Questions on ada soil

Y

Yadokari

AC Members
Feb 10, 2008
552
0
16
I was thinking of making a new tank for shrimps only (most likely crystals only) with the use of ada soil. A 9 liter bag is going to cost me like, 28 dollars! It's freakishly expensive and I'm wondering, "Am I suppose to use just this ada soil and nothing else as a substrate?"
I want to use this soil to lower PH a bit, are there other alternative substrates to lower PH?
Also, if I were to use ada soil, is that stuff like the "under substrate" where I top it off with just regular cheap gravel?

Any info you have on the ada soil, even if I didn't ask about it is greatly appreciated. I just started doing some minor research lately. So I'm still new about it. :)
 
ada soil is a great soil for plants since it packs all the good stuff plants need to start off a nice root structure. Though if one has an established tank with all the goodies in the regular substrate then that substrate is just as good. If you are just getting the soil for just the pH reason then I dont think you should spend that much money. Im not 100% sure but doesnt eco complete lower ph? (not sure someone correct me)
 
You can use just the Aquasoil alone. Some people use powersand as well, which is like extra nutrients, but its not necessary. Don't top it with anything either....just use it alone. :) Its pretty small in size, so perfect for a shrimp tank.

Eco Complete does not lower pH and may actually increase it since it can harden your water a bit. It also has some larger pieces in it.
 
ada soil is known for being great for lowering the ph especially for breeding crystal reds. Eco complete does not do this. The soil is also known for causing a brief ammonia spike, so parameters have to be monitored closely the first few weeks.
 
msjinkzd said:
ada soil is known for being great for lowering the ph especially for breeding crystal reds. Eco complete does not do this. The soil is also known for causing a brief ammonia spike, so parameters have to be monitored closely the first few weeks.
Click to expand...

Ammonia spiking substrate is the eco complete or ada? (I think you meant ada but I want to clarify.)

Thanks for all the info so far guys :-)

Bk, not only do I want a lower PH but I like how it looks "natural". I'm using a black gravel substrate at the moment, it looks nice I guess but my marsilea hirsuta doesn't seem to like it too much. I'd like to try a soil substrate to grow plants better.
 
yeah, the ada soil can cause an ammonia spike, its supposed to be better if you set it up using co2 if you are planning on going that route. The lower pH makes the ammonia less toxic.
 
How many liters (of ada soil) per gallon (of tank size) do you guys think I should use of that stuff?
 
Last edited:
The suggestions on the adgshop.com site are pretty accurate. About 12 liters for a 20g. I used 6L in a 10g when I had it setup and added about 3/4 of a 9L bag to it when I moved it all to a 20 long....so I guess I ended up with about 12-13 liters.

I used about 3 9L bags for my 40 breeder (36"x18"). :)


I know that doesn't totally answer your question, but hopefully it will help you decide how much to get.

What size tank are you setting up?
 
GirlieGirl8521 said:
The suggestions on the adgshop.com site are pretty accurate. About 12 liters for a 20g. I used 6L in a 10g when I had it setup and added about 3/4 of a 9L bag to it when I moved it all to a 20 long....so I guess I ended up with about 12-13 liters.

I used about 3 9L bags for my 40 breeder (36"x18"). :)


I know that doesn't totally answer your question, but hopefully it will help you decide how much to get.

What size tank are you setting up?
Click to expand...

Oh, that pretty much answers my question. Thank you very much for helping me out :-) I'm not 100% sure yet on what size of a tank I should do. I was thinking of getting a 30G or 55G tank. I'm trying to calculate how much my total costs will be first, before actually going into getting tank supplies.
 
I also see that there's a malaysian aqua soil, africana and amazon. Which one is best? All I see is "ada" soil. Would any work just fine?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom