Gravel Questions...??

[ranmasatome]

Just wondering if any other people out there are using different brands mixed together...

i was at the shops today and was thinking of using the ADA powersand and aquasoil together..but then later realised that with the low ph...it might be quite hard to keep shrimps in that tank..so i was thinking of other alternatives... these are the 2 i came up with...which is better??

1) Seachem flourite with ADA powersand
2) DEnnerle Quartz gravel with ADA powersand

i dont know if there is any difference in using the quartz sand to lapis...seems to me its just branded black sand....nothing really different to lapis.... Any opinions guys???

currently i'm leaning towards flourite with ADA powersand.

Thanks.!!

[augi_ow]

seachem flourite can be used alone you know....don't have to add gravel or sand on top of it... it looks great by its own..seachem flourite has base fert in it already.... correct me if i'm wrong...power sand is something like base fert...why you need to much base fert??

[ranmasatome]

well... i was thinking of using seachem cos its porus like the ADA aquasoil but doesn't have the affect to the ph of the water which is a plus for me in my case of the shrimps.

i was just adding powersand cos its just like adding power sand to aquasoil... if seachem already has "base fert" in it..then perhaps i should just use lapis and powersand??

there are some expensive plants that i'm starting up so i want the best for them..if not i wouldn't care..lol..

[|squee|]

I do not know if Seachem's Flourite has fert in it. Maybe a email to Seachem will help.

To choose your substrate I feel that you have to consider a couple of things. For example, I wouldn't reccommend Aquasoil to someone who does frequent rescapes, because of the "erosion" characteristic. Otherwise, it's a damn good substrate.

Flourite seems to be quite good. I personally won't want a mixture, since if colours clash it can be quite ugly. However, some find the colour of Flourite too colourful ( something to think about if you do not have foreground plants ) and cover it with a thin layer of another substrate.

My vote: powersand and flourite.

Here's a quote from http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...ticle&artid=28

Carlos: I've heard members of the Dallas-Ft Worth club discuss your DIY substrate recipe. Do you still use this substrate mix? If not the ingredients, could you please detail your reasoning behind the recipe? If you have switched to commercial substrates, which one do you use now?

JEFF: My recipe has always been a mixture of laterite, Flourite, Terra-lit, and Flourish tabs. I usually cap this with whatever gravel I'm using on the specific layout. Recently I started adding a little Ferti-Plant Plus on the topmost layer just for a little "jump-start" of nutrients near the initial root growth. I tried switching to Carib-Sea's Eco-Complete and was really disappointed. It did not seem to measure up to the claims on the packaging- which would have you believe it was the most amazing and all encompassing product ever made. I wish there was a comparable system to Amano's out there. Why one of these companies have not analyzed Amano's stuff and basically duplicated it is an ongoing mystery to me. Obviously his system is awesome and looks awesome too. I think there is really something to his Power Sand product. While Flourite makes up the bulk of my mixture, I find it exceedingly ugly and never keep it exposed.

[mercurial]

If im not wrong powersand is basically laterite (plus other stuff cant remember). Very similar to flourite. Dennerle quartz gravel is very easy to work with/plant. But i dont have experience with powersand combo so i cant comment.

Just wondering if any other people out there are using different brands mixed together...

i was at the shops today and was thinking of using the ADA powersand and aquasoil together..but then later realised that with the low ph...it might be quite hard to keep shrimps in that tank..so i was thinking of other alternatives... these are the 2 i came up with...which is better??

1) Seachem flourite with ADA powersand
2) DEnnerle Quartz gravel with ADA powersand

i dont know if there is any difference in using the quartz sand to lapis...seems to me its just branded black sand....nothing really different to lapis.... Any opinions guys???

currently i'm leaning towards flourite with ADA powersand.

Thanks.!!

