How does GeX substrate compare against ADA Aquasoil?

[illumnae]

Given that your tank is less than 2 months old, even the Amazonia I will have no problem. Sp that is not a fair comment.

Problem starts when the substrate is old and the soil slowly breaks down.

that's quite remarkable.

most of the complaints about ADA soil i've read about on various forums are cloudiness from day 1. experienced ADA soil users have advised laying a saucer and/or plastic sheet while filling water to avoid the cloudiness with the reason given being that it avoids stirring up the soil, which leads me to believe that the cause of cloudiness in an ADA soil tank is the stirring up of the soil.

given that my discus totally whipped up the Gex soil, i'm honestly quite surprised to be told that i'd see clear water again in a matter of minutes with ADA soil as well...this is definitely contrary to the reports given by many new users like myself

[oblivion]

clear water with ADA within minutes even if you whipped up the substrate layer???

per my experience, if it clears up within 2 days you should be thankful (or you have a damn power filter)

i once messed up the soil through my own replanting and rescaping and it took a week
and i didn't even whack it to the glass bottom like your discus did

GeX really does give you the clear water results though
experienced it slightly when i shift the rocks here and there and crumble some of the soil but fill water liao still crystal clear

[williamng]

Do we need based fert with this? Or not necessary?

[Altum_lover76]

not needed. Basically GEX soil functions in the same manner as ADA. I am not using base fert for my GEX substrate for my 422 which i will be setting up on by next monday. NOw the tank is under going cycling and at the same time, i soaking my DW inside.

[daveteogh]

GEX substrate sounds great... maybe I shall use this to setup a new 1ft cube

My friend nys is using this as well and feedback is good... very tempting to try it out

[oblivion]

i find it easy to use and no clouding issues like AS
setup just 1 day so no plant growth results yet
will monitor and post my observations

im using the plain soil also
no base fert
although im planning to insert ferka rosetta tabs for my e. tenellus in the new 1-foot cube
but will wait and see how they fare before deciding to add or not

btw, i bought a spiffy neat looking thermometer also by GeX from NA.
Small clear suction cup and the thermometer indicator is blue in color
very minimalist - looks good

[daveteogh]

i find it easy to use and no clouding issues like AS
setup just 1 day so no plant growth results yet
will monitor and post my observations

im using the plain soil also
no base fert
although im planning to insert ferka rosetta tabs for my e. tenellus in the new 1-foot cube
but will wait and see how they fare before deciding to add or not

Yes please post your observations... I was told plants grow fast with this GEX soil.

btw, i bought a spiffy neat looking thermometer also by GeX from NA.
Small clear suction cup and the thermometer indicator is blue in color
very minimalist - looks good

I am using this as well... cheap and the best looking miniature thermometer I can find in the market

[nys]

I'm using GEX substrate for 2.5mth liao...

So far quite happy with it. One observation is some of the pellets will turn either white or light brown colour.

I think GEX substrate should be quite rich in nutrients. My crypts are well growing. Even my petite nana are growing fast (I planted its root into the substrate).

[aquanatix]

Though i rinsed the gravel a few times,been getting cloudy water right from the start as opposed to what most people claim here.
I poured water through a sifter producing sprinkles and filled my 2footer very slowly.Am i doing anything wrongly?
Don't seem to get that much debris clouds with other substrates that i've encountered including aquaclay.

[Shadow]

do you have corry or other fish that disturb gravel?

Aguaclay is a hard baked clay, whereas ADA is processed mud and it will turn back to mud after few years. You can't compare both. The end result also different

[nys]

I didn't rinsed the Gex substrate and encountered cloudy water. But the water became crystal clear 4hrs later.

[valice]

Did a comparison of GeX substrate and ADA substrate and this is what I feel.

1) GeX has a very very high iron contain compared with ADA soil. I came up with the conclusion due to a magnetised pincette I have. I crushed the GeX soil and then the ADA soil. More of the soil particles from GeX were sticking to my pincette compared to ADA.

2) GeX texture is more "crispy" and hard to the touch compared to ADA soil. This could again be due to the content of the soil.

3) GeX does not release air bubbles when the tank is filled with water like ADA. This could might mean that the composition and treatment process of the two soils are different. GeX seems to be fired up in the heat more than ADA soil. And the individual soil granuales seems to be more compact compared to ADA.

All these reasons could have caused GeX to not crumble into soil like ADA.

But lets wait for a year of the soil in the tank and a few rescapes before we all come out with a conclusion of whether GeX is better or ADA is better.

BTW, is GeX cheaper than ADA weight for weight?

[nys]

Did a comparison of GeX substrate and ADA substrate and this is what I feel.

1) GeX has a very very high iron contain compared with ADA soil. I came up with the conclusion due to a magnetised pincette I have. I crushed the GeX soil and then the ADA soil. More of the soil particles from GeX were sticking to my pincette compared to ADA.

Wo... No wonder my crypts so well growing. They like Fe rich substrate.

[oblivion]

Did a comparison of GeX substrate and ADA substrate and this is what I feel.

1) GeX has a very very high iron contain compared with ADA soil. I came up with the conclusion due to a magnetised pincette I have. I crushed the GeX soil and then the ADA soil. More of the soil particles from GeX were sticking to my pincette compared to ADA.

2) GeX texture is more "crispy" and hard to the touch compared to ADA soil. This could again be due to the content of the soil.

3) GeX does not release air bubbles when the tank is filled with water like ADA. This could might mean that the composition and treatment process of the two soils are different. GeX seems to be fired up in the heat more than ADA soil. And the individual soil granuales seems to be more compact compared to ADA.

All these reasons could have caused GeX to not crumble into soil like ADA.

But lets wait for a year of the soil in the tank and a few rescapes before we all come out with a conclusion of whether GeX is better or ADA is better.

BTW, is GeX cheaper than ADA weight for weight?

although we don;t know the exact specifics comapred against ADA
but GeX does seem to have to have high iron content based on the composition chart at the back of the packaging

and price wise, its around same as ADA
definitely not cheaper

[illumnae]

Do we need based fert with this? Or not necessary?

not required at all. planted my tank 2 weeks ago and the roots on my plants have grown extensively, surprisingly when the discus whacked up the substrate at the hairgrass area, i was shocked when the stem plants (i had blood stargrass and blyxa japonica nearby) didn't get uprooted by the turmoil as my experience with stem plants was that they get uprooted really eaily.

upon closer inspection it was because the stem plants had grown roots that clung well to the soil...needless to say the root monster echis, crypts, lotuses and criniums weren't even fazed.

i think that's an indication of very good root fertilization?

[oblivion]

one other thing i noticed about GeX
When you fill water during initial setup, GeX seems to to have less stuff floating up than ADA

[valice]

Also noticed that GeX don't have the soil smell like ADA? Maybe the "soil" in GeX is not really soil like ADA. It seems like it is more manufactured compounds.

lee, I agree on the floatation stuff. ADA soil sometimes you find wood shavings, peat moss. It is like, they added real soil compose inside.

[oblivion]

You can also see wood shavings and peat moss inside GeX just like AS
However, after filling water nothing much seems to float up

And you are right about the smell. Not much smell for GeX

[genes]

GeX substrate does turns water milky. Here's a picture of a newly setup tank with GeX. The water turns milky when the substrate is stirred. Hence, i should say, GeX substrate is no difference from ADA aquasoil interms of water clearness when setting up a tank.

It all boils down to how the hobbist fills the water in the tank. I can get clear water too using Ammazonia and Africana.

[Ansell]

Hi genes,

Care to share how long did it take your filtration system to make the water clear again? Some members here did mention about 3-4hrs without water change.