# Dummy Question #5: Why do you need Power Sand?



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Power Sand is not as popular as AquaSoil.

Here's some Power Sand awaiting consideration:









Long time ago we figured out we can use only AquaSoil and have perfectly perfect planted tanks. In this perfect world Power Sand seems like a marketing gimmick. It seems that ADA came up with Power Sand only to sell an additive to the perfect AquaSoil that improves its perfect-ness.

This Dummy Question is very simple. I think someone is bound to chime in with a straight answer. A one-liner.

(Hint: The correct answer is not that Power Sand provides more flow through the substrate. It's not about PS containing organic matter that feeds the roots. It's not about being porous and serving as a bacteria-motel. Part of the answer is that it prevents compaction. Hm, what's left to be answered then?)

If noone answers I'll assume that indeed noone knows. Or doesn't care to share.

And that we, once again, know a lot but don't see the forest 'cause of the trees:









Then I'll say once again: There is information out there waiting to be read!

Without further ado - Dummy Question #5:
*Why do you need Power Sand*

--Nikolay


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

Good question, for which I guess I dont have any answer. ADA explains the use as providing organic matter and increased water flow, nutrients, and oxygen to the roots of the plants.
Never used it in a tank, as every tank I have ever seen with it in, the power sand is usually scattered around on top of the AS as it becomes uprooted easily. I have seen folks line it with mesh or stainless steel. Seemed like to much trouble for a product that I always thought was a marketing ploy as you mentioned.


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

question: Why do you need Power Sand.

answer: You don't.


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## mindnova (Jan 22, 2008)

Could it keep regular soil from packing into a brick.
Or is it just for looks. Contrasting with the plants.

Cowers with hands over head, please sir; Spare the rod.

Sneaks and reads about power sand, hmm sounds more like fancy fertilizer.


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## JeffyFunk (Apr 6, 2006)

I think i'm going to go out on a limb and take a stab at this question... 

Q: Why do you need Powe Sand? 

A: Power sand provides a long term nutrient source. 

From what I understand of the Amano system, Amano tries to provide most of the plant nutrients as they do in nature. That is, mainly through the root system / substrate. I think Amano's power sand is basically sand w/ nutrients "fired" into it to be released to the plants slowly. This is also why Aqua Soil is more nutrient rich than, say, other substrate materials. 

The Amano liquid fertilizer system is also (supposedly) related to the substrate system; As the nutrients in the substrate are depleted, the liquid fertilizers become more nutrient rich. 

In a nutshell, Amano tries to provide nutrients to the plants mainly through the substrate. Given the difficulty of that, most fertilization systems provide nutrients to the plants through the water column instead.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Ah finally an answer that can take us places!

The winner is... JeffyFunk.

The important thing about Power Sand is "long term".

Most of us don't even think about the long term development of our tanks. It just happens to us. Our best take is "When and if the plants start to show deficiencies I'll put some nutrient sticks in the substrate."

In the US AquaSoil without Power Sand has become the usual choice because we don't understand how the different pieces come together to make a planted tank. To us "dosing" and "water changes" are the main things. Everything else is more or less secondary.

The well known scenario goes like this:

_"How do I get rid of thee terrible algae?"
"Change water. Fertilize well. Increase CO2."_
--or--
_"Change water. Stop all fertilizers. Increase CO2."_

The majority of us stays in the Dark Ages of aquariums. Our CO2 supplied tanks, strong lights AND lack of understanding how it all works keep us there.

So here's JeffyPunk that joined APC 4 years ago. He has 43 posts. He seems to understand how some things work much better than many of us having thousands of posts. Some of us have websites, wonderful pictures, own forums and so on.

Bottom line is - this is a hobby. It's enjoyed by many people in many different ways. I'm never going to tell anyone - forget your ways do it "the right way".

We have a lot of information and a lot of resources.* Ignorance is unexusable.*

--Nikolay


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## mindnova (Jan 22, 2008)

But lets be realistic, long term doesn't keep suppliers in business. CO2 and Liquid fertilizers keep their businesses going.

What light came on in my head is that I compost for long term growth in my garden but use short term solutions in my tanks.
*Thanks nikolay for making me think!*


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Mindnova,

I'm not familiar with the feeling of "thinking". I suspect it maybe nice, but I'm not sure I really, really need it.

Here, look at some cool pictures instead. "That's what I do..." mumbled Napoleon:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...56-dumy-questoin-6-but-how-do.html#post514775

--Nikolay


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## Shad0w (Nov 13, 2006)

niko said:


> The important thing about Power Sand is "long term".


Does anyone prove it? how does the growth different between tank with Aquasoil with and without power sand? From Barr report, seem like no different.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Noone in the US really knows. Tom has run a test and dismisses it. That's all we have.

