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View Poll Results: Which soil do you prefer and recommend

Voters
43. You may not vote on this poll
  • ADA alone

    21 48.84%
  • ADA plus Power Sand

    7 16.28%
  • ADA plus ALL the additives

    5 11.63%
  • Borneo Wild plant soil

    4 9.30%
  • Borneo Wild plant soil plus ALL the additives

    1 2.33%
  • GEX plant soil

    4 9.30%
  • ANS plant soil

    4 9.30%
  • GEX plant soil

    1 2.33%
  • MASTER plant soil

    1 2.33%
Multiple Choice Poll.
Results 1 to 19 of 19

Thread: Poll on substrate used

  1. #1
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    Poll on substrate used

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    George Farmer has recently posted a review of the HELP advanced soil which most of the people in this forum have stated to be pretty poor. He had good reviews
    http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.u...t.php?sid=6539

    I wonder what you guys normally use and therefore have included a poll. I think it is best to talk about whether we use the complete set of substrate eg. Ada powersand/bacter100 + amazonia etc or just the soil alone.

    This probably gives most of us an idea what to try out the next time we want to do a rescape or those starting a hobby. For obvious reasons, I am not including the Shrimp substrates as we are talking about the planted aquarium.

    ADA alone
    ADA + power sand
    ADA plus ALL the additives

    Borneo Wild Plant soil
    BW plant soil plus ALL their additives

    ANS plant soil

    HELP advanced soil

    MASTER Soil

    GEX Soil


    I personally just use ADA alone. Of course with other dosing ferts from my own mixture from Eco-city hydroponics

    I have tried ANS soil. Decent but not fantastic. Price is very similar to ADA that is why I rather get ADA.
    Holy is the Lord, God Almighty ! The Earth is filled with His Glory !
    90 x 50 x 50 cm tank: Eheim 2217; ANS CO2 Solenoid with 60mm intense bazooka; Zetlight 6400; Teco 500 Chiller; Borneo Wild Steel inlet/outlet
    Ferts: Dry Mixture/Dr Mallicks. Temp: 26 degrees Substrate: ADA Amazonia

  2. #2
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    I have had some nice success with Gex soil. But the nutrient content in the soil seems to run out quite fast from my observation.

    I personally reccomend ADA Ammazonia with Power Sand base. I have never used all the additional base additives due to the cost haha.

    Cheers,
    JJ
    Cheers,
    JJ


  3. #3
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    I prefer ADA. Have used ANS, but find it not as rich, still using it in current tank but won't buy new bags of it. Also tried flourite, onxy sand, they're not even close to ADA. Where I don't use ADA because of costs reasons etc, I find better results with a custom dirt mixture with cap compared to commercial aquarium substrates.

    Frankly, if water dosing is done very well, even plain sand can grow very nice tanks, especially if easier plants are chosen. For example, if I grew vals, anubias and java fern only, I can get the same results with ADA or plain sand as long as my water dosing is fine. However, I find that more demanding plants do better in ADA or other more enriched substrates.

  4. #4
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    I just realised I did put GEX twice... Arrghh,... wanted to put in HELP advanced soil.

    Anyway noone uses Borneo Wild? Its a local company and I was thinking also of trying it but need some opinions. Of course the best combi so far is still ADA and if got a bit of cash, ADA amazonia then top up with ADA powder... and use POWER SAND.
    Holy is the Lord, God Almighty ! The Earth is filled with His Glory !
    90 x 50 x 50 cm tank: Eheim 2217; ANS CO2 Solenoid with 60mm intense bazooka; Zetlight 6400; Teco 500 Chiller; Borneo Wild Steel inlet/outlet
    Ferts: Dry Mixture/Dr Mallicks. Temp: 26 degrees Substrate: ADA Amazonia

  5. #5
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    For me personally i do quite like ADA amazonia. I've used GEX substrate before but prefer the smaller grain size of the amazonia. Unless buffering of the water is required for pH reasons or whatever, I think plain gravel could grow nice plants, that is of course if water column dosing and/or root tabs are used
    -=I work in the dark to serve the light=-

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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    Have used the following soil:

    Borneo Wild Plant soil (Current setup)


    ANS plant soil (Past setup)

    HELP advanced soil (Past setup)

    1) So far the Borneo Wild (BW) is doing great in my tank.
    About 6 months into usage and the Crypts and marsilea hirsuta are growing well. Most of the soil are still retaining their round like appearances.

    2) ANS was ok although I dumped extra base fert and garden soil and plant growth exploded haha .

