Gravel over ADA Amazonia Aquasoil??

[mafia]

i have a bag of amazonia soil, do i put any gravel above or below the soil or should i just use it as it is?

thanks

[chingkt]

Most of us will leave it as it is. If you are growing plant you will need all the ADA soil. Additional stone can be use if you want to decorate your tank.

[Aquaculture]

Use purely ADA if your pocket allows. If not, ADA soil should be laid on top of the gravel.

[bridge]

I think there is a difference between pure ADA and Gravel above ADA. I trusted that currently there is someone trying out on the Gravel above ADA.

Maybe you should wait for a while, replies to your posting will be coming soon, then you can weight the differences.

[Aquaculture]

I see no reason why you can't use gravel over ADA. I've got lapis on top of ADA Malaya

Due to the weight of the lapis. Won't this cause the ada to breakdown faster?

[StanChung]

Lapis over aquasoil? Why? heavier lapis will compress the amazonia.
Compressing the soil leads to anaerobic conditions. Think rotten egg smell ala BGA.

It is therefore NOT advisable to put anything over your ADA soil except rocks, wood. Powersand is meant to be used together with aquasoil to promote aerobic bacteria activity as per ADA's recommentation.
If I wanted to save on Aquasoil I'd do the opposite. Put some Aquasoil over lapis.

[leeruisheng]

I think both ways work. I used to have E.tennulus lawn on pure lapis sand. So no problem about it. But if lapis sand will to be place over the ADA soil, how are you going to add new ADA soil in future to maintain the pH? And it's going to be very difficult to segregate them.

Congrats StanChung.

[PeterGwee]

You do not need need anything above or under aquasoil and it would work fine. Why bother adding lapis only to make things look bad and serve no purpose.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[YC-TEO]

If you put aqua soil above ada soil, it will increase your ph.

[StanChung]

YC-TEO If you put aqua soil above ada soil, it will increase your ph.

I thought aqua soil and ada soil are the same? typo?


For what it's worth, if you're on a really tight budget, you can still do with 1/2 inch AS in front slope right up to 4" at the back. Eleocharis acicularis grows well here in only 1/2 inch of AS. Here's a pic. Growth after one month. Looks better too IMHO with a thin front substrate. Something that amazes me everytime I remember when i used to have 4" lapis substrate sloped up to 8" at the back. [ugly!]

[kemp]

You do not need need anything above or under aquasoil and it would work fine. Why bother adding lapis only to make things look bad and serve no purpose.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

Totally agree with Peter Gwee bro's view! Just plain aquasoil, nice and it serves the purpose well too

[crystalreds]

If you place lapis below ada, when you uproot the plant, you will see lapis being transported to the top. Vis versa if ada is laid below.

What is your purpose of laying down ada and lapis together? If it is for beauty and money is a a constrain, I would suggest of saving a little more. Personally, I'm quite close to a lfs owner and if you want, I may help you get a special price.

BUT, if your reason of having ada for your tank ph and its fert properties provided. I've used this trick and it works! Use a net (those used for packing onions at NTUC, etc), pack ada in it and have it as your filter media. This is when you are using a canister filter. You would need a lesser amount of ada and least we forget that ada has a lifespan.

Don't worry about your plants having not enough to 'eat'. I believe I read it somewhere in this forum that plants do not only consume fert via their roots, eg. moss.

Alternatively, if its only lowering of ph you want. Consider peat bro.

[StanChung]

I think soil belongs on top like in nature. Heard of topsoil?
In nature plants grow well in soil not in sand[don't include epiphytes + mosses and liverworts], just ask avid jungle trekkers Mr Tree and Michael Lo on AQ.

You can however grow plants ala hydroponics with just water column dosing[NPK+trace ferts, no room for error] or another way via live substrate ala ADA that is a combination- water column and substrate feeding [as back up-room for error] with the whole tank seen as an ecosystem where the growth of the good bacteria other than the BB bacteria is emphasized.

*Hydroponics style does not need bacteria to breakdown fish waste and is not suitable if you have fish in the mix. Since we keep fish, we need filters to do this.