Substrate imput

[ddavila06]

Good evening everyone!
So, I'm contemplating the idea of changing the substrate, layout, everything on my 75. maybe. I was thinking about brightwell rio oscuro.
Does anyone have personal experience w it, or the other brightwell product? is it inert and designed to "hold" nutrients from waste and water column, or is it something that has stuff for plants to take? any imput appreciated

[JLW]

I use it in A LOT of tanks, and here's my take on it.
It is a milled product, and the individual grains are very uniform. As such, it doesn't look super natural, but ... you get used to this really, really fast. One of the biggest things to keep in mind with it is its density. It is a lot, a lot, lighter than gravel. So, a 25-pound bag of it will have a much higher volume than a 25-pound bag of gravel. You'll get a lot more out of it. I can do a 90-gallon with 60 pounds of it, and it'll be a thick layer. Because it is lighter, you also do have to be careful when doing water changes. Unlike gravel, it is very easy to pull it into the tube!

My understanding is that it is a volcanic earth substrate, and it pulls nutrients from the water column. Plants take to it very, very quickly, and it acts as a great rooting substrate. It gradually breaks down, and becomes more like soil and less like little beady rocks. I've been using it for 2-3 years or more in some of my tanks, and plants grow just as strongly in it as they did in day one. Since it seems to pull stuff from the water column, rather than relying on impregnated nutrients, it doesn't "run out," like some other soils.

It grows plants REALLY well. Really, really well. I think its superior to Fluorite or AquaSoil.

Overall, my honest opinion on Brightwell is that they make a great, high end fertliser. They use very high grade chemicals in them. Whether or not you need your phosphorous to be high purity is up to you.

[krisw]

I generally agree with Josh's assessments, but have a few key notes after using it in several of my tanks:

- It's definitely lighter, but I don't view this as a plus. I find that the lightness means I need extra depth or extra effort to get a foreground started, as any swish will cause the substrate to flutter and plants to come up. It's not as bad as soil-master select in this regard, but definitely an annoyance.

- Also, like Josh mentions, it doesn't seem to contain any nutrients, so you really need to dose from the beginning. And actually, in my experience, this substrate seems to require a seasoning before plants really take to it. Maybe it's a process where fresh substrate needs to absorb a ton of nutrients from the water column first so I should actually be dosing more in the beginning. This is a distinct difference from Aquasoil that is chalked full of nutrients and jump starts everything from day 1.

As such, I'd rate it way higher than flourite, but I still think Aquasoil is king. After a couple months, though, when Aquasoil "runs out" and you have to dose, and your foreground is established, they're essentially functionally the same. It's really just that I prefer Aquasoil in the first few months. Josh is right that Brightwell is pretty good value per volume.

[Becca]

I've used it in multiple tanks. I like it best when it's mixed with something a little weightier. You don't get a uniform look, but plants stay down a little easier. Once plants begin to root, they stay down fine, but it can be a little tough going with stem plants, especially larger stems.

[Ben Belton]

How does it's density compare to AquaSoil?

[ddavila06]

I generally agree with Josh's assessments, but have a few key notes after using it in several of my tanks:

- It's definitely lighter, but I don't view this as a plus. I find that the lightness means I need extra depth or extra effort to get a foreground started, as any swish will cause the substrate to flutter and plants to come up. It's not as bad as soil-master select in this regard, but definitely an annoyance.

- Also, like Josh mentions, it doesn't seem to contain any nutrients, so you really need to dose from the beginning. And actually, in my experience, this substrate seems to require a seasoning before plants really take to it. Maybe it's a process where fresh substrate needs to absorb a ton of nutrients from the water column first so I should actually be dosing more in the beginning. This is a distinct difference from Aquasoil that is chalked full of nutrients and jump starts everything from day 1.

As such, I'd rate it way higher than flourite, but I still think Aquasoil is king. After a couple months, though, when Aquasoil "runs out" and you have to dose, and your foreground is established, they're essentially functionally the same. It's really just that I prefer Aquasoil in the first few months. Josh is right that Brightwell is pretty good value per volume.

so you think its better than flourite?
The super-downside i am seeing here, its that i have heavy root feeders, so i don't do much liquid fertilizing or stick to a ferts schedule, etc...
I also don't like the ligh weight,..I'm not very careful when working in my tank :/
I used aquasoil ages ago, the old type, and it was bad...gave me hair algae and i hated the thing so much.l. so if they are similar then they r not good to me :/
I think I'm going to stick w flourite. seems to be good w crypts, swords, and other large plants i have

thanks for the other comments, I read them all and I also found a few more online. this doesn't seem to be the way to go for me this time

[Becca]

mix it with flourite and you'll have the best of both.

[sukrol]

Fluorite is inert though? Correct? If I remember correctly, you do get some nutrients initially with Brightwell's Rio Escuro but nothing like Amazonia.

[krisw]

Flourite is *not* inert. It has a rather high CEC to absorb nutrients. I just don't like it because it's rough, compacts, and is more difficult to plant in.

[ddavila06]

Flourite is *not* inert. It has a rather high CEC to absorb nutrients. I just don't like it because it's rough, compacts, and is more difficult to plant in.

what are CEC?

Becca, the main reason im switching is that i am tired of seeing red and black mixed...flourite "dark" has that dark color mixed w red.. :/ ugly to the eye.