Black Earth soil by Cal Aqua Labs, any experiences so far?

[Panofsky]

Hi all! Long time lurker, first time poster here.

I'm looking for anyone with experience regarding Cal Aqua Lab's Black Earth soil. This stuff has been around since 2013, mainly in Asia and Australia, and since a year or so in more European shops (as this thread proves).

Anyone who has experience with this soil, please chime in! I'm thinking of swapping my JBL Manado for soil and this Black Earth looks good. Comparing to ADA's Aquasoil it should hold up very well, without the initial ammonia spikes, while still supplying plenty of ferts on the long run. In addition, it's a bit cheaper and looks really good.

The only reviews I've found so far are these raving comments on an Australian forum. However, it's mainly one guy advocating the stuff. This, together with the outdated website of Cal Aqua Lab and the small number of shops that carry the soil, makes me a bit cautious to try it.

Anyone used this with good results?

 

[alto]

the small number of shops that carry the soil, makes me a bit cautious to try it.

This likely reflects distribution rather than product quality

You might also look at the Colombo product range as George Farmer has set up several tanks with these products
... was going to include links but only have an odd plain "reply" screen with no "options" <confused>

 

[Tim Harrison]

Hi Panofsky, and welcome
Hope someone with personal experience can help out, but when all said and done so far these types of substrate seem pretty similar...

 

[pepedopolous]

Looks like a cool product, probably very similar to others, maybe even from the same source. However, on aquasabi.com it is one of the cheaper options so why not try it? I'm sure it won't be the difference between failure and success.

P

 

[Panofsky]

This likely reflects distribution rather than product quality

This could be true. However, decent alternatives to established products usually spread like wildfire in this hobby and therefore get picked up by more and more retailers. I'm thinking of Chirico's version of Twinstar, the UP aqua range, knock off LEDs etc, etc. The obscurity of this soil since its introduction a few years ago makes me wonder. I guess I can give it a try though.

Hi Panofsky, and welcome
Hope someone with personal experience can help out, but when all said and done so far these types of substrate seem pretty similar...

Yes, they indeed all look the same. But I found that some of the newer ones don't provide macro's like Aquasoil does. This Black Earth soil should.

You might also look at the Colombo product range as George Farmer has set up several tanks with these products
... was going to include links but only have an odd plain "reply" screen with no "options" <confused>

Colombo's Flora Base pro only includes K, no N or P. I'd rather go for one that includes all macro's. The soil seems pretty decent though. If won't try the Black Earth, I might do this one. Thanks!

 

[foxfish]

Hi & welcome, looks ok to me but I would not get to hung up on any particular substrate as there are many examples of fantastic displays using a huge variety of different growing mediums.. not to mention several with no substrate!
A lot of our standard plants we all use can grow with their roots just flowing in the water or over a piece of larva rock!
However I understand it is all part of the hobby & getting the best start it not a bad idea, I would buy it if it looks nice rather than if it contains ferts than you can add yourself.

 

[rebel]

I have this in my nano tank and it's fine. Mine is little depleted. The color of the granules can be grayish and irregular rather than black. Plant growth is fine. pH buffers down to 6 or less with kH of 0.

It is more expensive than ADA though. Less ammonia leech for startup; better for newbies I guess.

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[Panofsky]

I have this in my nano tank and it's fine. Mine is little depleted. The color of the granules can be grayish and irregular rather than black. Plant growth is fine. pH buffers down to 6 or less with kH of 0.

Great stuff, thanks Rebel, that nano looks real good! Could you elaborate on the PH/KH, what are your tab water values?
Also, when did you set this up and did use their Greenbase underneath, or is it just the soil?

 

[Hanuman]

I know this thread is ancient but for the sake on completion here is my say on it. Black Earth soil is extracted, processed and made in Thailand by a Thai company. This said they do not really market their product here. It's basically for export although you can find it in 2/3 shops in JJ market.

I have used that soil for a year now. Nothing much to complain about. It does what it is supposed to do. It released some tannins for 1 or 2 months but most complete substrates will do that anyway. It also released ammonia, but again that's to be expected. The substrate has slightly decomposed and power can be seen but nothing really out of the ordinary. I suppose having trumpet snails is partially the reason for that. Other than the above I think it's a good substrate but like any other it will eventually deplete. It's all a matter of how long it is used for. My PH swings between PH6.5 and PH7.5 (co2 on/off).

 

[Hanuman]

edit for above post:

*powder