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Thread: Substrate Questions

  1. #1
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    Substrate Questions

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    Hi Guys and Gals,

    I'm intending to start up a new 3 ft plant, low tech, low maintenance but I would like to have it planted. Just wondering if there are any aqua soils out there that do NOT leach ammonia into the water. Also, seeing as I am keeping apistos currently and I would like to use the 3 ft tank as a grow out tank, would it be okay to use ADA Africana as a substrate? As I heard/read that it does not give huge ammonia spikes as compared to Amazonia.

    Your responses will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

    Cheers,
    Marc

  2. #2
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    Re: Substrate Questions

    I don’t know any aqua soil which doesn’t leach ammonia. But if you want to reduce ammonia in your water, I would recommend you to use Seachem Prime

  3. #3
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    Re: Substrate Questions

    But if there exist any soil which doesn’t leach ammonia I would be very interested to know

  4. #4
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    Re: Substrate Questions

    ADA Africana or Malaya are good choices... they can buffer pH below 6.0, which is suitable for softwater apistos (many apisto keepers and breeders also use those types of soil), and they don't release as much ammonia and nutrients initially as compared to ADA Amazonia aquasoil.

    The only thing is you may need to dose some fertilizers to supplement the nutrients required by the plants in the tank (depending on their requirements) and it depends on whether you like the brown soil color too.

    If you still like to use ADA Amazonia aquasoil and prefer its darker soil color, an alternative is to just use a smaller amount of it... like maybe just 1 x 9L bag (or even less) for a 3ft tank, which only creates a 1-2cm depth soil substrate. The larger ratio of water to soil will further dilute any ammonia that is released so it doesn't spike to higher levels initially, you probably don't have to do as many water changes to flush out the excess ammonia and the filter cycle would have an easier time converting the lower ammonia levels.

    Another alternative is to look at soil substrates designed for keeping shrimps, those are usually made to buffer pH lower, but not release much ammonia or nutrients (since its designed for shrimps, not plants). Could be worth a look at.
    :: Urban Aquaria ::
    www.urbanaquaria.com

  5. #5
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    Re: Substrate Questions

    Quote Originally Posted by Alfa View Post
    But if there exist any soil which doesn’t leach ammonia I would be very interested to know
    Not sure if you have seen this old chart, but just for reference, it shows the comparison in pH buffering and ammonia/nutrient release of the various types of ADA aquasoil...



    Picture from Google Images.

    Note that its a rather outdated chart and still shows the old Amazonia I and II versions... no idea if the formulas have changed with the new Amazonia aquasoil, but it does give abit of quick comparison of their properties.
    :: Urban Aquaria ::
    www.urbanaquaria.com

  6. #6
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    Re: Substrate Questions

    I personally prefer Aqua Eden and Powerhouse. Do try them out.

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