# Ammonia Spike with Specialized Substrates?



## Switchfoot55 (Mar 5, 2015)

I am currently in the design phase of rescaping my 29g community planted tank. I've been using pool filter sand for the last two years and have decided it is finally time to change it up and try something new. I have had a lot of success with plants and the sand, but want to kick it up a level or two. 

I've narrowed my choices of substrate to: 

ADA Aquasoil

Seachem Flourite Dark

Fluval Stratum

I have easy access to all three and have decided that I won't let the cost be an issue as I want to do it right. I'm leaning most heavily toward ADA Aquasoil Amazonia (not the powder type). I've read a few different places, however, that the Aquasoil as well as other planted substrates can cause an ammonia cycle to begin once the water is added. Is this true? If so, is it enough that a few regular water changes couldn't address? Would it be a bad choice to add fish back to the tank within a day?

As the focus of the thread is really on substrates, if anyone has anything to say about the three choices I've mentioned (good, bad, ugly), I would be grateful to hear it! 

Thanks!


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

ADA substrates can generate ammonia for up to a month. You would not be able to stock the tank for 3-4 weeks. 
This works OK for a new tank, this is a good opportunity to do the fishless cycle. The ammonia is provided for you for most of the cycle. Toward the end it might run out. 

It does not matter how many water changes you do, the ADA products will produce ammonia. You can make it generate the ammonia faster, so get rid of it faster with more water changes. About 3 weeks is the fastest I have heard of it being ready for fish.


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

I've used the first and 3th. In a new tank ADA can give massive ammonia spikes and they can continue for quite some while. I've used it multiple times on rescaped tanks and if you've a decent filter, more than large enough for your tank it can be done. Keep in mind, I still don't recommend it if there are other possibilities, but my filter usually kept ammonia down to almost zero. What I do is 50% water changes daily and no feeding for at least 2 weeks to reduce the ammonia produced by the fish/food. Still you need a filter which can handle it, a new filter and this won't work.

I used Fluval stratum as well. It does the same job in lowering the hardness of the water as the ADA does, but it has waaayy less nutrients. So no ammonia that I could record. But all nitrate and even more phosphate you add in the first weeks (up to 6 months) will be absorbed from the water. So in respect to an established tank it is way more safe but also way less beneficial to your plants. I hope this info is helpful


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

The Ammonia in AquaSoil is not there to cause you a headache. It is there to allow for the plants to grow as fast as possible in the first few weeks. Ammonia is what the plants really like but it can also cause algae if you don't understand how to run everything. In the US hobby there is no interest in understanding how to run a clean planted tank and everything is being forced to happen quick and with lots of effort. Talk about wanting for everyting to happen quickly - you yourself are asking about adding fish within a day...

Excessive effort is also needed when starting a tank with AquaSoil - you better change water every day or two and run the tank with lower light + a bit lower temperature if possible. But the idea is to ease the tank development into a stable state that allows for problems to be handled in a few standard ways. The average US hobbyist just forces things from the get go and continues to maintain the tank with lots of effort in a constant state of disbalance. The idea of tank stability is never discussed on any US planted tank forum. Algae issues are ongoing and usually without any clear solution because the tank is never established properly.

All that being said it really does not matter which substrate you use. You can use inert pool filter sand if you wish. What matters is the approach that you will use to lead the tank through the first 6-8 weeks of it's setup. I personally would go for the AquaSoil for the only reason that it maintains low pH for the roots, which is a huge deal.


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