ADA Aquasoil Info

[Sean J]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/Slagter/1_0-1.jpg

Ok, so now we have the big gun! Aquasoil! There are a couple of things to know about it.

Firstly, yes, it's a nice natural dark brown colour. But that colour is not what makes this stuff special. New Amazonia is the brand new Aquasoil product. The Amazonia 1 and Amazonia II both had their problems, which seem to have been rectified with the NEW Amazonia.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/Slagter/Amazonia.jpg

Aquasoil was created specifically for planted aquariums. It is not harmful to any of the organisms one would find in an aquarium. An interesting factoid, is that ADA makes it's own special shrimp food, and Aquasoil is a key ingredient in the food. It is high in humic acids and other nutrients which are good for your plants. It lowers the PH and the hardness in your tank as well, which makes it absolutely ideal for those soft water loving plants and fish.

One of the best features of Aquasoil is that it requires no manual labor! Yes, you don't wash it at all! In fact, if you wash it, it could turn to mud under a high pressure jet of water. The easiest way to use it, is to start with an empty tank. Add the required amount of Aquasoil to your tank. A 60cm tank will use 1 x 9L bag. Wet the soil with a spray bottle or a very gentle hose. Plant the plants, arrange the layout and then gently fill with water. The reason we spray the soil to make it moist, is so that the dust gets water logged and does not rise onto the surface of the water as well fill the tank. It is probably a good idea to fill the tank slowly, using a plate or bowl to reduce the pressure of the water, in order to not disturb the Aquasoil.

You may sometimes find an oily film on your water surface after filling the tank. the easiest way to remove this, is to raise your filter return pipe out of the water slightly to create a bit of water movement on the surface. Preferably, breaking the surface of the water. One night of this and the oily film is gone.

ADA has, time and time again proven that this stuff is some of the best substrates available on earth at the moment. And this is why:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/Slagter/amanotank.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/Slagter/007.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/Slagter/017.jpg

*The above pictures belong to Takashi Amano. they were taken from this website: http://www.amanotakashi.net/portfolio/nature_aquarium/index.html

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/Slagter/detailimage.jpg

[Lloydster]

very nice read.. dam those dicus are nice!!

[Ruan]

Stuff dreams are made of :love:

[Lloydster]

hahahah ruan did Vis really say that!!

[Ruan]

haha, yup, back in 2009! LOL

[Corne]

Sean J
Ok ok the price for 1 X 9Kg bag please

[Sean J]

One bag is R370.00...

[Zoom]

2 bags enough for a 4 foot + create some height in certain areas?

[Sean J]

Not according to ADA. a Standard 2 60cm tank will need 1 bag for a nice thick layer. A 900mm x 45mm x 45 mm tank would need 3 bags. You could probably get away with 3 bags quite easily though. With some sneaky placement of rocks beneath the substrate, you can build higher areas in the substrate.

ADA recommend 4 bags for a 1200 x 450 x 450mm tank.

EDIT: I updated the origional post to include recommended usage of Aquasoil.

[Corne]

Ok noob question how long will it last before you need to start pouring chemicals in again ?

[Sean J]

What do you mean? You will still need to fertilize your tank. The aquasoil is rich in nutrients for healthy development of plants roots. You will still need to add trace elements and macro elements into your water column.

[Zoom]

I think what corne was asking is will ADA ever depleat of it's own nutrients and need to be replenished.

[Corne]

I think what corne was asking is will ADA ever depleat of it's own nutrients and need to be replenished.
Ja that was my thinking I don't want to riun a scape for no reason
I just feel if you invest so much money in a product that it should have a long lifespan

[Sean J]

Corne- Sorry, I misunderstood the question...

The general consensus is that aquasoil has a 3 - 5 year lifespan.

[Corne]

This sounds perfect for my planned masterwork .I am not very artistic but boy give me a tank and I am picasso

[CharlieB]

awsum product for sure but sadly priced most people out the market for anything bigger then a 1 metre tank!! Think its perfect for those nano systems tho and im definately looking at getting some in the near future!

[Zoom]

awsum product for sure but sadly priced most people out the market for anything bigger then a 1 metre tank!! Think its perfect for those nano systems tho and im definately looking at getting some in the near future!

