ADA of RAC active soil for shrimp only tank???

[Fran09]

Hi all bros,
Planning to setup another 3 ft tank and
having a hard time to decide between ADA or RAC soil.

Have mixed feeling
for both after reading forum feedbacks.

ADA need longer cycling period
with frequent water changes. Need to be careful with ammonia spikes.

RAC required lesser cycling period but PH buffering time is shorter. Some say unstable afer 6 mths.

Thus, just ot seek advise here which one should I
choose?

Thanks in advance....

[jimbo73]

I'm also interested to know.... Is AC using RAC? Their videos on tank setup seem very simple

[Urban Aquaria]

Depends on whether you are running a planted tank with shrimps or just a shrimp tank with few plants.

The question would be which you are more focused on, plants or shrimps?

If its a planted tank with shrimps, then ADA aquasoil... it'll provide ample nutrients and ideal conditions for the plants to grow, since that is the main focus.

If its shrimp tank with just a few plants, then shrimp soil brands like RAC would be more suitable, since they are designed specifically for shrimp keeping and shrimps are the main focus.

Shrimp tanks don't need all the rich nutrients for plants that ADA aquasoil provide anyways... so you'll end up doing crazy amounts of water changes just to flush out all the valuable nutrients.

Its kinda like buying a hamburger, then remove and throw away all the tasty beef and ingredients, only eat the buns.

[solidbrik]

Agree with UA..hard to manage for the best of both worlds..though I managed to have my HC growing in RAC soil..without any fert dosing except for brighty k on 1 bubble per 2sec co2..but in the end the growth still a bit slow..my focus was on shrimps. .so I tore out my HC. .And now it's just bare RAC with a weeping moss bonsai tree. .easier to see my shrimps now though..