Can I use H.E.L.P Advanced Soil Shrimp to grow plants? Might want to try and grow a planted setup in the near future
Possible... but as that soil is designed more for keeping shrimps, its nutrient levels would usually be lower, so if you want to use it to grow plants (depending on the plant types and density), may just have to dose more water column fertilizers or add fertilizer sticks/tabs into the soil to provide nutrients for the rooted plants.
Would it be easier for me to decom the tank and purchase soil meant for plants? I'm not sure what type of plants I plan to grow. Probably those that looks like a really nice grass bed. Oh, if my soil was originally used to house crayfish, would you think that there would be enough nutrients in the soil due to the crayfish wastes?Originally Posted by Urban Aquaria
That shit Cray!
It all depends on the types of plants you are adding to the tank... if they are mostly those low demand types like anubias, java ferns, moss etc that are tied to objects, then not much need to use soil with high nutrient content, water column fertilizers will do.
If you want to grow carpet plants, then its better to use good quality active soil substrates that have high nutrient content (ie. ADA Amazonia aquasoil)... though like previously mentioned, its also possible to use root fertilizer sticks/tablets in existing older soil too.
Whether there are enough nutrients (or the right range of nutrients) in the soil after keeping it with crayfish is subjective, can't really know for sure... just have to add plants then observe their growth and see what other nutrients need to be added to support the plant growth.
Alright, thanks! Any idea how much do the ADA soil cost?
A 9 liter bag of ADA Amazonia aquasoil usually costs around S$40 (can be abit lower or abit higher depending on LFS).
Noted, will keep your advice in mind 😃
Sorry to ask in this thread, does ADA amazonia aquasoil comes in smaller quantity?? like 1-2 litres, i don't normally see it (or maybe i did but i can't seem to remember) and how much would it cost?
And when do i use powder form or normal form? (i can't really comprehend the effects on the smaller granules size in the powder form)
ADA aquasoil do come in smaller 3 liter bags, costs around S$25, works out to cost more per liter though.
Most people just buy the 9 liter bag and keep the excess soil as spares (or split into smaller bags to sell to others).
As for normal type vs powder type, the difference is mainly their soil granule size (and powder type costs more too, around S$70+ for the 9 liter bag).
Here is a soil granule size comparison between the 2 types:
Photo from Google Images.
Powder type aquasoil makes it much easier to plant smaller plants like HC, MC, glosso, hairgrass etc. and the smaller soil granules also help enhance the scale perspective of nano tanks... compared to normal type, which tend to look like "boulders" in small tanks.
Some people use only normal type, while others use only powder type (if they have the budget)... there are also those who use both, ie. bulk of the substrate is normal type, with powder type as the top layer or in areas with smaller plants. So it just depends on your preferences.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 5th Mar 2015 at 14:59.
Thanks UA!
Was about to plan for my new nano cube tank based on Monte Carlo and rocks aka (Iwagumi style) , was wondering if i should go into using ADA soil, or use ANS Planta soil which is much cheaper ($6 per Litre based) and mix with either H.E.L.P or GEX Plant soil (in green packaging) or (Shrimp & Plant) which is red in color
Well, if you consider the soil substrate as the core "foundation" of a planted tank, a few dollars difference isn't really much to save... especially since once you add the soil and start the tank, it be a real hassle to remove and change it, have to overhaul the entire tank.
If you are serious about growing plants well, might as well just start up the tank properly with ADA Amazonia aquasoil, its the tried and tested active soil substrate that most aquascapers use, so there are alot more user experiences and reference examples on how to optimize its usage.
Like the saying goes, with Mr Amano's aquascapes and all the top award-winning competition aquascapes using ADA aquasoil, if you have problems growing plants in a tank with ADA aquasoil, its not the soil's fault, its other things.
Btw, mixing soil is okay, but you'll tend to get different sized/shaped granules and color tone mixed together which tends to look abit odd, so its usually better to just stick with one good brand of soil for consistency.
Haha... okay it shall be my first tryout on ADA aquasoil!!Well, if you consider the soil substrate as the core "foundation" of a planted tank, a few dollars difference isn't really much to save... especially since once you add the soil and start the tank, it be a real hassle to remove and change it, have to overhaul the entire tank.
If you are serious about growing plants well, might as well just start up the tank properly with ADA Amazonia aquasoil, its the tried and tested active soil substrate that most aquascapers use, so there are alot more user experiences and reference examples on how to optimize its usage.
Like the saying goes, with Mr Amano's aquascapes and all the top award-winning competition aquascapes using ADA aquasoil, if you have problems growing plants in a tank with ADA aquasoil, its not the soil's fault, its other things.
Btw, mixing soil is okay, but you'll tend to get different sized/shaped granules and color tone mixed together which tends to look abit odd, so its usually better to just stick with one good brand of soil for consistency.
I might not venture into carpet plants in the near future, perhaps I should start small via growing moss on wire mesh or on drift wood while keeping shrimps. That way the shrimps will be able to get full use of the soil.
I'm selling a tank set up for shrimps by the wayyou can check out the marketplace . Price can be discussed
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Omg wts bro, you're Adrian Ong from carousellsuch coincedence. I already saw your post on carousell.
Haha yes I am.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Be mindful about your lingo and short forms. Rather strict in here.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I will keep that in mind 😊
can buy normal type and smash into powder type? Save $30 per 9 literADA aquasoil do come in smaller 3 liter bags, costs around S$25, works out to cost more per liter though.
Most people just buy the 9 liter bag and keep the excess soil as spares (or split into smaller bags to sell to others).
As for normal type vs powder type, the difference is mainly their soil granule size (and powder type costs more too, around S$70+ for the 9 liter bag).
Here is a soil granule size comparison between the 2 types:
Photo from Google Images.
Powder type aquasoil makes it much easier to plant smaller plants like HC, MC, glosso, hairgrass etc. and the smaller soil granules also help enhance the scale perspective of nano tanks... compared to normal type, which tend to look like "boulders" in small tanks.
Some people use only normal type, while others use only powder type (if they have the budget)... there are also those who use both, ie. bulk of the substrate is normal type, with powder type as the top layer or in areas with smaller plants. So it just depends on your preferences.
This is computer generated.
No signature is required.
Unfortunately, ADA aquasoil doesn't break into nice smaller pieces when smashed (unlike in minecraft game)... it just turns into fine dust.can buy normal type and smash into powder type? Save $30 per 9 liter
Some people use a sifting basket to separate the smaller granules from the larger ones, it can yield a minor portion of smaller granules, but still not really enough to make the substrate look like powder type.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks