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http://oliver-knott.com/30+M52087573ab0.html Flora-Base is made by the same people to the same recipe.

Hope you've seen this too: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8445&p=97520

I've got a 12"+ plec, 6" plec, whiptail cats, loaches, cory's, etc. No problems with aquabasis clouding or mess, etc.

Aquabasis is fine without being capped too :) Actually looks great mixed with plain gravel and a little playsand.

Don't rinse it.

AquaSoil is known to break down to mud after a few months to a year, but Oliver Knott's NatureSoil and Flora-Base have a different structure which isn't so easily crushed, and even if crushed it doesn't go to mush. FB, NS and AS will all lower the pH and soften the water for roughly a one year...

Re: Aquatic shop in London where ADA Aquasoil can be purchas Colombo Flora-Base and Oliver Knott's NatureSoil (available from sponsors) are preferred as they contain all the same goodies as ADA but not as much ammonia, plus you also get much clearer water from first fill, and there is no...

Nature Soil has been around for quite a while now, and yes Oliver does use his own substrate when he can (check his site for many examples). He didn't use it at TGM simply because TGM do not sell NatureSoil. Its like using a Tropica plant when he's scaping an AquaFleur tank, just wont happen.

Re: Aquatic shop in London where ADA Aquasoil can be purchas There are better alternatives to AquaSoil for far less money anyway.

Re: ADA vs Oliver Knott The Red Sea stuff is great - I used it on Without Foundation and had great results.. Bags are small though - I think I used 3 on a 60cm tank, from http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalo ... strate.asp

Colombo's Flora-Base (and many others, like GEX) are also made at the same production plant as Nature Soil, yet Flora-Base (which is Fine) is almost half price... Wave £100k+ at them and they will make the substrate to your requirements, bag it in whatever design of bag you like and ship x...

Damn, I wish I wasn't so tight and actually subscribed to your newsletters. Gonna have to fix that soon :D

It doesn't contains any NPK, but as you rightly say, it does have the ability to uptake and hold on to NPK, but charging it isn't really essential if you dose the water column. Its mainly designed to be used with their AquaBasis Plus, but this only contains minor traces of NPK iirc. Saying...

A large bag of pea shingle from Wickes is only a couple of quid, and its all you need tbh. Clive's advice is golden, you won't go wrong taking it :thumbup:

That looks a lot like the problems Paulo and I had :( Try running some filter floss for a few days to see what sort of debris it picks up...

Re: Tropica Substrate Problems Well I've said before that many people have had trouble, including myself and Paulo. And I have it on good authority that ADA went as far as to change the manufacturer of their AS several months back, although that was rumoured to be because of the problems with...

Re: Tropica Substrate Problems Could be a bad batch of ADA AS causing it...

Larger would be better imo. Sometimes the smaller grains get blown about the tank under good filtration.

Most of the clay based substrates will be good for this... anything like AquaSoil, MagicSoil, GEX, FloraBase, or the better option (imo), NatureSoil.

Chuck some in a glass of water and see how long it takes to settle and clear bud...

Troo Nick, but you're looking at nearly 50kg, which will mean at least 2 boxes. Some courier companies charge twice in that case :x

I've resused Malaya and it ended up in a cloudy mess. LondonDragon has reused Amazonia II and it ended up in a cloudy mess.

Ask him to do something more tasteful with the packaging too, will you George! :lol:

I've got both and am having huge problems with ADA Malaya. Its mostly turned to dust and every time an MTS surfaces it clouds the entire tank for a week! Its horrible stuff :( MTS are having no bad effects on the NS though, and shrimp love the stuff! There is no break down or dust at all, and...

No, it doesn't matter which you buy as they work exactly the same :)

Depends on the size of the tank... I'd be tempted to spend the extra for anything smaller than a 60cm tank as it'll match the scale a bit better, but otherwise its not really needed. HC, etc. will grow fine in either versions, and once its covered the size wont mater as it wont be seen :)

PM sent! :D

There's a chance the tank could be up to 5x2x2' so I want it cheaper than that! :lol:

I'm reading Amano's NA book 1 atm, and one interesting fact is Takashi Amano has used Akadama as a substrate since the 70's, way before he realised plants needed co2 instead of o2 (after an experiment with soda water whilst drunk :lol: ). I wish I could source it locally though, as I'd love to...

I'm using it atm, and its beautiful looking stuff. Can't rate it by itself though as I'm using it as capping only, covering some old AquaSoil. Most of these clay based substrate need replacing after 12 months or so as they start to break down and become very messy. Especially if you're...

You have to wonder who was in charge of marketing on this one :lol: If the picture isn't bad enough, they go and use a standard Photoshop shape for the logo :lol: Depending on the scale of production, I highly doubt adding a full colour image has done anything to raise production costs, but as...

Nope, nothing. Later I added a small amount of playsand and a few bits of gravel to make it look a little more natural, but it was fine without. Try a small amount in a jug or something mate :)

I've used JBL Aqua Basis on its own - looks great too :)

Why would you top them? They look great as they are, and don't need topping...

I tried the type suggested on its own, and its a right mess. Mud basically. I even bought a second bag and rised it for ages until I was left with a tiny amount of the larger, harder bits of clay/stone. Looked great, until I added water :lol: A week later and it still hadn't settled and actually...

http://www.adana.co.jp/_e_products/substrate_index.php :)

They all have different properties, so don't base it just on colour.

*resists the urge to correct Clive about Star Trek* I'm wondering if peoples monitors are out... I'm red/green colour blind and it looks grey/black to me :?

I wouldn't bother leaving the AS in a bucket - as soon as you disturb it, it'll leach more ammonia anyway.

Also, don't forget to add filter mulm to your new substrate!

Drinks bottles are good too.

Yup. Even kids play sand needs a good wash as there are many dusty particles which just do not settle with filters running :)

Search the forums - most argue it isn't needed at all :)

Some people find it breaks down to mud very quickly.

Yeah, Aqua Soil can be used on its own - don't bother with powersand. You could cover it with something, but why when its a nice substrate by itself? Amazonia II should be used if you have a really high pH, apparently. Don't bother with the Aqua Soil Powder type either.

Polystyrene will work too... Edit: I wonder what hairgrass would look like growing out of tights... remember those grass heads you could buy for the kitchen window? :lol:

Disturbing AS can cause ammonia spikes though, so as soon as you drain it and move it to the tank, wouldn't it still need a while to settle again?

Yeah, I went to a glass cutters place the other day and saw a sample. I felt like knocking one out right there tbh :lol:

Sorry Mark, the 4ft is a mess. A real mess :lol: Its only ever had swords and densa in it until recently - Clive sent me half a kilo of crypts and other plants :lol: I'm getting rid of it in the new year and starting fresh with a 3x2x2' opti-white. I did look for some pics to try and show the...

The wife loves the look of sand so we've also done it in the 4ft tank. I kept most of the gravel in at the back and just covered it. No problems there, but the front started to become a problem, so having a mad moment I mixed everything up and added JBL AB. It created a hell of a mess, but it...

Its so fine it tends to compact way too much ime. Putting some gravel under it will help. Yes the sand will fall through to the base, but the stones stop it from compacting.

Anaerobic? I had the same problem with playsand only. Mix some gravel into it, or more coarse sand.

Is that the sand like stuff? I'm pretty sure that can be used on its own or under gravel, etc. I've used it in all 4 of my tanks - some on its own and some mixed with other stuff.

*cough* don't let Clive know you have heater cables *cough* Have you thought of using Eco Complete?

Well this may be a little cheaper via a very quick google search: http://www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/bla ... -640-p.asp Best bet might be to try your local Wickes, or Jewson, etc.

MTS can be good at cleaning up dead areas of substrate. http://www.snailshop.co.uk/p/286777/mal ... adult.html

From the 2008 ADA Nature Aquarium Book.