. TruHue likely has some type of coating so the paint sits on the surface and liquid from the paint isn't absorbed. But I don't find 12 z 12 large enough.