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Is Tropica Aquarium Soil Powder ok on its own?

ideorium

ideorium

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Hi Everyone, first of all forgive me if this is a duplicate post , tried searching under similar subjects but couldn't find much recent information.

I am very excited to start a low tech planted tank with shrimps and some smaller fishes ( like celestial pearl diones ). I am new to the amazing world of planted aquariums. so very excited about it. However I want to make sure I start with a solid information. And the substrate is the probably one of the most important one.

I came across this Tropica Aquarium Soil Powder.
1- Is it good enough on its own? or It needs another base layer substrate underneath it.?
2- how long does it take for the nitrat cycle ?
3- How long does it take to add fertilisers etc?

Id be really appreciate your time and response.

thanks
 
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Hello and welcome to the forum. Tropica Soil Powder is the same as Tropical Soil but in smaller granules. They can be used on their own as an all in one substrate, some people with larger tanks use Tropical Soil or Tropical Soil with a top coat of Tropica Soil Powder (some prefer planting into the powder) and some people with smaller tanks will use Tropica Soil Powder on it's own so as to maintain a sense of scale with small granules. I am going to assume you are new to the hobby, I would get your tank looking how you like it with hardscape, plant it and then leave it for 4-6 weeks before you even consider adding livestock. Being patient is a very valuable skill to have in this hobby and will serve you well. Adding fertilisers is very easy, you could find an all in one to help keep things simple like TNC Complete and just add it once per week after a water change for example.
 
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I've generally used the Tropica substrate underneath, about 1cm deep with about 3-4cm soil on top. All depends what plants you are hoping for. Personally, with the substrate present for low tech I'd not bother with fertilizing. I'd try to keep the soil to areas where you want stem plants, using hardscape to contain it, rather than all over. Same for the substrate.
 
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FrozenShivers said:
Hello and welcome to the forum. Tropica Soil Powder is the same as Tropical Soil but in smaller granules. They can be used on their own as an all in one substrate, some people with larger tanks use Tropical Soil or Tropical Soil with a top coat of Tropica Soil Powder (some prefer planting into the powder) and some people with smaller tanks will use Tropica Soil Powder on it's own so as to maintain a sense of scale with small granules. I am going to assume you are new to the hobby, I would get your tank looking how you like it with hardscape, plant it and then leave it for 4-6 weeks before you even consider adding livestock. Being patient is a very valuable skill to have in this hobby and will serve you well. Adding fertilisers is very easy, you could find an all in one to help keep things simple like TNC Complete and just add it once per week after a water change for example.
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Thank you very much for your prompt reply.☺️ I previously had experience with a non-planted tank that only had rocks, sand, and some cute cichlids. However, that setup ended a couple of years ago. I've been wanting to restart, and this time, I’d like to try a planted tank. I’m starting with a low-tech setup for a 40L tank. And yes, patience is crucial! I’ll share more details once I have the tank and equipment ready. I will pay attention the things you pointed out. thanks again @FrozenShivers
 
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greenfib said:
Don't forget that aquasoil messes with your water parameters. It will lower you KH and GH, and pH incidentally. If your tap water is hard, it will eventually stop "working" (messing) after a few months (depending on how hard your water is).
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Thanks, yea water parameters will fluctuate and where I live water PH is 7.5 approximately, not sure if its a good or bad start.

I have also heard about a Dark start method, considering that option too.

What do you mean by "... it will eventually stop "working" (messing) after a few months".
 
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ideorium said:
Thanks, yea water parameters will fluctuate and where I live water PH is 7.5 approximately, not sure if its a good or bad start.

I have also heard about a Dark start method, considering that option too.

What do you mean by "... it will eventually stop "working" (messing) after a few months".
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Chemically, aquasoil works as a (cat)ion-exchange substrate: it releases protons (H+) in exchange for Calcium and Magnesium ions (Ca2+ and Mg2+), mainly. Removing Ca and Mg from the water drops GH, and the released protons interact with bicarbonates (HCO3-) to form CO2, which drops KH.

With time, depending of how much aquasoil you have and how hard your water is, the cation-exchange sites will be saturated and your soil will not absorb Calcium or Magnesium anymore.
 
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