# Aquasoil under Eco-complete / Inert (low tech dry start)



## AshRolls (7 Sep 2012)

I am looking to start up the 'carpet' planting of my low tech tank (400L) using dry start method. The current substrate I have purchased is a 50/50 mix of eco-complete and inert unipac black quartz gravel.

I was wondering if a bag or two of Aquasoil in a thin base layer under the eco-complete/gravel would be beneficial overall to the plants, specifically for the dry start stage and more generally for the overall health of the tank?


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## ceg4048 (7 Sep 2012)

Hello,
       Putting Aquasoil under something is a waste of a good product. Aquasoil is superior to plain gravel or Ecocomplete in every conceivable way. If you can afford, it you'd be better off throwing away everything else and just using Aquasoil. If you can't afford it, then Aquasoil is best placed in direct contact with the plants, i.e. on top of everything else.

Cheers,


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## andyh (7 Sep 2012)

ceg4048 said:
			
		

> Hello,
> Putting Aquasoil under something is a waste of a good product. Aquasoil is superior to plain gravel or Ecocomplete in every conceivable way. If you can afford, it you'd be better off throwing away everything else and just using Aquasoil. If you can't afford it, then Aquasoil is best placed in direct contact with the plants, i.e. on top of everything else.
> 
> Cheers,



I second that!


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## AshRolls (10 Sep 2012)

Thanks for the feedback. I don't intend to get rid of my existing substrate (I like the aesthetic and can't afford full Aquasoil) and will be dosing ferts so it looks like there is no benefit to putting a soil substrate under the gravels. I also want a long term solution and the soils lose their nutrients over time.


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## ceg4048 (11 Sep 2012)

Hello,
       There is always a benefit in having a nutritious substrate. Nutrition is never about water column versus substrate. Both locations are a benefit and it is not a competition between one or the other. It is simply that if nutrition is in one area it makes it less imperative to have nutrition in the other location, however, ideally having nutrients in both locations is always better than only having it in one location.

While it is true that fortified sediments will not have as high a nutrient content after being used, they will always retain some level of nutrition, simply because fecal waste, plant matter and uneaten foods will settle into the sediment and be broken down by bacteria. if the sediment material is clay or humus then it will absorb nutrients from the surrounding water and will pass it on to the plant roots.

Cheers,


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## AshRolls (11 Sep 2012)

Hi ceg4048, thanks for the information. I have just spent the last few hours improving my understanding of substrates and picked up on some of the points you mention. My understanding is that although the natural nutrients of a soil may be depleted, a soil with a high CEC will uptake new nutrients from the ferts I add to the water column and also fish waste to retain usefulness as a substrate. 

Considering the above I will be adding a soil substrate capped with the eco-complete & inert black gravel. I will be avoiding the expensive solutions such as ADA Amazonia and will simply use Pond Aqua Soil 'Westland Aquatic Pond Soil'. I considered John Innes #3 but this would raise my pH due to the lime (thanks to Alastair's Chocolate puddle thread for pointing this out). Since I already live in a soft water / alkaline area in Cornwall I do not want the pH to be raised any higher.


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## markl (29 Oct 2012)

Hi There 

I have been reading this post with intrest. I am just setting up my first planted aquarium and i am struggling with making a decsion on the substrate.

Can you please tell me, if i use the sugestion as Ashrolls post above using an aquatic compost underneath an inert black quartz gravel, what about the mess ? 

Would you mix in the compost into the gravel or layer the gravel over the compost? 

I'm just a bit worried about the posibility of stiring up this compost and having a muddy mess in the tank?

Also - would not just using an inert gravel andusing plant foodsticks do just as good a job?

Many Thanks for any help

Mark


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## foxfish (29 Oct 2012)

I certainly don't enjoy spending so much money on ADA products & in fact only invest in the companies soils but, it is all relative at the end of the day - buy the best you can afford.
I quite often have 3-4 tanks of my own running & help other folk with as many as 20 planted tanks, these tanks use a variety of substrates but, I can definitely see a pattern evolving with the Aqua soil tanks compared to the other brand named soils.
From my limited experiences nothing come close to ADA soils!


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## Tim Harrison (30 Oct 2012)

Maybe this will help all those who have similar interest...viewtopic.php?f=34&t=18943


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## jack-rythm (31 Oct 2012)

Speaking from experience and lack of funds I spent money in ADA substrate and covered it with standard black gravel as you suggest, thinking that it would still work and by using the standard gravel I could gain done height. I was wrong. The gravel was ultimately heavier and the ADA was lighter so after time the gravel slowly Santa and mixed my whole substrate up looking very horrid and patchy also messing with my flows through the substrate. I have had a total of 6 tanks in my life and tried different ways.. The last 3 I have had have been solely ADA soil. I won't go back. Yes it's more money but u aim to have a tank longer than a year.. So what's a few quid more spread over a year. If anything it has saved me money  

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