Substrate for small planted shrimp tank

[Tommy10]

What is the a good option for me to plant my fluavl chi and to keep shrimp, Carib sea has only 20lbs pound bags i would prefer something closer to 5lbs. I considered fluval stratum but would prefer not to spend $35 on 4.4lbs of substrate.

So far this is what looked best for me...

Anyone know anything about this stuff or could recommend to me a good alternative.

Thanks.


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[Puckhog429]

Id go with ADA aquasoil. In my 4 gallon cube i started off with dirt and ended up disliking it in such a small tank. I wanted to keep rcs so came across the shrimp stratum and didnt want to pay the 35 bucks for something that supposedly didnt work well for a long time. After researching almost all the possible options and reccomendations to get the ada from this forum i ended up getting it and now love it. What are the dimensions of your tank? If its not that big ( less than 3-4 gallons) you could just get a bag of ada amazonia powder. Costs a bit more than the traditional size but comes in smaller bags and looks great, especially in small tanks.


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[Tommy10]

which one do these are u talking about? (If any)


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[Tommy10]

5 gallon fluval chi (10 x 10 x 12.3 inches)


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[Puckhog429]

The aquasoil on the top far right. That is pretty good stuff. I would get a 3 liter bag of that and a 3 liter bag of the powder kind. Also i would reccomend buying directly from ada or throwing an add up on the classifieds section. There are 2 retail store in the us that carry ada products. I remember one guy that could buy it by the pound from one of the stores near him in oregon. If you dont want to buy it via classifieds go to adas website by googling adana usa


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[Tommy10]

Its the same as fluval stratum price wise? I might just buy a Carib sea 20lbs bag and put it in with my 26 gallon Bowfront because its cheaper... Any better ideas?


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[Sillyfishies]

Caribsea sand isn't going to do didly squat compared to aquasoil or fluval stratum. Aquasoil and stratum buffer the water and are able to absorb nutrients from the water column and supply it to plants. If you don't want to fork out the money for aquasoil or stratum, get ecocomplete.

 

[Puckhog429]

+1 i have used both aquasoil and stratum. Aquasoil is the best and for about the same price. Buffers the water longer, better plant growth. And its even a bit cheaper than stratum


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[Tommy10]

So the 3L bag would work in my fluval chi 5 gal?


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[Puckhog429]

If you dont plan on sloping it at all then it might be enough. I would get a 3l bag of the normal size and then a 3l bag of the powder. The powder looks really nice. There is a calculator on adas website to help determine how much to buy.


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[Tommy10]

The only one I can find on amazon is the normal one.


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[Puckhog429]

Amazon doesnt really carry it. If you have to buy off amazon i guess go ahead and get it. It is cheaper other sites though


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[MonkeyMonk86]

I had problems with eco complete sold at Amazon. The bag smelled moldy when I opened it and I got " moldy slime" all in my tank. Had to down and clean the tank as it disappeared, then returned.

I wrote to CaribSea. This was their reply. ( I deleted my email addy from the message )

If they don't know their parameters, I would not buy from them again.

Other people do like EcoComplete. I won't be trying it again.

Tony Wagner
Director of Marketing
CaribSea, Inc.
843-819-5966
tony@caribsea.com
caribsea.com
reptilite.com



Begin forwarded message:

Hi Elizabeth!
Thanks for your questions. We pack the Eco Complete in an acidified solution to blow open any pores that may partially obstructed by calcite overgrowths. This process results in a better product but a higher initial KH because of the now dissolved minerals in the fluid. Eco complete is also inoculated with a variety of symbiotic micro-organisms (bacteria and mycorrs) and they can have an unpleasant odor when confined for a period of time. There are also the organic acids which condition the water and encourage root growth . I cannot give a hard number for the initial parameters since it varies with the mineralogy (it is a natural material). All the initially high parameters decline with normal water changes and biological uptake and that includes phosphorous. The filmy white is either some sediment or the Mycorrhizals sorting themselves out. A few hours of circulation usually brings the gases into equilibrium and the biologicals where they belong. If the elevated parameters of the fluid bothers you simply drain the fluid from the bag but do not rinse the substrate. Thanks again!
Rick

From: Tony Wagner [mailto:tony@caribsea.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 1:38 PM
To: Rick Greenfield
Subject: Fwd: CaribSea EcoComplete

Rick,

I can’t find any of these specific details in the old emails. But this may be a very good FAQ question. The Eco-Faq is uploading now!!!!
Tony Wagner
Director of Marketing
CaribSea, Inc.
843-819-5966
tony@caribsea.com
caribsea.com
reptilite.com



Begin forwarded message:


From:
Subject: CaribSea EcoComplete
Date: April 30, 2014 at 1:35:35 PM EDT
To: "contact@caribsea.com"

I purchased 3 bags of EcoComplete from Amazon. Upon opening the bags, there was a strong mold smell and rust colored stains at the bottom of the bag. I used them in my tank. The water was very cloudy for 12 hrs. Also, within 12 hrs there was a white filmy gel on my plants.

I threw out heavily affected plants & I started the nitrogen cycle. The white filmy gel went away within 24 hrs. I tested the KH of the Eco I have in a bucket and it is testing at 14.

What are the correct parameters for a good bag of Eco?
pH, KH, GH, and phosphorus?

Thank you for responding to my questions. I have been posting all these issues at the Aquariumadvice.com forum. My name there is MonkeyMonk86.

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(Friend of Bill W., One day at a time)

 

[jetajockey]

On a side note, what kind of lighting are you using on your Chi? I have one and it's been annoying to say the least.

 

[Tommy10]

Just the standard light it came with, going low tech some ppl I've seen on YouTube have had success


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[jetajockey]

With that weak of a light you are probably going to be stuck doing just anubias and ferns, you might get lucky with dwarf sag. That said, I'd probably stick with an inert substrate.

 

[Tommy10]

Thats the plan? I think I'm getting stratum. And will does with flourish excel. Hoping to find some cherries locally or cheap online. (Canada)


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[Fresh2o]

MonkeyMonk - Thank you for posting your correspondence with CaribSea. I had something similar/worse happen with two bags of EC purchased from an LFS. The bags sat on a concrete slab in a garage from January to April (it got very cold, maybe froze). Days after setup, a whitish film was engulfing everything, 8.0 ammonia hours after a 90% WC, thick film on surface. After two weeks of WCs and no change in conditions, I scrapped it and started fresh with new EC and had no problems since.


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[Tommy10]

URGENT stratum is no longer available on Amazon! Is this what u recommend???


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[jetajockey]

Mr aqua, azoo, and up aqua also make a type of aquasoil, besides ada. Although the ada stuff tends to be cheaper overall if you are buying bulk.

Sent from Peabody's rabbit hole.