# i wanna buy amazonia substrate



## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

hey guys, i may end up buying some bags of amazonia because it says it helps lower the ph and it seems to be really good for planted tank too. my question is/.are: where do you get it from?! i saw ADG or something online and each bag was like 30 bucks!!! jeez...is there any other choices? or an alternative substrate (to lower ph mainly) thanks


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

There is nothing that ADA Amazonia can do that other substrates can't.

With every other substrate you are basically waiting for the right substrate conditions to develop over time. During that waiting period it is usual to see a lot of issues.

ADA Amazonia does everything that is needed for the best root development from day 1. And it does it consistently - not just an initial spike of "good environment".

You can use Amazonia, tear down your tank, dry the Amazonia and store it. Use it whenever you want and it still does it's magic from day 1.

$30 is not expensive for a 9 liter bag. Please understand that there are ADA substrates (Amazonia being the most popular and probably the best) and then there are all other substrates. There is no comparison between the two.

If you do not want to spend a lot of money I strongly advise you to get a bunch of inert gravel and an $4 huge bag of Peat from Home Depot. That is all you need to start a tank. Plus time to wait of course, as I said above. No other substrate is better than this cheap mix. Don't fall for any advertisement.

Ah yes, I do have Amazonia (used) for sale. I know how to ship it cheaper than ADG or AquaForest. $35 per per 9 liters + shipping is free.

Forgot to mention - you can use Amazonia for an emersed or hydroponic setup. It maintains a pH of 5.5. It's jsut plain stupid not to use it for emersed purposes and try to invent the wheel with some kind of home brewed concoction or adjust the pH every day using acid.

--Nikolay


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

let me think about it. thanks


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Damian,

An alternative that will lower the PH (and GH), is organic, and fairly inexpensive would be Turface or possibly Aquaiumplants.com substrate.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

seatle, im leaving for work but when i get back i will check that aquariumplants.com site, thanks!!!


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## Big Dog (Nov 30, 2009)

Aquariumplants good place to buy things from. I have bought many items from them before. Keep us up to date.


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## TruKnight (Sep 12, 2009)

Ive used both aquasoil and aquariumplants.com substrate. Both have thier issues imo. 

The aquariumplants.com stuff is really light and seems to blow all over the place in even a little current, so if thats not an issue for you then its not bad. You have to use root tabs or liquid ferts for it also. It does give really clear water once it settles down tho and looks pretty good, just its difficult to make it hold down plants in my experience. 

Aquasoil, at least the batch i got, had major tannin issues for months. My plants loved the stuff for awhile, but slowed down. It will need additional ferts added also and will break down over the years. 

From what ive read, unless your ph is so high or low as to dissolve rocks, its not really an issue as long as it remains stable over time.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

TruKnight said:


> Ive used both aquasoil and aquariumplants.com substrate. Both have thier issues imo.
> 
> The aquariumplants.com stuff is really light and seems to blow all over the place in even a little current, so if thats not an issue for you then its not bad. You have to use root tabs or liquid ferts for it also. It does give really clear water once it settles down tho and looks pretty good, just its difficult to make it hold down plants in my experience.
> 
> ...


excelent, my plan was to use one bag to help the ph stay lower without having to do weekly dosage of ph down stuff etc...now my question is, is there something i can add that woudl have a similar effect?

i already tried a 1 inch layer of peat moss and nothing...reader is for ph down and is at its max (7.6+) and i want to keep fish that likes it under 7... thanks


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I don't think you'll find Amazonia any cheaper than what you are seeing unless you get is used from someone. Peat will lower your pH, but it takes time to start working/breaking down. You can collect dried leaves from local trees in your area (DRIED, not fresh) and drop them in your tank, but then you have to decide if that's the "look" you want. There's actually an article about it in the next TFH magazine coming up.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

Davemonkey, i will defenitly check the article!! i used to buy almond leaves but constantly adding them was not such a good idea...also i got me abag from my friends at GWAPA that i will use as by base layer


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## TruKnight (Sep 12, 2009)

You seem really concerned about your pH. Have you read: http://fish-tank-filters.org/fish-tank-ph-is-it-really-that-important/ ? Might help.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

I agree that the pH of the water often has little effect on the overall wellbeing of the tank. pH needs to be within certain boundaries, of course. And pH can fluctuate a lot and fish will adapt as long as the change happens slowly.

Talking about plants - they thrive if the roots are in an acidic environment. All substrates eventually reach that point. AquaSoil provides the low pH from the very beginning. Peat for example fizzles out pretty quickly - after 2 weeks it does no change the pH at all.

So if we talk about pH we should discern between substrate and water.

Here are 2 cheap ways to maintain lower pH of the water:

- Pump CO2
No need to explain why I hope.

- Filter water through peat and add it to the tank.
The water filtered through peat ends up being very acidic - pH of 5.5 is not unusual. The process requires buckets and tinkering with the filtration setup. It works. But keep in mind that if you are trying to adjust the pH by adding something constantly you are creating an unstable system. The setup looks something like this:










The small black bucket contains the peat. 
The small black bucket is filled up with water to the top (basically soaking all the peat) and it drains slowly into the big blue bucket.
There is a small hole in the bottom of the black bucket. 
There is a fine sponge on the bottom of the black bucket to keep the debries contained (not flowing into the big blue bucket). That way the water in the blue bucket is clear, brownish like tea, and with very low pH.

Even with a setup like that you will find that you need to change the peat pretty often. After filling the black bucket 3-4 times the water that comes out will be close to the pH you are filling with.

And if your tank water has some kind of buffering capabilities you will find yourself adding low pH peat filtered water only to see the pH climb up in a matter of hours.

Best advice if you really, really have to have low (and stable) pH of the water - use pressurized CO2.
Best advice if you really, really have to have (stable) acidic substrate from day 1 - use AquaSoil.

Brace up to watch the new tank carefully if you do not provide acidic pH of the substrate from the beginning. If you know what to watch for you do not need AquaSoil or any other "specialized plant substrate". Using peat under an inert layer of gravel is the easiest and cheapest way to have acidic substrate from day 1. But after 2 weeks the peat is not acidic any more. Also with AquaSoil the low pH is throughout the substrate, not just in some area like in the case of peat under inert gravel.

And I don't know if everybody here remembers - AquaSoil will actually sequester (accumulate) certain nutrients from the water. And make them available to the roots. I do not know if a home made substrate mix can do that.

--Nikolay


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

the ph on my 125 that has been running is up around 7.6 and is been running for around 3 years...but that fish is fine. the ph in my 20L is just as high if no higher and is been running for about 2 months?..i need/want ph low for stocking reasons-the fish i want require slightly acidic ph. thank you for the ideas, i have a ton of peat and extra buckets so i can easily do the bucket thing.


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## OVT (Aug 26, 2010)

I used PhDown but needed a ton of it to get down from 8.8 I get from tap. I did peat-in-filter for several years but it gets messy, results are hard to control, and you need to watch the condition of the peat.

2 tsp of vinegar per water bucket get me to about 7.0.


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