# Fluval Stratum in pretty high gh/kh?



## Wizza (12 Nov 2020)

Hi all.

Going back 8 years ago I was recommended to buy eco complete and cap it with sand.

I set it up and I just couldn’t keep the two separate.
So I had the ‘brain wave’ of just mixing it and forgetting it.
I have never liked it.

plants struggle apart from less demanding ones.
I can grow red tiger lotus, Amazon swords, crypts without a care in the world.
I cannot for the life of me grow dhg or Hemianthus Callitrichoides or anything else that is classed as a little more demanding.

I just want to grow plants like everyone else that don’t seem to have a problem!!!

in my 400 ltr 
I have pressurised co2
2 fluval plant 3.0 led lights
Full EI dosing

my ph is ~8
My gh is ~10
My kh is ~5

So the question is....

(bearing my gh/kh in mind) am I going to have a problem with fluval stratum (such as ph swings in the dangerous way?)

if it’s not a good idea, what substrate do you recommend that I can have success with actually growing plants like everyone else?!


Many Thanks 😊


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## widow-maker (12 Nov 2020)

i have fluval stratum... my ph reduces from 8 to just under 7 and kh reduces to zero im injecting co2 i get a ph drop of 1 when I check the ph before lights on its 6.7


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## Tom Michael (13 Nov 2020)

A clay based soil - Aqua soil or Tropica are highly recommended. I like aqua soil as it has very high nutrient content, although you need to plant v heavily from the start and water change daily for the first week or so as some leach ammonia.


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## Wizza (13 Nov 2020)

Tom Michael said:


> A clay based soil - Aqua soil or Tropica are highly recommended. I like aqua soil as it has very high nutrient content, although you need to plant v heavily from the start and water change daily for the first week or so as some leach ammonia.


Thanks for that but tropica also plays with the KH /PH doesn’t it?


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## Tom Michael (14 Nov 2020)

I take it you are concerned that you will get changes in water perimeters due to frequent large water changes that can negatively effect the fish?

This will not be an issue, I live in Brighton and have equally hard water and have alwa used ADA aqua Soil (Africana and Amazonia) I do 50 percent water changes and this only benefits the fish.

if you haven’t already purchased the Stratum i would strongly recommend going down the aqua soil route!


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## Wizza (14 Nov 2020)

Many Thanks for the insight.
If I was setting up from scratch I would certainly choose the Ada.
I have a quite a heavy bio load. So I don’t want to risk them. 
Also I wouldn’t be doing loads of water changes to keep the ammonia level low.
(My usual 50% a week wouldn’t cut it!)

so after reading the pros and cons of each I have decided on fluval stratum I feel it ticks more of the boxes.
So once again thanks for helping me with my concerns about the stratum...


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## cheekycharly (14 Feb 2021)

Wizza said:


> Many Thanks for the insight.
> If I was setting up from scratch I would certainly choose the Ada.
> I have a quite a heavy bio load. So I don’t want to risk them.
> Also I wouldn’t be doing loads of water changes to keep the ammonia level low.
> ...


Did you ever purchase the Fluval Stratum? If so how did it work out.

Sent from my Mi 9T using Tapatalk


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## Wizza (14 Feb 2021)

cheekycharly said:


> Did you ever purchase the Fluval Stratum? If so how did it work out.
> 
> Sent from my Mi 9T using Tapatalk


Yes I did!

After a lot of work I finally changed it.
It is very light as others say.
Just got to be patient.

As for my concerns with the water parameter swings, the fish couldn’t care less.

it is stocked with angels and bristlenose plecs.
maybe if I stocked more sensitive species then maybe I would come across an issue?

I haven’t actually measured my water to actually witness the swings because the fish are happy anyway!

in fact, since then I have commissioned another tank(fluval flex)  using stratum and once again no issues.

so I highly recommend it 👍


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## cheekycharly (14 Feb 2021)

Wizza said:


> Yes I did!
> 
> After a lot of work I finally changed it.
> It is very light as others say.
> ...


And how is plant growth in the substrate?

Sent from my Mi 9T using Tapatalk


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## Wizza (14 Feb 2021)

cheekycharly said:


> And how is plant growth in the substrate?
> 
> Sent from my Mi 9T using Tapatalk


When I first got it things seemed slow.
I figured I would give them a settling in period but I soon realised my issues were more than what I originally thought.

due to my tank being ~21 inches deep, there just wasn’t enough light getting to the bottom.
So I swapped out some plants that are a little more suitable.

I have now got a mass of rotala hra (growing quickly) and also staurogyne repents in the front. (Which is growing just got past the settling in stage) 

I have also added a fluval Aquasky since.

I have got the beginnings of strong root growth so I know the plants are liking it 👍


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## cheekycharly (14 Feb 2021)

Wizza said:


> When I first got it things seemed slow.
> I figured I would give them a settling in period but I soon realised my issues were more than what I originally thought.
> 
> due to my tank being ~21 inches deep, there just wasn’t enough light getting to the bottom.
> ...


Very glad to hear things are taking shape with the tank. Subsequently off the back of your praise I have just ordered three bags of fluval stratum. Also ordered 25KG of Ancient stone so hopefully I can Scape something decent .

Best of luck Wizza... I will be following the thread .

Sent from my Mi 9T using Tapatalk


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## Wizza (14 Feb 2021)

cheekycharly said:


> Very glad to hear things are taking shape with the tank. Subsequently off the back of your praise I have just ordered three bags of fluval stratum. Also ordered 25KG of Ancient stone so hopefully I can Scape something decent .
> 
> Best of luck Wizza... I will be following the thread .
> 
> Sent from my Mi 9T using Taptalk


Nice!
Would love to hear how you get on!

when it comes to the initial handling of it you will hear many opinions.

I can only tell you what I did to avoid cloudy water (which worked!)

I didn’t rinse it.
I filled the tank with it then put enough water in to barely come to the surface of the stratum.

next I put all the plants in.

I then filled it up with water but very very gently to begin with to avoid disturbing it as much as possible.
The deeper the water gets, the more you can get away with filling quicker.....


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