Substrate products

[Goalkeeper]

Saw various brands of powder etc products (eg ADA Bacteria, Penac W etc and Borneowild Balance 1/2 etc) that was recommended when setting up the soil scape. Always wonder if these are indeed that critical/necessary given they are not cheap? What's the difference with the scape with this? Thanks.

[shadoweave]

I have never used them, but so far my plants do grow quite well.
I cant comment on the difference when using them.

[wongce]

Some people swear by their effectiveness, but i only uses ADA soil alone without any powder additive. So far ADA soil serves me well without any issue.

[Urban Aquaria]

Those base additives are mainly to prolong the nutrient content and help in encouraging beneficial bacteria growth inside the soil substrate.

I've tried base additives in my tanks before and there were some noticeable improvements in growth rate for various rooted plants, especially the heavy root feeders like cryptocoryne or echinodorus.

Otherwise its not really necessary to use base additives, just that you have to dose fertilizers more regularly and perhaps insert root stucks/tabs to rejuvenate the soil abit sooner when its nutrient content is exhausted.

[Goalkeeper]

Thanks to all. So does that also mean no need for those porous substrate too (e.g. ADA power sand) since these porous substrate are meant for the bacteria to grow on? Or will it be better to use them jointly with the soil?

[Urban Aquaria]

ADA power sand is placed as a base layer under the ADA aquasoil, it helps enhance substrate circulation and promote beneficial bacteria... its also optional too.

Some people DIY their own base substrate by using alternatives like lava rocks, pumice stones or ceramic rings, which supposedly perform similar tasks.

All these things are just additional stuff to improve the overall conditions to grow plants, not essential but good to have.