JackBlasto
Aquarium Advice Freak
Reporting back on a very old thread of mine to report an update on the substrate aquadurt made by aquarium plants.com Yes, I had problems with this substrate leeching all kinds of weirdness but after a year, well, 10 months of water changes this substrate has become controllable. The potassium levels which had been OUT OF THIS WORLD HIGH have over time dropped to around 20 ppm. I have read ALL kinds of bad reviews of aqua durt after I had purchased it so this post is really for the people that hopefully have NOT bought it or have bought it and wonder if it will ever stop doing weird things to your TDS readings, etc, YES, after 10 months of regular water changes it will 
haha… I have been testing potassium levels with a hanna digital meter and these readings are absolutely correct. I have been methodically taking levels for literally close to a year watching the tank stabilize. I know without a doubt and proof of about 60 digital readings over ten months that aqua durt made by aquarium plants.com does in FACT leech potassium and probably a number of other un-monitorable things and thus why it is finally running out of excess potassium to leech after hundreds of water changes. The softness of the water is finally becoming manageable as well. I'm glad I do have the meters so I now can monitor when potassium runs low and I can start dosing it in small amounts again, as there was literally no reason to dose potassium at all for close to a year. I will continue to dose substrate pellets and liquid ferts like the past and start to include potassium in there. I'm just glad after a year of dealing with a very uncontrollable substrate the crap has run it's course and now I can control what is dosed in the tank better. Fair Warning for all people who choose aqua durt from aquarium plants.com… Pay the extra money and get a substrate with a history of being good that doesn't throw your fertilizer readings off, makes dosing controlled amounts near impossible, makes it hard to control algae, etc for a year while you wait for it to stop leeching stuff. Had I been able to take that substrate out easily I would have, should have, and gone with a real brand name that people can rely on. It's a LOT of frustration for the few dollar savings.
haha… I have been testing potassium levels with a hanna digital meter and these readings are absolutely correct. I have been methodically taking levels for literally close to a year watching the tank stabilize. I know without a doubt and proof of about 60 digital readings over ten months that aqua durt made by aquarium plants.com does in FACT leech potassium and probably a number of other un-monitorable things and thus why it is finally running out of excess potassium to leech after hundreds of water changes. The softness of the water is finally becoming manageable as well. I'm glad I do have the meters so I now can monitor when potassium runs low and I can start dosing it in small amounts again, as there was literally no reason to dose potassium at all for close to a year. I will continue to dose substrate pellets and liquid ferts like the past and start to include potassium in there. I'm just glad after a year of dealing with a very uncontrollable substrate the crap has run it's course and now I can control what is dosed in the tank better. Fair Warning for all people who choose aqua durt from aquarium plants.com… Pay the extra money and get a substrate with a history of being good that doesn't throw your fertilizer readings off, makes dosing controlled amounts near impossible, makes it hard to control algae, etc for a year while you wait for it to stop leeching stuff. Had I been able to take that substrate out easily I would have, should have, and gone with a real brand name that people can rely on. It's a LOT of frustration for the few dollar savings.
