Substrate swap to ADA

Hi Gerry,

I once set up a 20g using new ADA Amazonia version I and introduced the fauna right away. It did not cause me problems of any sort. I suppose what made it work trouble-free was a well running canister with aged bio media hooked to the new tank plus a handful or two of old substrate placed deep down in the fresh Amazonia. I also used 40-50% of old tank water.

I planted heavily right from the start, changed water of about 30% daily during the first week and airated the tank at night. I also added some carbon to the filter for NH4 removal.

No fish and no shrimp losses, no trouble at all.

If you decide to do so as well please start fertilizing the plants with PO4, traces and K+ heavily and daily a few days after set-up (besides an adequate amount of CO2 of course) as these elements will be bound quickly by Amazonia and carbon or removed from the water body through water changes.


Best regards, Detlef

 

Hi, not much related to how to deal with the soil,
but now there is only one "new" version of Amazonia.
http://www.adana.co.jp/en/sc/news/detail/35

 

Hi all,

as for the importance of O2 Tom stresses, yes, after close to a year of airating heavily troughout the night I've come to the conclusion that it serves for better fish health, getting rid of bio films at the surface, better gas exchange, clearer water, less mulm build-up, improved plant growth, less algae etc. etc.-----> certainly strong arguments for wet/dry canisters!

Airating a new set-up 24/7 during the first couple days should max out the proliferation of bio organisms in filters. I strongly recommend it since plants don't produce much oxygen in the beginning and filter bacteria might suffer therefore.

Gerry, no prep and no rinsing of Amazonia required, in fact that would be detrimental as you'd rinse off beneficial organics etc. for plant growth. Go and seed fresh Amazonia using a small sub layer of mature flourite. I'm sure this should work.

Regards, Detlef

 

Hi,

Yes, it does look like that. Amazonia II is less fertile than I but the I tends to make water yellowish in higher KH. The II has been said to be softer, easier to crumble too.

Last batch of Amazonia II (yes version II) in Thailand created a havoc, yellowish water for months and raised pH instead of reducing it, plants not growing well too. ADA distributor in Thailand had to write an instruction on their web site for checking the soil before use: pour some of the soil into a small container filled with water, let it sit overnight and check pH. So that buyers could return bad bags and waited a few weeks for replacement bags from Japan . Used wet soil was not accepted.

It's worth noting that all the replacement bags were Amaonia I only, no II. Buyers reported they were very good quality. Those bags might be New Amazonia in old package, who know?. The New Amazonia is said to be available here this month.

 

Gerry I used as for my 210 and it does stain the water. In such a large tank. Something about it. It took me months for it to finally clear up. Come to my house in ft lauderdale so u can see the tint I'm talking about. I would only use it for a foreground ground cover. I finally now cleared up some of the ultra fine floating haziness running de powder on my mag 350 but the water is definitely stained yellow

 

I am keeping an eye on this thread because I am going to probably do this one day too

I was curious about this as well. I found this on a quick search.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/Bennai/pipeworkfrontoftank.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/Bennai/pipeworkbackoftank.jpg

I'm not sure why he's using vinyl tubing in the back, even I with minimal plumbing skills would probably go with pvc in that case.

I bet the reefers would be the best to ask this to.

 

Following this thread closely. Planning to switch from sand to ADA, but I'm not convinced after reading (all?) threads about AS on this forum and others.

 

Gerryd-

COngrats on your move to Aquasoil. Do it and don't look back!
That said, there is no easy way around it in my opinion. I'm a stickler for details and doing things thoroughly and completely.

IME (having torn down my 55L with aquasoil twice), the only way to do and be fair to the fauna is to tear the whole tank down. and hold the fauna in a holding tank.

I've read levels of up to 8ppm of ammonia/ammonium in certain tanks (using new filters), and cycling has taken anywhere from 4-6 weeks before the water parameters are ready for fish. A majority of the ammonia reading is ammonium.

Do not rinse the aquasoil prior to pouring it in the tank.
Mist the aquasoil thoroughly prior to filling the tank, and make sure you use a couple garbage bags on the surface of the soil (after you've planted the tank) to keep the water flow (when filling) from kicking up the substrate. This is the main reason for clarity issues.you can use garbage bags and place a 1 gallon ziplock ontop where a majority of the water flow will hit. I also use my hand to break the impact of the water when filling for the first time.

Fill slowly.

Take your time.

Amazonia 1 coarse is all I use. (although I do have a layer of powersand, which I do not recommend at all).

I also do daily 50% water changes for the first two weeks. This helps keep the water clear. Make sure to use a 1 gallon ziplock bag on the water's surface when filling till your plants get rooted, etc.

Aside from that, if you have any questions feel free to pm me, too.

 

gerry, after having used the DE powder with my magnum 350 for 2 straight days (and 2 filter changes) it cleared up a lot. But I think I may have come to a solution for my yellowing, in going over the different dosing calculators, i think I may have been over dosing on the plantex- hence my extreme high levels of Fe.

So we will see.

By the way, could I buy from you a couple of clippings of stauro from you?

 

I guess quoting would have helped. I went back to your thread with Tom about the wier.