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cheers :thumbup:

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5661&start=80 pics on there^ And the JBL is like soil, so there is no chance of the ADA falling through.

I used 2 x 9l of ADA & 10l of JBL aquabasis+ to bulk it out and it gave me a 2" - 6" front to back coverage. So you should be looking for around 25-30litres.

It wouldnt take you long, its good value for something like $12 8)

its annoying isnt it, especially when so much work goes in, it is just as bad as having algae, it ruins the tank. you clean it off and its back by the next morning :(

so that would explain why all my plants have a coating of substrate particle dust :( :evil:

you will notice a small drop in GH as amazonia is already loaded with nutrients, (it will take Mg & Ca cations out of the water) but going by Marks observations my suggested theory is wrong. the pH decrease will depend on the KH, and if you use CO2 injection.

my Malaya is terrible, all my crypts get a fine coating of dust, i wish i had of washed it :(

never heard of it :roll: does it need capping then? not a bad price...

:lol: if you get a small amount in a conical flask and light it it will give out sparks like a sparkler :D best doing it ouside though :wink:

i always reccomend Tesco litter, i think i did to you too Jack :wink:

what do you mean by long term, John? As in it will hold its shape and wont cloud or for nutrients?

I use brand new malaya and it is a mess :| :thumbdown: Some people add root tabs to give the substrate a boost,

try kaizen bonsai for akadama, £18 posted for 14litres. They also sell half bags too.

with an EL natural tank you shouldnt (going by the "rules") use a fertiliser and rely on the plants & fish food providing most of the macro nutrients, along with soil which you "should" be using. You need some source, so a weekly dose of TPN+ wont hurt. or just buy some KH2PO4 & KNO3.

Try Kaizen Bonsai. I think 14l is about £18 posted

i think a 3l box will be fine. a 10l gives you a good depth in a 60 x 30cm. If you are only wanting a layer to cap the JBL then 3l should be enough

whats the footprint of the tank?

it is still risky, as the level of ammonia produced by your fish will be far less than the aquasoil leaches, so there wont be enough bacteria to convert it all. at least 3 water changes for a couple of weeks, preferably daily will help

long job but cant you fill a bucket then wash it under the tap?

Ade (wolfenrook) has, he gets good growth from his plants, however, i am not too sure on his dosing regime as heavy dosing of the water column may 'cancel' it out.

Mark used 10l in his 60l (60 x 30). See the journal "autum blush"

do you think the full system is better than just AS on its own? because if it isnt then the price difference would be near enough the same. thanks

if you need more, try kaizen bonsai. Last time i checked they were selling 14l bags for £18.50 delivered, although i am not sure what you call cheap :wink:

i would say a minimum of 1" then it needs capping with about another 1" of gravel or sand so that any fish wont dig it up and mess the water. The only way it changes the chemistry is for good. It might possibly lower the pH, add a fe nurients to the water etc. But nothing that will adversely...

yes they break up, and rotting plants release ammonia so you may get algae issues, keeping it timmed fairly short would help, someone else who has kept this plant for a longer period of time may tell you differently, it never got that dense when i ripped mine up, and i am only repeating others...

once the plants start to become dense, the light is blocked from the lower leaves, this is a problem in HC and Glosso IME. the tank shown is probaly when the carpet was at its best. You can see the darker patches at the bottom of the grass, so if it grew any higher then it may become a problem...

it is possible to have a high tech, low maintenance. By adding CO2 it becomes high tech, however if you choose plants such as cryptocoryne and echinodorous then trimming a few leaves off IMO isnt high maintenance, only when you need constant trimming of stems does it become a hassle for some...

this substrate may be ideal: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=741 carpeting plants: eleocharis acicularis or parvula (dwarf hairgrass) hemianthus callitrichoides glossostigma elatinoides marsilea hirstuta a carpet in that size tank would look amazing! Fish waste can act as a fertilisers, however, when...

it is a good product, similar to JBL Aqubasis+ which is more commonly used, If you do use it then the cheapest place i have seen it is here: http://www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/tet ... 1055-p.asp usually it retails for £18

lol

substrates have the ability to take in and release nutrients (cations - positive ions such as Ca++ Mg++ K+ etc) It is often reffered to as cation exchange capacity (CEC)

see here: http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... sue_id=106

George did an excellent write up in March issue of PFK of about 20+ substrates. comparinf price, texture, size, colour etc etc

Hi Luke, can you get a picture of the substrate please, i was going to look at my Uncle's but he has took the tank down and thrown the substrate :roll: typical.

okay maybe i have it mixed up, it is chlorine that gasses off, not chloramine.