--Nikolay


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## MrFishyBob (Oct 12, 2010)

niko said:


> Noone in the US really knows. Tom has run a test and dismisses it. That's all we have.
> 
> --Nikolay


You didn't directly answered Shad0w's question


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Fishy Bob,

Google long enough and you will find a very nice test comparison of all kinds of aquatic plant substrates. With pictures of the progress so you can see how the same species of plant changes over the course of about 6 months.

Also you can find another mind boggling article with a big table in which many substrates are compared by many, many parameters.

I intentionally do not put that information here. Because what I try to do is to change a mindset. A lazy, "tell me everything now", mindset. 

--Nikolay


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

Niko, I appreciate your intentions to encourage people to learn for themselves, but unfortunately every time you have told us to "search long enough" for something, I have never found it and wasted a good part of my free time searching through dozens of threads, articles, and web sites which were of no use to me.

It's not an issue of "I want the answer now", it's an issue of "my free time is limited, and too valuable to spend it looking for a needle in a haystack".

You have not given us any hints as to which website this is published on, how deep in the pages of google search results it might be found, who wrote it or conducted the tests, or even which substrates were compared.

I'm not complaining that you make us find out for ourselves. I just think you could give us a little more information on where it might be found.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

This is easy to answer. I got 2 concrete reasons to not serve information on a plate. That's in addition to trying to encourage people to get more interested in learning more:


1. You better listen to a good teacher.
Example: I have 1-1/2 years of education on a certain subject. In the last 21 days I've been attending a class taught by an amazing professor. He explains things with such perspective that in 21 days I learned more than in 1-1/2 years of studies of the same subject with professors with higher level of education that this last one. How does that matter to planted tank heads? Here:

I've spend so much time trying to make sense of all the information we have and we don't that I can easily say I have wasted enough time for a 3-rd Master's Degree. I'm completely serious saying that. I can direct you to the information I have read and let you get lost. Or I can summarize it for you. What you see when you read my posts is the condensed essense of a lot of work. That means 2 things:

a. If one is still mastering the common sense of running a planted tank my opinions will indeed seem questionable. For people at the level "how to combat algae"/"EI"/"PPS"/"wpg"/"which substrate is best", and so on what I write may appear off the wall, provocative, and new. This last bit - "new" - is both funny and really frustrating. We are consistently ignoring the simple basics but everybody wants to create a masterpiece.

b. My sarcasm comes from a very simple contradiction: What I talk about is simple, proven, and NOT new yet people question, dismiss it, or discuss it as if it's something special. Over time I've found it selfishly amusing to make fun of that situation.


2. I forget the links I visit. 
Because I visit so many AND because what I look for is associations, common sense, practical meaning. I look for the bottom line. But also I'm sick and tired of the attitude "Give it all to me now" which promotes lazyness and stupidity. 

It's more important to me to make sense of it all than to have specific examples and details. In the case of substrate comparison I found the Russian article to be borderline insane. Because the author has an exremely detail oriented mind. Substrates are compared by units you haven't even heard of. Sort of like Tom Barr talk using scientific units that make no sense to most people and prove very little for practical purposes.

The other article - full of actual photos of clay pots containing different substrates shot at regulat time intervals - showed a varying rate of growth for different substrates. Meaning that some substrates boost the plant growth initially, but later prove to be flaky. Some substrates don't do much initially but in a few months you see a considerable difference in the density of the growth or the height. Bottom line for me - it is VERY hard to compare substrates. Practically speaking, for your own planted tank, you need something that will carry you through the first months of the tank establishment. And here we hit the same thing I preach over and over again - "What is proper tank establishment?". If you know and if you do it right the substrate choice ceases to matter after 4-6 months. Meaning that the nice photographic documentation that I can't link you to makes no difference. If you run a consistent system of a tank you will have success.

My main goal with looking for associations and common sense is that details can be misleading. Both the Russian and the photo article amount to pseudo-scientific experiments. The Russian comparison table being more objective because of access to scientific tools/practices. So to not get sidetracked one needs to look at the bigger picture, not the details. I hope everyboy caught my sarcasm when I said "Tom ran a test on something and dismissed it." One popular guy, one test... You get the point - no need to look for minute details. And by the way, if I remember correctly, the photo article did show superior plant growth with Power Sand than with AquaSoil only. See how the details start to get frustrating?

I know that what I just wrote above sounds like I'm full of myself. But I've come to the point where it all makes sense to me while the stupid old discussions continue to pop up every day. The "truth" is not in the details. It's about proper understanding of the entire system. And sorry to say it again but the Japanese have gotten it right by adopting the best proven practices and tweaking things here and there. As I said - it's all common sense. Not details.

--Nikolay


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

I've enjoyed reading your threads and I'm relatively familiar with the flavour of your posts. I often draw parallels and differences between what you discuss, and what Walstad discusses in her book. It's just the empty handed "search long enough until you find this" that left me at a bit of a loss.

Anyways, thank you for clarifying, I wont derail this thread any longer but if there's anything you would further like to add I will be following this thread, and you're welcome to PM me if you wish to keep this thread on topic


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