# Oliver Knott Substrate



## amy4342 (27 May 2009)

Ok, so I haven't heard a lot about the Oliver Knott Substrate, but I decided to take the plunge anyway and bought it for my recent nano rescape (journal coming soon!). Well, I've just finished the rescape, so thought I'd share my thoughts on it. I really like it! I like the colour and texture, it's extremely similar to ADA Amazonia in that respect. It dosen't leach ammonia though, so it was a great alternative for me. It did raise the GH and KH to 3dkh however, and the pH of the water was 6.6 (I used RO water) about an hour after filling. I'm going to test these again in a while, just out of curiosity. I found it extremely easy to plant in, which was great - it seemed to hold the plants well after the tweezers had been released. I was extremely impressed with the clarity of the water when the tank was being filled-it didn't muddy the water at all! I also found that it didn't disintegrate at all, I'm just hoping that it will stay that way! I found it quite expensive - Â£50 for a 10litre bag from AE, but I'm glad I went with this one in hindsight. The 3 litre bag would have sufficed for my nano however-I've used approximately 3l from the 10l bag, and it's 2" deep in a 12x12" tank. I'll update if anything changes!


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## samc (27 May 2009)

just bought a bag myself whhich should be here tomorrow    great for me that it doesnt leach ammonia too, save all the messing about and shrimp seen to love it


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## Lisa_Perry75 (27 May 2009)

Â£50 for substrate!!! Craziness, I thought aquasoil at Â£27.99 from AE was bad. Now I can only find it at TGM for Â£33.99   even worse!


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## LondonDragon (27 May 2009)

Lisa_Perry75 said:
			
		

> Â£50 for substrate!!!


Its for the Fine version equivalent to the ADA Powersand, which costs exactly the same price at TGM, and you get 10 liters rather than 9  just to get the facts clear. The normal version costs Â£39.99 for a bag of 10 liters.

I use Naturesoil in my shrimp tank the fine version and love it, texture and size much better than the ADA Aquasoil Amazonia I had in there previously.


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## Nick16 (28 May 2009)

still Â£40 for a bag of what is essentially gravel. for people on a tight budgets (students) thats a hell of a lot of money. i blame the lack of funds for our attempts at scaping. if you dont have all the best products you will find it hard to achieve success as i have to 'make do and mend'


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## gratts (28 May 2009)

> still Â£40 for a bag of what is essentially gravel. for people on a tight budgets (students) thats a hell of a lot of money. i blame the lack of funds for our attempts at scaping. if you dont have all the best products you will find it hard to achieve success as i have to 'make do and mend'



I sort of agree. But it is a lot more than just gravel - more time, technology and a lot more expense go into it, which I guess is why it's so expensive. It would be good to see some of the bigger companies like JBL creating one of these 'all in one' substrates at a slightly lesser cost.


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## Steve Smith (28 May 2009)

it's actually clay pellets, as apose to stone. It contains nutrients added by the manufacturer also. 

You can grow anything in inert substrate if other factors are optimum, just look at LondonDragon's 125 litre tank


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## Lisa_Perry75 (28 May 2009)

Indeedy you can but a nutritious substrate does help!


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## LondonDragon (28 May 2009)

SteveUK said:
			
		

> You can grow anything in inert substrate if other factors are optimum, just look at LondonDragon's 125 litre tank


So true the entire gravel cost me less than Â£20 7 years ago! hahaha


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## samc (28 May 2009)

Nick16 said:
			
		

> still Â£40 for a bag of what is essentially gravel. for people on a tight budgets (students) thats a hell of a lot of money. i blame the lack of funds for our attempts at scaping. if you dont have all the best products you will find it hard to achieve success as i have to 'make do and mend'



hey im a student    im not too skint though got mine today


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## princemewmew (19 May 2020)

LondonDragon said:


> So true the entire gravel cost me less than Â£20 7 years ago! hahaha



Haha hey! I know I am writing here in a veeeery old thread! But I have just decided to switch from Oliver Knott Nature Soil in a 125 l Juwel tank  to Seachem Flourite Sand Black because I am planning on getting albino corydoras (aeneus) ! Do you guys think I should cap the nature soil or completely replace it? Another reason I am considering throwing it all out is that it is so muddy and dusty - and according to the instructions on the package i did "ABSOLUTELY NOT" rinse it beforehand! Haha...

Any tips or similar experiences of mud?

And is it possible to see a pic of those inert substrate tanks? I am such a newb X) so I love the inspo!


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## LondonDragon (19 May 2020)

princemewmew said:


> Do you guys think I should cap the nature soil or completely replace it?


Get rid of it I would say, it's just mud, I still have some in a 60l tank that I put in the tank in 2010! It's under plants and rocks so I left it, the front of the aquarium I removed it and added sand, did not cap it, if you cap it with sand then it will be a complete mess!

My first version of the tank using plain gravel! back in 2008!






This was about 2 years later still with the same gravel!!





Fitting that the photos date back to the original post!


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## alto (19 May 2020)

princemewmew said:


> Seachem Flourite Sand Black because I am planning on getting albino corydoras (aeneus)


I suggest sifting the sand with your hands to ensure it’s not a “sharp” or gritty sand
(It’s been a long while since I tried this product, but I ended up switching it out for something else) 

You may find that albino/white/light fish on a very dark substrate don’t really show their best as they attempt to blend (as much as possible)


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## princemewmew (20 May 2020)

LondonDragon said:


> Get rid of it I would say, it's just mud
> 
> Fitting that the photos date back to the original post!



Hehe I'm relieved to hear you agree ! 

Haha yes indeed! Awesome pictures 🌟👏👏👏 So lush!!! Did you use any liquid/solid ferts? Or co2 gas?


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## princemewmew (20 May 2020)

alto said:


> I suggest sifting the sand with your hands to ensure it’s not a “sharp” or gritty sand



Good tip! Was actually planning on using magnet to check for metals, rinsing it in a pillowcase (supposedly a good technique, or so I've read?) and maaaybe if i am feeling ambitious actually sieving it in a flour/sand sieve  I guess I would do metal check first, then sieve, then rinse in that case? Hmmm


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## LondonDragon (20 May 2020)

princemewmew said:


> Hehe I'm relieved to hear you agree !
> 
> Haha yes indeed! Awesome pictures 🌟👏👏👏 So lush!!! Did you use any liquid/solid ferts? Or co2 gas?



I was using dry salts for ferts and CO2 at the time was using yeast DIY method, did not have a pressurized CO2 at that time yet!


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## alto (20 May 2020)

A recent topic  on Seachem Discussion Board has good information re Fluorite Sand (don’t be misled by the title )

_https://www.seachem.com/support/forums/forum/general-discussion/25201-alkaline-buffer_

In plant areas I’d definitely add extra nutrients, such as Tropica Nutrition Capsules (require bacterial action to break down) or Seachem Root Tabs (as described) - or alternate branded aquarium tabs (Filipe Oliveira often mentions which ones he’s used/using in his videos or comment section)

For rinsing, I placed small amount of sand in bucket and rinsed ALOT, you do need to swirl sand up during rinsing process and can pour off the fines  - note that fines which quickly resettle are ok to leave 
I would suggest doing this outside and not running the fines through house plumbing (depends really on the  design)

Some Flourite products are relatively dust free, some are shockingly dusty - unfortunately this seems to reflect handling during transit and storage 
(hint: shops that direct order from Seachem tend to have less dusty substrates)


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