I have been thinking... Maybe it is the chlorine gassing of and then leaving NH3 behind as a result fromt the chloramine? This would match up seeing as it starts to rise after 24hrs. thoughts? EDIT: better put the right words lol :roll:

Tom kindly sent me some so i am doing a little experiment. 2 tubs of tap water, 1 with AS in, 1 with nothing in. NH3 out of tap measured 0 after 1 day: AS - 0.6ppm control - 0.6ppm 2nd day: AS - 1ppm control - 1ppm 3rd day: AS - 1.2ppm control - 1.2ppm I have no clue where the NH3 is coming...

thanks, so that more or less confirms it leaches ammonia.

good :D

Does it need washing? And also if anyone else can confirm about the NH3 leaching out that would be great :D Also, i was wondering if anyone could send me a small handful/ bag (2" x2") so i can see the colour of it, as i may mix it with another substrate, although i am still unsure :roll: I...

Re: ADA aquasoil Malaya - grain size? thanks for your reply

Hi, i was wondering what the grain size of ADA malaya is? And just for reference what is Amazonia? And is it true that Malaya doesnt leach NH3 at the start? Thanks, Aaron

The moler cannot be used, the brown? colouring is coming off, and in fact can be scratched off very easily to i would imagine it to be unsuitable for the aquarium. The kyodama sunk in water but i never tested that but i am assuming it will be ok.

Very interesting, i learnt about anaerobic substrates in "ecology of the planted aquarium" (Diana Walstad - a very good book for anyone interested in science) and through some research on the net.

by 'oxygen robbing' i presume you mean anaerobic bacteria? If so they are actually helpful in substrates. If the bacteria in the substrate are aerobic then they can keep elements such as iron locked up in their oxide precippitates which are of little use to plants, also, anaerobic bacteria can...

cool, the pumice can go in then :lol: I tested some of them and fond out the "kanuma" floats - shame as it is a nice colour. "moler" is ok though - is that ok to use or is it just ordinary gravel?

You can get some small samples of substrates (including akadama) from Kaizen Bonsai for free - unless you pay with paypal then it is a minimum of 1p. Ideal if you want to see the colour, size, texture etc. If you do want a full bag then it is cheap HERE here if you need it posting I am not...

How is this stuff for sloping? I know aquasoil is very good as it stays in shape pretty well. Thanks.

just bringing this back up... I was looking at substrates, 9L of ADA malaya was £27 per bag and i need 3 (£81) so i though i would cut the cost and buy only 2 bags, but when looking at other substrate such as JBL aquabasis, they come in 5L bags @ £13 so 10L would cost £26!! So i agree ADA...

oh that stuff... yeah my Uncle uses it on a 1.5wpg tank with fairly easy plants and weekly dosing, his plants are doing ok :)

I use sand on top off my JBL. 2" JBL, 0.5"-1" thick sand. (sloped towards rear)

:lol: The worst thing i ever heard by my English teacher was "describe a colour to a blind person by objects" - as in the sun is yellow! :roll: :|

It is black with a purple tint to me, I am not colour blind,

Cation Exchange capacity. It draws positive elemnets (cations) into the substrate like Mg+, Ca+, K+ to make them available to plant roots.

why would you want more than akadama and aquabsis? 2 substrates is usually the most people use, not many go into more than this unless it is a micxture of quartz gravel, etc. If it was me i would go with the tropica as it has a high CEC, capped with gravel. You could have the aquabasis on the...

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=989&hilit=heater+cable

3 months max, sometimes sooner.

Most likley diatoms then as it is common in new set ups.

sounds like diatoms, how long as the tank been set up??

If you decide to use playsand on it's own, it will mean you will have to dose the water column heavier, but i would definatley use a nutritous substrate as it means there is always a source of nutrients, just incase we miss a dose.

