# aquariumplant.com's substrate



## daverock1337 (Mar 14, 2010)

i was going to buy this for my 29g tank when i tear down and replant it, along with a new heater and an eheim 2213. does this soil leach ammonia like ADA amazonia does? my fish will be kept in a bucket with my old HOB filter while i am planting, longer if necessary...


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

That soil is inert, except the chance of a bit of micronutrient in it since it is a baked clay. It has some potential to remove a small amount of water hardness and can 'grab' ahold of nutrients that you put into the system and maek them more available to plant roots.

I used it and loved it, but it is a very light-weight substrate, so you have to be patient with plants popping up now and then until they root in well.


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## daverock1337 (Mar 14, 2010)

is there anything else you might recommend? i want to use eco complete, but not sure how many bags i would need for 29 gallon. also, my lfs wants $30 dollars a bag. i think petco has a sale on it, and i can get it for $16.99 plus free shipping if i order over $65, so four bags. i think 3 bags plus shipping is more expensive than 4 bags with free shipping.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Eco complete is good too. It has a similar look to it (compared to other dark substrates) and it a heavy substrate. It also is inert (again, except for the misc. micro nutrients that might be absorbed into it).

There is also black diamond sand and, which you already know of, ADA Amazonia. And for other colors, FloraMax, Flourite, and good-ol' playground sand.

If I had my choice in starting a new tank, I probably go with ADA at this point. I'm not the biggest ADA fan, but the substrate in unbeatable in my opinion. My second choice, which is what I currently have, is a mineralized topsoil capped with something else (in my case, a mix of ADA and EcoComplete that were given to me).


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## daverock1337 (Mar 14, 2010)

i think i am going to looking into mineralized soil and capping it with something, probably black diamond sand. i want a good mineral rich soil, not an inert soil that will absorb nutrients. my tank has been established for about 2 years, and as i am learning more about planted setups, i am changing it. ive got a 130 watt cfl fixture (new bulbs coming soon for it), pressurized co2. next will be a new heater (200 watt, for my apisto. agasizzi's and dwarf discus) and a canister filter (eheim 2213), then substrate, and then an order from manzanita.com and a plant order from sweet aquatics.

will i still need to dose my ferts with mineralized soil capped with black sand?


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

daverock1337 said:


> will i still need to dose my ferts with mineralized soil capped with black sand?


MAYBE some Potassium after awhile (you just have to watch for signs of deficiency). The soil will be loaded with nutrients. If you have a lot of plants out of the substrate (like anubias or mosses or ferns attached to rock/wood) then you might need to dose enough to keep those happy. But it won't be near the same amount of ferts as you'd use in a normal set-up (considering lights and CO2 are the same for comparison).


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## daverock1337 (Mar 14, 2010)

thanks a lot, i appreciate all the info. time to get started mineralizing some soil.


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## kshafer (Jan 23, 2011)

Please define mineralized soil or how to mineralize soil. Thanks.


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## daverock1337 (Mar 14, 2010)

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...-mineralized-soil-substrate-aaron-talbot.html


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