ADA Aquasoil options

[mhossom]

All,

I am planning on getting in on the ADA group order. I have heard very good things about their products. I am just a little confused as to what I should order.

fyi, I am planning a 4x2x2 120 gallon high light, pressurized CO2 system.

According to what I am reading, I should order 6 9L bags of Amazonia and 2 6L bags of "M" Powersand.

My question is this. Is the Powersand needed for the above system or would the 6 bags of Amazonia be enough? Please share your experiences with the Powersand.

Thanks,

[krisw]

I have run tanks both with and without the powersand. I believe the powersand is supposed to act as a bacteria/nutrient medium that binds nutrients for the roots. It also comes packed with some sort of peat/soil/other mixture that helps your tank get going. The downside is that powersand tends to find it's way to the surface at times, which is insightly. Some folks have prevented this by using stainless steel screen overtop of their powersand layer, but I haven't tried this myself.

Basically, you can do it either way. The official recommend way is to use both products, but you can get by with either. Sorry to not really definitely answer your question.

[mhossom]

Kris,

That is exactly what I was looking for. It certainly sounds like I could do this with 1 6L bag rather than 2. $50 savings. I may even just put down a fine layer of peat and eliminate the Powersand all together.

Thanks

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

I've setup tanks with and without the powersand. Seems that the pH doesnt
come down soo much and the tank cycles much quicker w/ the powersand
than without. In the setup w/out powersand - it took almost 3 weeks before
the pH was high enough for plants to even survive in there. They melted in the
low pH. With the powersand in the setup, plants got going right away.
However, Kris is right about the powersand coming up and being unsightly.
Only a problem if you're planning a lot of uprooting etc. Wonder if just adding
the powersand in a bag in the canister in the beginning will suffice.

[mhossom]

. Wonder if just adding
the powersand in a bag in the canister in the beginning will suffice.

I may get a 2L bag and give this a try. It does not seem that there is a great risk associated with it.

Thanks for the comments guys. When I decided to get back into planted aquaria, one of the first things I did was to try and find a local club for just this kind of situation.

[Cristy Keister]

Without powersand,
Will 2 bags of Amazonia be enough in a 30 long?
4 bags in a 55g?

[mhossom]

Since a 55 has almost exactly 1/2 the footprint of the 120, I would guess that 3 bags would cover it. This is a completely uneducated guess and should be taken as such.

[Jeff120]

Is used 3 in my 55 Cristy, that was plenty for me. No powersand

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

The powersand is just a tiny layer at the bottom anyway - 1/4" thick. Doesnt
contribute to the substrate depth much.

[JMLenke]

Ok the powersand if I read correctly from what Ghaz is saying is used to raise the PH some?

Why could you not use some Crushed coral in a filter bag instead of powersand?


I use crushed coral in ALL of my tanks and have never had any issues that I know of.