# Using only Powder Type Amazonia?



## ncy (May 18, 2008)

Recently I set up my first planted tank with ADA aquasoil, and on the recommendation of the ADA website, I used a thin layer of the "powder type" aquasoil to top off the initial layer of regular aquasoil. 

After some replanting/rescaping I've noticed that most of the powder type, consisting of finer particles, has settled down below the regular type substrate. 

Is there even a reason to use one over the other? I mean, would it be ok to use just all powder type, or all regular type? 

It seems like it would be more pleasing to the eye to use just the finer substrate instead of a mix... is anybody doing it this way?

Thanks,
nick


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## prBrianpr (Nov 18, 2007)

I dont use aquasoil, but i think that power only not is a bad Idea, I have dwarf sagitaria in fine sand growing very well.


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## Quetzalcoatl (Feb 13, 2009)

If budget wasn't an issue for you, then you can use all powder type. However, powder type is more easily squishable then normal type, so the lifetime of your substrate will be shorter. 

Using powder type over regular type is purely cosmetic. If you are planting HC or glosso in the foreground, maybe powder type will hold these plants better, but it won't make a huge difference. If you do not mind the look of regular type, all regular is perfectly fine too. 

More importantly, you should not be unplanting when you are using aquasoil. When you do, you are squishing more and more of the soil. You will cloud the water and release a lot of fertilizer causing a lot of headache.


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## ncy (May 18, 2008)

Yes, I have experienced this headache! Trying to move anything around creates quite a lot of dustclouds!
But what to do when you just can't quite get it the way you want it? 

Oh well, I'm still pretty much a beginner at all of this stuff... I suppose nothing good ever comes easy!
I think I can live with the headache as long as I get to watch my scape take the shape I want it to... but like I said, I'm pretty new to this so it might take me a few tries to get it right. Cloudy water be damned!

Unfortunately, I am not one for whom budget is not an issue. But an all powder-type substrate might be doable on a 10 gallon (which is what I've got going now)... BTW what would you say is the average lifespan of aquasoil?


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## Quetzalcoatl (Feb 13, 2009)

If you do not unplant, 1-2 years depending on how often you change water (more often = shorter lifetime) and how tall your tank is (taller = shorter lifetime)
That is how long the soil will stay in its ball form. 

If we are talking about how long nutrients last, my experience says around 6 months.


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