# ADA aquasoil Amazonia or ADA aquasoil Amazonia II?



## NeonFlux (May 15, 2008)

My current substrate is 2in of pure eco complete. pH 7.2. KH...No idea. I have yet to begun the next level of aquatic plants...now I'm going to give in to grow hard/advance plants. I currently own the high tech from the NPK(tom barr's esti. index;50% WC every week)3.5 wpg, pressurized co2. So my main question comes now.

What are the pros and cons of these two? And which would you definitely prefer? It seems to me regular amazonia is good to lower pH, grows plants well. Part II looks like it actually lowers pH, _and_ *KH* which is a little more important aspect to grow advance plants (erio and tonina's) than pH;and it grows plants well. I believe I have a pH of 7.6 out of tap, then 7.2 from pressurized co2 after wards after a period of time.


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## BJRuttenberg (Sep 25, 2005)

As I understand it both are essentially the same, the main difference being that Aquasoil II was invented for softer water...the consensus seems to be that regular Aquasoil is still the way to go and the best for growth if you don't mind dealing with a few days of cloudy water.

this is what the adg shop says about it...

Distinctive FEATURE of "Aqua Soil-Amazonia II"

1. Amazonia II has less incident of water coloring or cloudiness [as compared to regular Amazonia].

"...a new Amazonia type substrate, produced with different black soil mixture ratio, preventing water coloring or cloudiness..."


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## NeonFlux (May 15, 2008)

Ah okay


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Do not get the amazonia II. Many people have had lots of problems with it. Just do a search and you'll find tons of info. Regulare Amazonia is great. I have no issues growing the tonia or erios. I have actually had to add some Ca to my tank.


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## stuckintexas (Aug 12, 2008)

amazonia I.

my kh is like 1 or 2 degrees. same goes for my gh. the amazonia in my tank is only a month old though.

i think im going to start adding calcium and magnesium to my water, with amazonia i have none right now.

had to deal with ammonia for 2.5-3 weeks but i know someone who just slapped a seeded filter on their tank with new amazonia and they had no ammonia, just high nitrates for a while.

as far as cloudiness...i think within 2 days i was really clear and by 3 days crystal clear.

its a good choice.


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## captain_bu (Dec 13, 2007)

I am three weeks into a new setup using amazonia I. My first experience with Aqua Soil. Don't have a test kit for GH but my KH tests at 17 dKH out of the tap, tank with Aqua Soil was at between 5 and 6 DKH when I last checked. Tap water is about 8.3 pH, tank water was 6.2 pH on last check (I am injecting CO2). I put a thin layer of peat under the Aqua Soil. I started up the tank with two established canister filters though I took most of the mechanical media out of one and filled it with Zeolite and a bag of Purigen. I learned that Zeolite needs a lot more rinsing than I gave it but the cloudiness from the Zeolite cleared up within a day. Took 2 weeks of large daily water changes to get the ammonia to zero. Other than the day I planted the tank I have had no problems at all with cloudy water. I did have some initial plant melt problems but they started to stabilize after the ammonia readings hit zero. First 12 days ammonia readings were 2-3 ppm in the morning before the daily water change. I did one 100% water change about an hour after the tank was first filled and another 100% water change the following day, next 11 days were 80% water changes, days 13 & 14 I did 50% water changes and I will do 50% every 4th day for the first month or two. As the plants acclimate I can tell by the way things are taking off that growth will be excellent going forward. So far I think Aqua Soil is a great choice if you are willing to take the time to do the initial water changes and it is also best to pack the tank with plants right from the start. I also have read of a lot of bad experiences with amazonia II and would suggest sticking to amazonia I.


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