CharlieB- Um, I tend to disagree. Whilst it is an initial capital outlay, it works out cheaper than other brands long term. (Even the initial capital outlay might be cheaper than some brands... I'm thinking of flourite here.)
MOST of the other stuff needs to be replaced at least 2-3 (possibly even more) times during the lifespan of the ADA.

[Ruan]

I tend to agree there Zoom, but I would also like to add that a 3 to 5 year lifespan is definitely sufficient, most tanks don't even live that long before being re-scaped or upgraded.

[CharlieB]

CharlieB- Um, I tend to disagree. Whilst it is an initial capital outlay, it works out cheaper than other brands long term. (Even the initial capital outlay might be cheaper than some brands... I'm thinking of flourite here.)
MOST of the other stuff needs to be replaced at least 2-3 (possibly even more) times during the lifespan of the ADA.

I wasnt comparing this to other products. My point was I am an average joe with prob less then average money. Now I will soon be setting up a 1.8m tank as soon as I can get a stand built. according to the table put up I will require 9 x 9l bags! 9 x R370 = R3330. Im pretty sure there is not alot of people who have that amount of money to spend on a substrate alone! I have no doubt that this is one of if not the best product out there but I still believe that when it comes to using it in a big tank most people will have to go the PFP route etc for affordability. It would be a dream to have my 1.8m tank filled with this stuff and I look forward to trying it out in one of my smaller tanks.

[Sean J]

There are definitely ways to use Aquasoil in a 1.8 meter tank without breaking the bank! You can create planted "islands" in your tank. Only use the Aquasoil in these Islands and you will be able to use MUCH less Aquasoil, and still come out with a creative, and beautiful tank. Using regular Gravel in the places that don't have the aquasoil, you can create a beautiful tank.

Something like this:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/Slagter/008.jpg

*The above picture is from http://www.amanotakashi.net/portfolio/nature_aquarium/index.html

[CharlieB]

Sean J. See this is why I love this forum, cause a total noob like me can learn so much! That is a brilliant idea, when I eventually get a stand and can start setting up do I just order direct from you or is there a website to go through?

[Sean J]

You can order directly through me. Just PM me what you need.

[CharlieB]

Ok great, thank you.

[Herve]

Hi
Can you cap it with river sand,or mix it with river sand?
Regards
Herve'

[Sean J]

Hey Herve - I wouldn't cap it. It is already a good looking substrate. There is no need to cap it. If you are worried about costs, capping could work, but If it's capped, it would be extremely difficult to separate the gravel from the aquasoil at a later stage.

[f-fish]

I have 1 week of ADA aqua soil experience, come from a diamond gravel, silica sand (1mm - 8 mm) and red jasper as main substrates use. This ADA stuff is weird when compared to my normal. I would not recommend capping or mixing it with anything other than maybe ADA powder as a first attempt. Two main reasons - you need to learn how to use the substrate and it is airy, in that I think some of its value lies. I like the idea of using it in planting zones ... that makes way more sense than mixing or capping.

What planting in and reading about substrate again for ADA tanks has emphasised was substrate depth - I have made the error in the past with going to shallow (this works for a while) but it seem like you need an OK depth say 4 - 7cm.

One thing that is really cool about aqua soil is that I now only have 1 substrate in the tank, so any movement or replanting does not mix things, currently this is a pain for my pfp, jbl sand, earth worm castings etc layered tanks.

Later Ferdie

[windfire]

i did it, i couldnt wait anymore to get the other tank upstairs so i used some in the nano and it changes the whole look of the tank its brilliant! and very easy to plant in. my mom got tired of me nicking her tweazers so she got me my own pair and its a nice pair from a crafters store a good 15cm long or so with pointed ends they made planting up alot easier. and the ada is awesome to work with and scape with. i will gradually be converting all my tnks to this. also they water doesnt stay cloudy for very long, it really is the ultimate substrate. i'm looking forward to see what the difference in my growth will be like. i've got plants to propagate for the next tank lol.

[HeinrichvH]

Wow my mind is made up after reading this