ADA Aquasoil Info
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.
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:
*The above pictures belong to Takashi Amano. they were taken from this website: http://www.amanotakashi.net/portfoli...ium/index.html