Apparently amazonia contains more nutrients than malaya, although i have seen no proof.

EC doesnt leach ammonia, however it can change raise the gh & kh of the water.

Just cap it with a substrate to build up the height. People buy AS because it is a complete substrate (can be used on its own), generally regarded as the best substrate, it has a high CEC and it's ADA :lol:

have a look through this thread, it has a few links to places: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=741

see this thread: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=741

fill a bucket, put water in, 'swirl' it around, ur water out, do this until the water you are pouring out is clear.

it is probably coral sand. It will buffer your water and raise your ph to around 8.2 - it is suitable for ponds because pond fish like alkaline water, and it prevents any large swings in ph due to acid rain, and other stuff getting in it etc.

yes, always, it helps cycle your filter too :)

yes, you never know if you are going to change it! and you do every time lol

you could get some activated acrbon and use it as a layer under the EC to try and cut costs, or just some normal black gravel

you could go with akadama if you are not bothered about black substarte: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=741

i chose other because i dont think they primarily feed through the leaves although they will go this way if no nutrients are available via the substrate. There has to be more nutrients in the water column to make up for it though.

get a collinder (or a bucket with holes in!) then just rinse under the taps while disturbibg it with your hand.

probobaly but it wont be as bad i would of thought.

It would be better to soak it for a month, it has no effect on the AS

i removed some of the sand, i baulked and ran to the toilet :? i think it was aneirobic! The sand WAS black too

i had gravel with cory's, it created no big problems. Gravel also lets waste fo through and provides nutrients to the roots - doesnt matter that much if you have a nutrient rich substrate. Sand isnt to bad for planting - you will get the hang of it.

I might take some sand out, I have just got some MTS from Wayne to try and help.

this is quite deep, 3" (2" sand and 1" of JBL AB) It is also turning black :(

It does smell like eggs, no pH swings and it is only where there are no plants.

The reason i ask is because i have never had anerobic pockets in gravel.

not the best option, i have JBL aquabasis underneath, it will create a big mess. I suppose it can be a good reason to rescape :lol: Is aquasoil like gravel?

yes thats the one lol, i only have it where there is no plants/ gravel. I keep stirring it weekly to try and make sure it doesnt build up to much. Is that the only way?

It is when not enough oxygen is in the substrate (aeirobic = oxygen) it creates hydrogen suphide (i think - know it has sulphur it as that is what causes the egg smell)

My playsand substrate has gone aneirobic :crazy: is there anthing i can do? I have ordered some MTS to ty and help. Thanks, aaron (it is my 60l)

What are the parameters of your water? It wont matter to much to the plants but some dont grow as well but they will grow! Most fish will be able to adapt

yes, i use it in my 60l, as you can see, everything is growin well! I thought you were an ADA man anyway?

sort of, where my sand is really shallow, it pulls a bit up when planting, not to bad though :D

it needs capping, otherwise when planting it creates a big mess (hence the why the packaging suggests)

people who use it have had some good results, IMO, cheap stuff is better than none!

give it a month before levels drop to a decent level. It can be used to cycle the tank

I realised that after i posted it lol, how long does it take you?

Lots of w/c is the key, 50% every other day, your filter should help deal with the rest, i would move the shrimp, they are very fussy. EDIT: i know 50% is a lot on your tank but it will be worth it, mayybe just d smaller w/c?

I asked AE when i was going to purchse some, just so i knew that i would have neough, Richard said it is fine :D

many aquascapers not only use it because of the nutrients, but also because of its ability to stay in mounds! Perfect! :D

according to the guidelines it is 12 bags :shock: the formula: length x width x depth (of substrate) = cm2 / 1000 = litres 200 x 60 x 5cm (average?) = 60 000/ 1000 = 60 litres (6 bags) but if you want it sloping then you need more.

It doesnt matter how deep it is (as long as the plants will stay in), the roots will move about in the dead spots, Tom Barr slpoed it up to 1 foot in depth on the large 1600g he did!

bottom substrate is worth it, it also means you can be a bit more lenaient in the ferts in the water column, if oyu go for tetra, then here is the cheapest: http://www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/tet ... 1055-p.asp 4 x tubs = £48 I use hte JBL and have had good results with it.

looking forward to the journal then :wink: