Search results for query: *

I agree with Hufsa, in that no one necessarily "needs" root tabs as long as the water column is being dosed. Of course, it's always better to have nutrition in both the water as well as in the sediment, but as mentioned, root tabs often contains ammonia as their source of nitrogen and if the...

Any supplementation of CO2, whether by gas or by liquid should automatically be considered high tech. This is completely untrue and you are strongly advised to avoid this critical error made by many hobbyists. Less light is better. Learn to grow plants with the light that comes with the tank...

Aquatic plants can feed from any nutritious source, whether it be from the sediment or the water column. It's always beneficial, therefore, to have nutrients in both locations, but it is not compulsory. There are reasons many choose to have high nutrition in the sediment and very little in the...

Hi, Well it's not that I'm not a fan of volcanic products. What I'm not a fan of is the way in which they are marketed. The claims made by the suppliers are disingenuous as these rocks do not have any special characteristics which makes them any better that run-of-the-mill clay sediment...

These are generally false claims because there is always circulation in the sediment. If you intend to put rooted plants in the tank then this is doubly unnecessary because plants oxygenate the sediment via their roots. We really never need to worry about circulation in the sediment and we do...

Exactly. There are no free lunches. Also, fun fact, the same bacteria you need in your sediment and filter can be found next to any weed in your garden, so just grab a handful of the dirt ball and mix in with your mineralized project sediment. Another option is to go to you local LFS and ask for...

Hi, Or, for those annoying folks who are terminally impatient (no names, but you know who you are!), at step 3. they can mineralize by baking their John Innes #3 in an oven for 1 hour at 400-500Deg.F, or by boiling it for 10 minutes. Then they can let it cool and have their soil ready for...

Hi Marcel, Yes, I agree that fundamentally if the plants are being fed properly the CEC of the substrate is not nearly as important. I only mention it in case someone is doing a lean dosing. At that point the significance of the CEC increases. Testing would be elaborate as the...

Hi Marcel, There are different types of volcanos and therefore different kinds of volcanic rock. The "worst" volcanic type your article might have been referring to would be perhaps be some types of pumice, but the material formed by lava has a fair to middling CEC. The worst material as far as...

Powersand is basically an adjunct and runs out of it's nutrition very quickly. It's just ordinary pumice soaked in a nutrient solution. The Amazonia is also soaked in the same solution but it's clay and can retain a lot more of the solution than pumice can. I would just replace it with more...

The really complicated answer is that there are no such things as root feeders. Cheers,

Oliver Knott's Nature Soil is a typical enriched clay substrate which is the same as Colombo Florabase or ADA Aquasoil. These are very good substrates but may leach ammonia into the water column on first use. Cheers,

Sand itself has nothing to do with the rise of diatoms. I don't know how many times we have to repeat this. Having said that, diatomic algae is associated with "new" substrate. There is a kind of abstract chemical warfare going on in the substrate which results in the proliferation of certain...

Hello, You'd be better off suspecting a fault in your CO2/flow/distribution rather than Amazonia, especially if you are already dosing TNC. The symptoms you describe have nothing to do with nutrients and everything to do with CO2. Cheers,

Hi, There really is nothing all that special about basalt or pumice, which is another volcanic material. The level of nutrients accessible to plant roots are miniscule due to the large particle size and hardness, and if nutrition is the property you are seeking then you would be much better...

Hello, This is not really something to fret over. The term Lava rock or volcanic has been associated with any rock consisting of basalt, which is a heavier and more dense material than clay products, for example. It's simply the material produced by volcanos, which, really have no...

Hello, Save yourself from possible headaches and dump the Amazonia in a bucket, fill it with water and let it sit for 3-4 weeks. The ammonia will mineralize into NO3 and then you can put it in the tank without having to worry about water changes, algae, or toxicity. Cheers,

This is correct. The only nutrient rich substrate in the ADA range is Aquasoil. Their other soils are inert clay, which, being clay, is a good thing. If you prefer to use Africana, or any inert clay, you can distribute small amounts of a slow release fertilizer, such as Osmocote, on the bottom...

Aquasoil is as silky smooth as they come. Cheers,

Hello, As mentioned above, it would be a really good idea for us to resist the temptation to use marketing phrases such as "Active Substrate". This is a very misleading phrase because it implies that a product does something particularly amazing. Amazonia is an excellent product...

Can you please clarify if you are adding CO2? Also, how often are you performing water changes? Did you notice any symptoms before the fish died? Cheers,

Hello, I agree with Marcel. It doesn't really matter at all whether a new substrate affects the alkalinity or General Hardness. The effects will be temporary and even if it were permanent it would not really matter. One of the biggest mistakes hobbyists make is that they fret over KH...

Hi, Yes. Nope. Yes. Nope. Cheers,

+1 for 1 bulb. Cheers,

YES. Way over the top. Listen carefully to Dolly Sprint 16v. Cheers,

Fred, The whole idea is to get bacteria to grow in the substrate. Leave it alone and just carry on. Cheers,

No. It's best not to overthink substrates unless you have a specific need or special requirement. If you are worried about bottom diggers, such as cories getting injured, for example, then you would want to just use sand or a soft clay sediment, or even a hard clay that does not have sharp...

Yeah, well, so are chopped up scrubbies, which are cheaper and offer less drag. Cheers,

The real picture is this: Lava stones/gravel is no big deal. It will will neither be a factor in failure, nor in success. There are very small levels of micronutrients in the rock, primarily Ferric Iron, which can be passed on to the plant roots, but so what? Even the detritus from accumulate...

Hello, Changing substrate can be accomplished, although, not in an elegant manner. However, it is more important to clean the substrate. It can be done in stages during water change. Select a manageable sized area, uproot the plants and remove or clean the substrate in that area the...

I agree with foxfish. ADA Aquasoil and other clay substrates do not require capping. Cheers,

Err.. there's plenty of reason to gravel vac. Our tanks are NOT nature. They are constructs of our imagination, just...like...The Matrix. Eliminating organic waste in the gravel AND in the filter medium is a really important procedure because this is a closed system not a natural an open...

Hi, Use the least expensive clay sediment you can find. In fact, the most cost effective can be found at any Bonsai nursery. No. Heater cables have proven to be a red herring. Cheers,

No, you have misunderstood. It may be a problem for some terrestrial plants but aquatic plants really do not care about the relative amounts of Calcium to Magnesium and interference is never really a problem. Here is yet another example of a tank with GH 26+ due to extremely high Calcium...

Use any top layer that fits your budget. Try to avoid small particle types like sand though, otherwise it just get mixed up. You really don't need to make your life more complicated by worrying about substrate. See a basic summary in...

Use whatever you can afford. There is no difference. Cheers,

...or, for less than £4 http://www.kaizenbonsai.com/bonsai-soils-small-trial-packs It's doubtfull that anyone dye's garden shop molar clay. The dye would cost more than the clay.... Cheers,

The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window. . .or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work. . . .when you go to church. . . .when you pay your taxes. lt is the world that has been pulled...

Julian this is not strictly true. Enriched substrate are not designed to release ammonia for new filter media. The product is simply clay soaked in a very highly concentrated solution of nutrient salts. Clay is very good at absorbing the liquid and then the clay is baked which holds the salts...

Hello, The Up Aqua is an alternative to the ADA product. It is baked clay with nutrients just like Amazonia, but it is baked a little longer so the final product is harder, not soft like Amazonia, so it has less resistance to breakdown. It also has much less Nitrogen than Aquasoil, so there...

Nice one Thomas. Skeptics will argue that showing Congolese sand is unfair due to high concentration of Hippopotamus manure. At least you're not using sand from the beaches of Capetown S.A. as that is loaded with Great White Shark manure... Cheers,

Yes, as Julian mentions, there are different ways to skin the cat. One way is to simply port the gas directly into the filter inlet using any bog standard ceramic diffuser. You haven't described the tank (size and so forth) so it's very difficult to give specific information. Liquid carbon may...

No, it is due to poor CO2/flow/distribution. Cheers,

Hi, If I were you I would forget about the impact of the sediment on KH. That is really a red herring and will have little effect in the overall scheme of things. After a few months the effect on KH is abated anyway. Worry more about keeping the tank clean and the plants healthy. Cheers,

You can do, but unnecessary. Just keep it moist. Bacterial populations will develop regardless lots of water versus a little water. Oxygen however is a problem and does not diffuse well in water, so too much water can be an impediment. Cheers,

OK, if it's cheap then definitely get it. It will be the same as Akadama or other molar clays. Just don't expect miracles, that's all... Cheers,

The OP is encouraged to heed the advice in Darrel's post #3 "Active Substrate" is another modern fantasy marketing term for what is essentially clay pellets. The expression has such a nice ring to it that the unwary automatically assume the product is doing great deeds inside the tank, when in...

Hi Colin, Well, do you have a garage or basement or otherwise lightly used room? Keep it covered tightly and it will reduce the odors. You can also top it with a few inches of potting soil to bar the escaping odors. As I mentioned, it's definitely worth it if you have a month to...

Yes, but you'll need to let it sit in warm conditions for about a month and it's not really necessary to change the water in the bucket. Cheers,

It won't matter what mix you use. Just use whatever you have and get on with it. Cheers,

moisten the soil and leave it in a bucket for 3-4 weeks. That's really all you need to do. Cheers,

Yeah mate, I'll have to accept some of the blame for confusion on the non-CO2 tanks. I don't spend a lot of time with the low tech crowd. If you do get questions in your shop or if you want to provide the information then you might want to use this basic non-CO2 EI template: Barr's standard...

Viktor, EI does not really care how much light you have or consequently, how much growth rate you want/have. If the nutrient demand is low due to low light/low CO2 then the dosing can easily be adjusted down to suit. If the nutrient demand is high then EI also supports this goal. Too many...

Further to Henry's excellent response, you do not "need" root tabs - AND they are expensive, however, if you already have them then they can be used. Another option is to use slow release fertilizer such as Osmocoat or Miracle Grow Slow Release under the quartz. You can even add potting soil to...

Which will be a costly mistake since it will not be any better than the quartz gravel you are using now. Please pay attention to Julian's advice in post #4 above. What more information do you need? It doesn't matter what substrate you use if you are dosing EI. Substrate will not be your problem...

Hello, You need to stop using test kits....forever. That's the most difficult advice for people to accept because The Matrix has programmed us into this mental prison from birth. It's best not to believe any of those numbers. Just continue your regular water changes. Test kits magically turn...

Go to the beach and get sand for free. Cheers,

Please don't make life more complicated. Compost is extremely high in ammonia so it's addition will be counterproductive if your goal is to reduce ammonia. Please also forget about soil pH and all the other meaningless parameters. After a forest fire soil nutrients are more accessible to plants...

Hello, The fact that the soil is dry is actually a good thing. The mineralization of Nitrogen in soil, functionally is the oxidation of NH4 => NO3. The effect is the same as if nitrifying bacteria have processed the NH4 by combining it with Oxygen. Heating the soil simulates the effects...

Please review http://ukaps.org/forum/threads/flora-max-v-eco-complete.13801/#post-143731 Cheers,

Washing will not solve this issue. Please study the post http://ukaps.org/forum/threads/how-to-remove-ammonia-from-aquasoil-prior-to-use.16796/#post-173346 and review the links. Cheers,

Seagull crap is an excellent source of nutrition for plants. Cheers,

Hi, OP = Original Poster or Original/Opening Post. Either, or both. In some cases it means unstable delivery of CO2 as well. Any combination of these causes problems. It really doesn't matter where the dropchecker is placed. It is only a rough guide. In the meantime, you should perform the...

The OP is advised to stop testing and to ignore the entire issue of cycling. He should focus more on CO2, flow and distribution. Hair algae is is definite sign of poor CO2. It will only get worse if the OP continues to pay attention to meaningless test kit results instead of attending to the...

So I'm going to lock this thread because it has deteriorated into the absurd. Cheers,

Well, there may be issues with individual batches, and I recall you have had some difficulty in one or more of your tanks, which you attributed to Amazonia, but I don't think think it can be said that unilaterally, Amazonia is problematic. There are just too many successful tanks out there using...

Hello, According to the Original Post, the specific items of interest appear to be as follows> All substrates work. The object of a substrate is to: 1) Anchor the plant to prevent it from washing away. 2) Provide an alternate source of nutrition to the more efficient foliar uptake via...

The OP should review the post http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/flora-max-v-eco-complete.13801/#post-143731 Cheers,

Hi, Well that data only indicates that the clay might be hard baked. If someone adds fertilizer to a clay product then they have to say what fertilizer is added to the clay. For example, in the case of enriched products such as ADA Amazonia, the clay is baked with peat, NPK and micronutrients...

Hello, I've had a look at the link and this appears to be a simple clay product, which works fine. Anytime you see written promotion such as "stabilizes pH" and "Nutrients are slowly released over a long period of time" then it tells you immediately that it's just clay, because that's what...

Subject covered ad-nauseum in threads: Setting Up A RIO 180 | UK Aquatic Plant Society Discussion on substrate and fertilization | UK Aquatic Plant Society Cheers,

Hi, Leave the carbon in the filter. Carbon is excellent when it's fresh, and when it's old it makes one of the best filter media ever. I don't know why so many people are freaked out about activated carbon. Carbon doesn't really care about your liquids. Activated carbon has a very specific...

I'd just dose the water column and get on with it. If you like the look of silver sand than that's as good an excuse as any to stick with it. You really don't need to spend money on root tabs. There are no plants that "require" root tabs. Tabs don't do anything better than nutrients in the water...

Yes, except you are paying 100X more for Nitrogen than you need to. Click the links I gave and check the prices. Cheers,

Testing for silicates is your first mistake. Algae do not care about silicates. This is the second mistake. Plants need phosphorous. Even if this stuff actually does as it says, removing PO4 from solution is never a good idea generally. Worrying about TDS is the third mistake. Plants do not...

The only kickstart aquatic plants can get at startup must first and foremost, occur above the substrate. "heavy root feeders" also depend primarily on water column fertilization in exactly the same way as other non "heavy root feeders". Your procedures and attention to details above the...

Guys, sorry to be vague. It's exactly as stated by squid102. The fact of the mater is just that Akadama, or Kyushu, or Capetown, or Zambeze, or even Congo, or WHATEVER are all just different forms of dirt. But guess what? Weeds are found almost exclusively growing in dirt. So there is no...

No worries mate. Be sure to check the sticky Akadama - A cheap substrate | UK Aquatic Plant Society at the top of this section. Cheers,

Hello, Akadama is just dirt, dug up from a Japanese back yard, put into a plastic bag featuring fascinating Japanese calligraphy. It will therefore be dirty forever and it really is of little value to stress too much about cleaning it. Soak it and stir/drain it a few times in case there are...

They are all damaging to your fish is you use too much. The reason is because they use ammonia as their Nitrogen source. See the thread => help with osmocote please | UK Aquatic Plant Society Cheers,

Hello, Deponitmix is basically rotted leaves. It has no NPK. You can get rotted leaves from any pond or lake. Get the cat litter and some Osmocote and just get on with it. You really do not need to stress about substrate. Then just dose the water column with cheap readily available nutrients...

Hi, You can mix and match as you wish based on budget and aesthetics. Heavier or smaller grain substrate will always migrate to the bottom, so if your gravel is smaller then this is fine. It really depends on what problem you are trying to solve. HC does not require Amazonia, but it must be...

You problems with HC will have nothing to do with substrate and will have everything to do with CO2, flow and flow distribution. I suggest that you ignore Amazonia if the expense is problematic. Cheers,

Hi Thomas, Mate, use any of the sand that you wish. It just doesn't matter. As long as you understand that the plants must be fed there will be no problems due to fine sand versus medium sand. You can even use Congolese marbles from the bubble gum machine if you want. Dosing EI means you never...

If you are using liquid carbon you need to dose it every day without fail in exactly the same way as if you were using gas. AS soon as the plants are in the tank, dose 2X or 3X the bottle suggested dosing just before lights on. Monitor your plants to see if they are responding. The dosing I...

Hello, The ammonia is there because the product is enriched with nutrients, NPK+trace elements as well as baked on peat. The nutrients are there to feed the plants. You need to stop worrying about cycling, which will happen regardless. It's suggested that you keep the lighting relatively weak...

Well, seriously fish are seriously flawed. There are lots of things about water that have an effect on fish, but pH by itself is not one of them. pH is relevant only as it relates to other characteristics of the water. As you mentioned, your RO filter removes almost every single solute that is...

40 Nitrate is not a problem for fish, and if you did have that value it would be great for plants. Killifish do not really care about pH. Not wanting limescale is a good reason to use RO though. Again, it doesn't matter which sediment you use, Killifish will not be able to tell the difference...

These are the worst possible reasons to use RO. None of this will be relevant to the health of the fish or the plants and you will make your life more complicated than it needs to be. Use whatever sediment you want, because again, it has no relevance. Cheers,

Faizal, Tom might have meant something other than activated carbon being a source of carbon for plants. Plants only use carbon in the form of CO2. Activated carbon has no special properties to create CO2 unless electrical currents are used to ionize the carbon. As mentioned, activated...

Well, I don't know about the legality. In any case, all they would have to do is show similar evidence of successful plant growth using their product. We just have to do our homework and always question the claims of any advertisement. I mean, is the cat food at Tescos really the best...

Well, yes, I have used the old style and evaluated it's performance against molar clay and other products. It worked as well as any inert clay substrate but was 5X the price. If you want to pay that kind of money then it would be better to buy an enriched substrate like ADA Aquasoil or The...

They are just digging the dirt from somewhere else, that's all. If any of the propaganda on their website can be believed, the only hint of rational behavior is the admission that the raw material they are now using is basalt rocks. Whatever iron is in the basalt is oxidized, so the red color is...

As mentioned by Sean, you don't really need a whole lot, because the Nitrogen is derived from ammonium salts. Normally 1-2 teaspoons per square foot should be sprinkled evenly at the base of the tank and then covered with the substrate. Cheers,

Hi, This is not really a good idea. In order to take full advantage of sediment, the plant root must make contact with the sediment particle via small hairs extended from the roots. It's best to think of this in terms of an electrical cord extension cable, because that's exactly what it is...

There is no requirement to add peat, for peats sake. The reason peat is added to substrate has to do with feeding carbohydrates to the developing bacterial colonies. You can add mulm from any mature filter/tank (which any LFS would be happy to supply) or even a little bit of dried grass...

Hi Faizal, Sediments take about 6-8 weeks to fully mature. It doesn't really matter whether it's Amazonia or kitty litter. Cheers,

One month is better than zero, but not as good as 2 months (but who wants to wait 2 months?). We aren't dealing with robots here. It's not possible to say that in exactly 4 weeks everything will be fine, however, that's enough time for a good percentage of the bacterial diversity and population...

You don't need to change any water. Just keep things simple. In fact you don't need to fill the bucket. As long as the top layer stays moist/damp everything will be fine. Just keep the bucket covered to keep in the moisture and check every now and then to make sure that it's not drying out. This...

If I were you I's think about mineralizing the substrate for a month or so before putting it in the tank. Leeching toxins can be controlled by frequent water changes but the sediment will not have been matured. There will be no bacteria in the sediment and that can cause problems. You should...