[ranmasatome]

Squee,
What 'Erosion' factor are you talking about?? i dont get it...how would this be different if i used flourite?

i think the entire fore and back ground will be covered up..with mini riccia and bacopa sp. from japan respectively...the rest would just be some rocks and some other rarer stem plants...so i dont think i'll be seeing much of the gravel..which is why i asked about lapis and powersand as well... however...it seems flourite is quite a good way to go...hmmmm...

[augi_ow]

I enquired from Mr Chan, he told me that Seachem flourite has base fert inside and can be used alone....
and it will be very cloudy the first few days...that's what he told me to expect if i use it.... cause i'm going to use it....=)

[ranmasatome]

Yeah...i checked the seachem wedsite and yes there are some stuff in the gravel..also says it should not be used with laterite...well..reccomended that it can be used alone. I alredy bought the ADA powersand special...so i think i may just go with lapis and ADApowersand special... or maybe get soem black quartz gravel from dennerle...lol..

Actually is there a difference between the quartz and normal lapis?? anyone knows??

Squee...did you mean "erosion" factor as in it breaks down into powdery form?

[augi_ow]

yup... just to add... there are black quartz gravel which are identical to dennerle if you don't want to spend so much... same grain size.... compared it myself.... =)...after all cheap quartz...expensive quartz...still quartz... heehee =)... BUT i love the dennerle brown quartz which cannot be bought cheaply

[|squee|]

Squee...did you mean "erosion" factor as in it breaks down into powdery form?

Yeap Do let us know if Powersand really helps your plants.

[ranmasatome]

Not only is this power sand...but it is power sand Special!! with bacter 100 and that other stuff already in it....heehee...i hope this works man...i was thinking of maybe mixing a bit of ADA amazonia to keep the acidity..but not so much that it decreases dramatically....hmmm...

Think me goes to NA to get some sand tomorrow or maybe even today..heehee..

Anyone has some extra ADA amazonia aquasoil to spare? just need a little bit like maybe 2 cups (250ml) of it...

[|squee|]

BTW, I just read this. Might be interesting to you.

[ranmasatome]

Thanks Squee..
Hmmm...after reading that now got more doubts..lol...
Well...this is what i plan to do...

lay down a layer of ADA powersand special..
this is followed by a little aquasoil...just to lower ph but not too much..
then top it off with quartz gravel...sloping the back.

of course...i dont know if still need to put base fert like taht or not...
Raoul-7 suggested taht maybe its a good idea to do so....hmmm...
The best of course would be to get a little bit of flourite and mix that with the Aquasoil as a second layer....but...i dont know of any shop willing to sell only 2 cups of flourite...

i guess if the plants arent really the "root" types then its okay...hmmm..

[lorba]

Mixing layers of different colored soil together can get quite ugly eventually. Even with ADA product all together. for ADA soil + powersand, make sure you dont save too much on the soil. As when you uproot, powersand (clinging to the roots) may be pull up and give you a black and white bottom.

Look at Ben (TiongBahru)'s display tank you will know. Its much better now already.

Most stem plants do very well in ADA soil, and so so in normal sand. Not too sure about dennerle or JBJ as I never tried them.

I've tried cuttings of rotala sp from Goias (no roots yet) in lapis sand tank and NISSO volcanic soil (like ADA). The one in the lapis sand fared badly, some wasted away and some just manage to grow, without much color. The one in the Nisso soil did very well.

[ranmasatome]

Mixing layers of different colored soil together can get quite ugly eventually. Even with ADA product all together. for ADA soil + powersand, make sure you dont save too much on the soil. As when you uproot, powersand (clinging to the roots) may be pull up and give you a black and white bottom.

Look at Ben (TiongBahru)'s display tank you will know. Its much better now already.

Most stem plants do very well in ADA soil, and so so in normal sand. Not too sure about dennerle or JBJ as I never tried them.

I've tried cuttings of rotala sp from Goias (no roots yet) in lapis sand tank and NISSO volcanic soil (like ADA). The one in the lapis sand fared badly, some wasted away and some just manage to grow, without much color. The one in the Nisso soil did very well.

Where did you get the nisso soil? i may try them out.. does it affect ph?