Ada soil

[Samjpikey]

Hi .

I have just bought 2 9l bags for my planned rescape , my tank is 100cmx30x40 and I know the 2 bags will be enough but I want to do a slight hill just off centre .
I was thinking of using some cat litter as a base just to give me a bit more volume on the Ada,
Has any body tried this ? Will It mess things up with the Ada ?
I know I could just use normal gravel for instance but I have 2 bags lying in my shed ,
Could it be of added benefit in the long run? Also it being lighter would it work it's way to the top over time ?
Hope fully the whole bottom of my tank will be carpeted to a certain degree so this may not be an issue or could it? I was hoping it could be a cost effective and beneficial way of giving me more depth .

Thanks in advance .

 

[Ady34]

Hi,
cant see it being an issue, it has high cec so will adsorb nutrients in the same way as the ada, just isnt loaded with them from the start. Many people use cat litter as a substrate so you might as well use it if you already have it.
If your worried about it working its way upwards, simply tie it into a stocking/net before capping with the aquasoil.
Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[BIN578]

Just remember that if you plant heavy rooting plants above the media bag of cat litter then when you pull them up the roots may dislodge the whole bag so put your hand around the base of the plant as you pull it to hold the substrate in place

 

[Samjpikey]

Yea I thought about using cat litter as a cheapo substrate at 1st and understand all about the cec for substrate types ,
Also I have considered using a flexible pvc mesh to hold the cat litter down but wasn't sure if it would need it , but like you say if I'm worried it wouldn't hurt to put some in,
I went for ada as I only hear good stuff about it ,
But I just wanted to post about using the cat litter beneath the ada soil to see if anybody has done it or had something bad to say about the method ,
I personally couldn't see a problem using it but someone may know better
Also if people say that ada uses all its nutrients after a year or so etc then at least there will be some moler clay down there with a high cec to back it up ,

Cheers
Guys

 

[BIN578]

Yea I thought about using cat litter as a cheapo substrate at 1st and understand all about the cec for substrate types ,
Also I have considered using a flexible pvc mesh to hold the cat litter down but wasn't sure if it would need it , but like you say if I'm worried it wouldn't hurt to put some in,
I went for ada as I only hear good stuff about it ,
But I just wanted to post about using the cat litter beneath the ada soil to see if anybody has done it or had something bad to say about the method ,
I personally couldn't see a problem using it but someone may know better
Also if people say that ada uses all its nutrients after a year or so etc then at least there will be some moler clay down there with a high cec to back it up ,

Cheers
Guys

Lets put it this way. If its not held down or contained one way or another, it will end up on top and make your nice expensive (and very good nevertheless) ADA aquasoil look a right mess.

 

[Samjpikey]

Ok I will have a scout around and see what I can come up with , then maybe you can let me know what you think .
Cheers

 

[BIN578]

Sure. I used Sera media bags. Decent size and they can contain a good amount. Quite cheap too I think. You also dont have to use cat litter in there, oyu could use alfagrog or anything if its just to get some height. Some people have even used regular aquarium gravel.

 

[Samjpikey]

Ahh I have alfagrog in my filter ,
I not planning the total re scape untill mid may as I'm going to Egypt , so I have some time to sort it out, , so I'm selling all my current plants and fish before then .
Also do you think it's worth salvaging all my live bacteria from my filter , I mean I can set up my filter and leave it running to keep the bacteria alive , bit I was thinking about bleaching and cleaning the filter to burn off any algea spores ..... Hmmm I'm not sure , I don't mind going through a full cycle with the new scape as I won't be planning on adding fish untill the whole tank has grew in maybe a max 2-3 months .
Do you think it's better to play safe and bleach or have it added in with live bacteria ?