ADA ECA (effectivness compound acid) - Fertilizing

**fishfry** · 09-09-2004, 10:18 PM

I don't expect many replies, but is there anyone out there that knows what exactly is in ADA ECA. All I can tell so far is that it has iron of some form in it.

thanks!

plantbrain · 09-10-2004, 10:58 AM

You can add a number of acids to your tank and claim is helps chelate iron and most cations better and therefore claim it improves plant uptake, thus growth.

Most of these ideas" etc are good in theory and very poor in practice.
Spend your $ and time pruning and doing the basics(water changes, dosing, making sure the CO2 etc is fine.

These little enhancement products are marketing ploys to get your money, not some "new research" break through.

Once you realize that, every new thing that comes down the pipe is much less "inticing".

You could add peat and claim the same thing.
I could call it a variety of things and cook up some justifcation to get your $.

Work on the basics, NPK, traces, CO2 and good basic maianteance/observation.

That is what will give an Amano tank/plant health, not some miracle additive or his entire line of products.

If the company is not forth coming about how it works and plays the BS game, I'll pound them to death unless they can offer up some sort of proof, justification other than "their word".

This was the same thing that was done with RO's and planted tanks, Heat cables, and lighting/Hormones etc.
A few folks swear by them, but I ain't one of them. No one has done a decent debate on those to convince me or most folks that they are needed or a benefit.

I'll gladly take this product to task as well.

do you have a link to it or ingredients etc?

Regards,
Tom Barr

tsunami · 09-10-2004, 11:03 AM

Here is a direct quote from my ADA Product English Manual:

"Plant color-loss is a commonly observed problem in planted aquariums. In most of the cases, this is caused by deficiency of iron in the aquarium water. ECA. rich in iron in a form which does not easily combine with other ions, prevents color-loss and improves the condition of aquatic plants. Also contains various natural organic acids."

If this product sounds like a gimmick, then Flourish must be snake oil. It sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Carlos

plantbrain · 09-10-2004, 11:16 AM

Okay, it's just iron and a chelator based on that statement. And some organic acids(aectic, humic, fluvic etc)

So what is special about that?
How is it different than Flourish then?

Regards,
Tom Barr

Raul-7 · 09-10-2004, 11:54 AM

I don't see any difference between this BS and Flourish Iron, except Flourish Iron doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. Here's an excerpt for Flourish Fe: Flourish Iron™ is a highly concentrated (Fe+2) gluconate supplement. It should be used in those cases for signs of iron deficiency appear (such as short and slender stems or yellowing between veins.) Plants are able to much more easily derive a benefit from Flourish Iron™ than from EDTA-iron sources because all EDTA iron is in the ferric (Fe+3) state. Since plants require iron in the ferrous state, additional physiological energy must be expended in order to extract the ferric iron from EDTA-iron and then convert it to the ferrous form.
Use as needed to combat signs of iron deficiency (usually seen in new growth) which include: chlorosis (yellowing) of tissue between veins and short and slender stems.

I think you get the point, it's basically the same thing probably even better...I don't see whats all the hype about Amano products!?

**fishfry** · 09-10-2004, 03:39 PM

Wow, such passionate words...

I agree that ECA isn't some new technology or anything, and ECA definitely won't make or break an aquarium at all. Nobody has any problems growing gorgeous and healthy plants without any of the ADA fertilizers, and my intention of the thread wasn't to refute that. There's tons and tons of useless crap out there, but it is hard to determine if something is useless crap if you don't even know what is in it. I was just wondering if anyone out there knew the chemical make-up of this product because I bet there are already products in the U.S. that are very similiar like Flourish Fe, products that many of us may already use or discard as useless crap. Some people claim that ECA helps certain soft-water South American plants, and that is all I was wondering. I am not planning on running out and spending 20 dollars for a 50mL and then having it shipped ot the U.S. anytime soon.

Raul-7 · 09-11-2004, 07:18 AM

I bet if I take the sticker off of a bottle of Flourish and call it something else, and make some untested claim or use any famous person's name, I would still attract a lot of helpless customers...

tsunami · 09-11-2004, 08:01 AM

Untested claims? These attacks on Takashi Amano's ADA brand of fertilizers is TOTALLY UNFOUNDED. I don't think people have a right to attack the quality of the products when they haven't even seen the bottle. However, I can see the results through the internet. They DO work.

The contents and potential of ADA products are very well known in Japan. In his Aquajournals, Amano explains the hows and the whys on how each product works. He explains that each product is scientifically tested in their ADA labs.

Furthermore, the ADA products have been tested by hobbyists in Asia with promising results.

Amano's products may be very expensive here due to high tariffs and shipping, but in Japan they are one of the most affordable, according to hobbyists who live or have lived there.

Carlos

Raul-7 · 09-11-2004, 09:07 AM

I didn't mean to say Amano's products are a hoax. I'm just saying people tend to buy products that famous people use, even without knowing if it's better than the local fertilizers available readily...

**fishfry** · 09-11-2004, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raul-7

I didn't mean to say Amano's products are a hoax. I'm just saying people tend to buy products that famous people use, even without knowing if it's better than the local fertilizers available readily...

that is the exact point of this thread...I am trying to find out what is in ECA