    3) HELP didn't really perform much for me in my past setups. Mainly stringy like growth observed from the plants and algae breakouts too, although it maintained the PH of the tank quite nicely.

    Now, this result may vary for my case as I used the soil in a small scale setup only - GEX size S tank.


    Advice from boss Felix

  7. #7
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    You use just the BW plant soil or with additives ?
    Holy is the Lord, God Almighty ! The Earth is filled with His Glory !
    90 x 50 x 50 cm tank: Eheim 2217; ANS CO2 Solenoid with 60mm intense bazooka; Zetlight 6400; Teco 500 Chiller; Borneo Wild Steel inlet/outlet
    Ferts: Dry Mixture/Dr Mallicks. Temp: 26 degrees Substrate: ADA Amazonia

  8. #8
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    Just the BW soil. Never used additives before


    Advice from boss Felix

  9. #9
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    I'm currently using Advanced Soil Plants, been uaing for more than 1 year, as it is cheaper than ADA soil and many other brands, and does not cloud water at all. So far have had excellent results, but I do use root tabs to supplement the fertilizers in the soil.

    In the past when I first started using soil, I used HELP soil, but it clouds the water when stirred up and disintegratea more easily. However, I didnt notice negative plant growth patterns... Or maybe that was because I was a beginner then.

  10. #10
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    I thought Advanced plant soil is HELP advanced soil - the same?
    Holy is the Lord, God Almighty ! The Earth is filled with His Glory !
    90 x 50 x 50 cm tank: Eheim 2217; ANS CO2 Solenoid with 60mm intense bazooka; Zetlight 6400; Teco 500 Chiller; Borneo Wild Steel inlet/outlet
    Ferts: Dry Mixture/Dr Mallicks. Temp: 26 degrees Substrate: ADA Amazonia

  11. #11
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    Looks like ADA is the overwhelming choice for aquarist. Only 1 Borneo wild user. Need more feedback from BW user.
    Holy is the Lord, God Almighty ! The Earth is filled with His Glory !
    90 x 50 x 50 cm tank: Eheim 2217; ANS CO2 Solenoid with 60mm intense bazooka; Zetlight 6400; Teco 500 Chiller; Borneo Wild Steel inlet/outlet
    Ferts: Dry Mixture/Dr Mallicks. Temp: 26 degrees Substrate: ADA Amazonia

  12. #12
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    Quote Originally Posted by Phillipians View Post
    I thought Advanced plant soil is HELP advanced soil - the same?
    Oops my bad... I am currently using Planta soil, not HELP Advanced Soil.

  13. #13
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    As in ANS planta soil i presume.
    Holy is the Lord, God Almighty ! The Earth is filled with His Glory !
    90 x 50 x 50 cm tank: Eheim 2217; ANS CO2 Solenoid with 60mm intense bazooka; Zetlight 6400; Teco 500 Chiller; Borneo Wild Steel inlet/outlet
    Ferts: Dry Mixture/Dr Mallicks. Temp: 26 degrees Substrate: ADA Amazonia

  14. #14
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    I started with HELP and recently changed everything to ADA. Noticed the round pellets started breaking down in less than 3 months. Will see how ADA goes but think most gave it good reviews. Also had Borneo wild in another tank. Excellent so far and water does not cloud easily even when stirred up due to planting etc.

  15. #15
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    BW is local??? Didn't know that.

  16. #16
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    Yup BW is local. From green chapter
    Holy is the Lord, God Almighty ! The Earth is filled with His Glory !
    90 x 50 x 50 cm tank: Eheim 2217; ANS CO2 Solenoid with 60mm intense bazooka; Zetlight 6400; Teco 500 Chiller; Borneo Wild Steel inlet/outlet
    Ferts: Dry Mixture/Dr Mallicks. Temp: 26 degrees Substrate: ADA Amazonia

  17. #17
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    Have had good personal experiences with GEX though.

  18. #18
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    Yeah! I absolutely LOVE ADA Aquasoil! It comes in a variety of colours and styles and even does fishless cycling for you since it has some Ammonia in it! I use it all the time!
    Does this make sense: ~Imperfect Past equals future tense~


  19. #19
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    Re: Poll on substrate used

    I think it all depends on what you want to grow?? Tough plants like HC, UG etc need a better soil and in my opinion tend to be high root feeders. But if its easier plants glosso, elatine triandra etc; then i have seen people grow lush carpets on just river sand with slow release ferts.
    any soil after 6-8 months will probably loose all its nutrient content with plants relying on coloumn feeding.

    i prefer ada as it has till now given me good results with almost all plants, so i haven't tried others..
    Not sure if this is helpful..

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