thekid92sho

After a few cycles it cleared up for me.

ddavila06

lol, i have pretty good growth on the new stuff i got. floramax black which is more black with red speckles. not happy with my plant choice but i can do what i couldnt with amazonia, take out as i need and replant/change without clouding up the tank nor worrying about an ammonia spike nor anything else... =)

john borr

I use their decorative sand over their ADA soil and this helps with the cloudiness, I use their decorative sand and this sand, not surprisingly, has some very fine particles that helps to keep some of the ADA aqua soil murkiness at bay. My personal theory is that the murkiness is worse when you don't cap the ADA soil, when your filter output is strong and points downward toward the gravel and your source water is very soft to begin with, admittedly I am speculating here.

niko

I've seen AquaSoil make a mess of the aquarium water for months on end. But anything taken out of context will create a problem. Look at this tank:

https://picasaweb.google.com/ddasega/DaveS#

The guy placed about 2-1/2" layer of AquaSoil in the tank. Quite a few bags. His plants grew REALLY good, but the water always had a slight tea-color to it even months after setup and lots of filtration.

Now look at what Amano has been showing for several years now:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...tml#post598675

That "white sand-densely planted area" layout is what Amano has been showing over and over again at his demonstrations. The message should be clear - you do not need to cover the entire bottom of the tank with AquaSoil. Of course if you want you can but be aware of the challenges with that. And deal with them accordingly.

Some batches of AquaSoil have been not so good, that's true. But my point is - before using the best commercial aquatic plant substrate you need to learn about its suggested use. And also - how exactly it functions. Plant would grow either way, but one can save themselves a lot of frustration, effort, and time if they know what they are dealing with.

--Nikolay

totziens

Here are some comments about ADA Amazonia shared among my friends:

1. Amazonia 1 (heard from friends)
Advantage: does not disintegrate as easily as Amazonia 2
Disadvantage: cloudy water during initial setup

2. Amazonia 2 (personal experience)
Advantage: Almost no cloudy water during initial setup
Disadvantage: Will disintegrate after less than 6 months

3. The latest new Amazonia (personal experience)
Advantage: No cloudy water during initial setup and I heard it does not disintegrate as easily as Amazonia 2
Disadvantage: None that I know of so far


I personally think Amazonia 2 is crap and not worth the money spent on it.

NatureAquariumGarden

Here's my opinion.

1. Amazonia I, The best soil I've ever used. There are some problems with the water color, on initial setup. There are some problems with algae on the initial setup if pH is not lower than 6-6.3. For some time Amazonia I is lowering KH to 1-2 and pH. It has the most nutritions. Color of the soil is much better than Amazonia II

2. Amazonia II Because it has less nutritions than Amazonia I, there are no problems at initial setup. Better ability to lower KH and pH than Amazonia II.

3. New Amazonia. No problems with watre color. ADA says that it has twice more nutritions than Amazonia, but most of people says that, on Amazonia I they did use Special Lights after 6 months, on New Amazonia they had to start it on the second month.

In my opinion and most of my friends, Amazonia I is the best of Aquasoil.

Please don't say that Amazonia is expensive, some people in some countries have to pay $40 for a bag

rod

Amazonia might be the best but try finding it around the midwest, can't be done. Is this their way of keeping the price up?

NatureAquariumGarden

In my country, almost all people, are buying amazonia over the internet.

954baby

I have a 29 gallon that has amazonia 2 in it. The tank had been up for 3 years and since day 1 I've never had an issue, not even a single spec of algae ever. The water is super clear still. I noticed a few months ago that its pretty much time to redo the substrate as it has began to breakdown, I attribute this to my psychotic fish, it is constantly getting spooked and stirring up the foreground. My water never gets cloudy, even when the fish stores up the tank just debris will circulate no cloudy water is created. My fish is about 5" long too, so he really stirs **** up. I will say I never once in my aquariums life did I really uproot plants, I started with java ferns, anubias nana petite and dwarf sags. I'm at full capacity and everything is healthy. I did use powersand special. I think it helps with clarity. Now on the other hand I use the same amazonia 2 with my emersed crypts and I have a ton, like 1,000+. The amazonia 2 was less efficient with my crypts. It broke down faster and was kind of a pain with respect to growing mold and fungus. I recently purchased 10 bags of Amazonia 'new' and my crypts are loving it. I really like the black color and can't wait to get it in my tank. Not everyone has a bad experience with Aquasoil. Be gentle with it.

Eugene

Did not used amasonia 1.

Used amasonia 2. Substrate is completely "dead" in about 2 years.

Would not use anything like them. Best thing - natural gravel or sand with some ground near the bottom.