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It depends on the type of tank you are setting up... if it's a high density planted tank, then ADA Amazonia aquasoil will be one of the best substrates for growing plants, it provides lots of nutrients that plants need during their initial grow-out period and buffers the water to conditions favorable to plant growth over a longer period of time. The soil also has high cation exchange capacity (CEC) so nutrients and fertilizers are retained well for feeding plant roots.
A portion of aquasoil does naturally breakdown over time, but the majority of it will usually stay intact over the lifespan of most aquascapes (ie. 1-2 years). Even when recycled, i've found that 80-90% of the soil will usually still be solid and reusable.
Cost-wise, at local prices of around S$40 for a 9L bag of ADA Amazonia aquasoil, it's actually quite similar (and sometimes even cheaper) when compared to most other soil brands. For the plant growth benefits it provides, ADA aquasoil is surprisingly good value.
Only thing to note is if you are running a tank with low plant density or mainly slow growing plants, then you might consider other less nutrient-rich substrates... as ADA aquasoil is designed to release a lot of ammonia and nutrients during the initial few weeks of tank startup, which is meant to jump start and accelerate dense plant growth.
Many people use ADA aquasoil but only plant sparsely, so with the low nutrient take-up rate, they end up having to do lots of water changes to try to flush out the excess ammonia and nutrients... which sort of defeats the soil's original purpose in the first place.
For tanks with low plant density or slow growing plants, less nutrient-rich substrates or inert substrates may be more suitable (if necessary, just add nutrients into the water column via fertilizers instead).
Originally Posted by Antomidas
However, any idea (approximately) how many litres of aquasoil do i need for a 4ft tank? (ADA aquasoil) And on top of the required amount, should i get some extra?
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