Joined
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38 Posts
Hello,
Firstly, this is my first post EVER on this forum!
I'm redoing my 100gal tank when I move house. I'm turning it into a planted tank - CO2, T5 lights, proper substrate...
From reading the forums it appears ADA aquasoil is the current favourite on the market.
I have three concerns: 1 is the price. For a 100 gal tank, it's going to cost just under £200 for SOIL!!
Second concern is the ammonia. When I move house, all my fish are going to be put into my spare 180litre tank while the big tank heats up and I get the plants sorted. Obviously, this tank is too small for all my fish if I kept them there long term. I have read that I'm meant to leave the Aquasoil to settle (and for ammonia to go away) for a few weeks. Can I get round this? Really, I want to put my fish in ASAP after setting the big tank up. As I have a lot of filtration on this tank, and my filters are VERY mature, would that be enough to handle the ammonia spike? There's also a product on the market that kills ammonia - or stops it being harmful to fish, it's a liquid you put in.
Third concern is pH. I use RO water and my pH is pretty low already. Would aquasoil lower it further? I'm thinking about using half and half RO and tap water but I'm concerned about the nitrates in tap water. But don't plants eat up nitrate anyway? So would that be a good idea?
Also... does anyone keep aquasoil with catfish? ie: corydoras, plecs, striped raphaels. How is it on their whiskers? I currently just have sand, which they like, but is a rubbish plant substrate.
Thankyou!
Firstly, this is my first post EVER on this forum!
I'm redoing my 100gal tank when I move house. I'm turning it into a planted tank - CO2, T5 lights, proper substrate...
From reading the forums it appears ADA aquasoil is the current favourite on the market.
I have three concerns: 1 is the price. For a 100 gal tank, it's going to cost just under £200 for SOIL!!
Second concern is the ammonia. When I move house, all my fish are going to be put into my spare 180litre tank while the big tank heats up and I get the plants sorted. Obviously, this tank is too small for all my fish if I kept them there long term. I have read that I'm meant to leave the Aquasoil to settle (and for ammonia to go away) for a few weeks. Can I get round this? Really, I want to put my fish in ASAP after setting the big tank up. As I have a lot of filtration on this tank, and my filters are VERY mature, would that be enough to handle the ammonia spike? There's also a product on the market that kills ammonia - or stops it being harmful to fish, it's a liquid you put in.
Third concern is pH. I use RO water and my pH is pretty low already. Would aquasoil lower it further? I'm thinking about using half and half RO and tap water but I'm concerned about the nitrates in tap water. But don't plants eat up nitrate anyway? So would that be a good idea?
Also... does anyone keep aquasoil with catfish? ie: corydoras, plecs, striped raphaels. How is it on their whiskers? I currently just have sand, which they like, but is a rubbish plant substrate.
Thankyou!