15 Gallon High ADA Aquasoil II Experimental Tank

[Homer_Simpson]

I thought that this would be the best place to post this, but if not, mods/Admin feel free to move.

After lurking in several planted tank forums, I noticed that there was a bunch of hype about ADA Aquasoil. Everyone from plant gurus, experienced members, and even noobs were singing its praises. As a tester, this peaked my curiosity so I decided to take Aquasoil II for a test drive. The fact that I had a 10 gallon tank with a out of snail problem and never ending agae issues(despite all my attempts to defeat the problem) meant that I could tear that tank down and set up the 15 gallon high Aquasoil Experimental Tank. The plants from the torn down tank were soaked for 3 days in a solution of two tablespoons alum and 1 gallon water to kill snail and snail eggs. Unfortunately the snails survived the soak and the plants that I had to start with took a real battering because of the soak. The specs of the tank are:

Filter: AQuaclear 150 HOB filter with polyfibre, bag of Seachem Purigan, and bag of Seachem Matrix stones.

Lighting: 2 20 watt coralife colarmax compact fluorescent in a canopy sloppily padded with Mylar sheeting to increase reflection of useable light. Total 8.5 hours using split photperiod 6 hours on from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 2 hours off, then 3 hours on again from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Plants: I had to work with what I had(basically cr*p), which included, Hygrophilia Polysperma, Cardamine Lyrata for floating plant, ambuilia, pygme anubias, anubias nana, java ferns, Crytocorne bronze and red and Ludwiga which I recently added. For those wondering, the narrow leaf chain sword in the rockwool was just recently purchased. I decided to fully leave it in the tank wiht the rock wool for a couple of weeks to allow it more time to acclimitize to the water before removing it from the rockwool and planting it into the substrate. I also have some Riccia fluitans floating and I plant to use it to fill the empty spaces in the substrate once I have enough. By the way the Riccia and Cardamine are pearling like crazy. And talk about a cardamine explosion. I statrted with a few cuttings of cardamine and find myself trimming the cardamine almost every two days. This stuff is just as bad as duckweed.

Fetilization: Tom Barr's Estimative Index full throttle.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/water-parameters/21944-_dosing-regimes_.html

C02 Injection: Using Hagen yeast sytem with diffusion going into the fiter intake and two additional 2 litre DIY yeast bottles. C02 diffusion is from one 2 litre is going into a Hagen ladder and the c02 diffusion from the other 2 litre is going into a Rhinox 2000 ceramic diffuser. The brew in each bottle is alternatively changed weekly. Drop checker is contant P*ss color showing 40+ c02. Why so much c02? Two reasons. (1) there are no fish in there and I wanted to provide additional C02 to jump start the weakened plants, and (2) the snails I tried to eradicate resurfaced despite 3 day alum and water soak. The plan was now to poison them with additional c02. So far it does not appear to be working, they seem to be enjoying the extra c02.
http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d189/dimebar_probably/Smileys/th_chainsaw.gif
Lol, anyone have a loach or dwarf puffer that they can loan me for a while??

If I get time over the next little while, I plan to create a web page to track long term growth in this experimental tank and provide monthy updates.

Below are pictures of the tank as it looked on Dec 26 2007 at start up.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/aadhanani/Picture111.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/aadhanani/Picture122-1.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/aadhanani/Picture121.jpg

Below are pictures of the tank as it looked as of Jan 16 2008

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/aadhanani/Picture155.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/aadhanani/Picture158.jpg

Based on the short term results vs Seachem Fluorite and Schultz Aquatic soil, I would say that ADA Aquasoil Soil seems to show better plant growth. The only thing that may skew this comparison is the difference in the level of c02 being pumped into the tank. I have never pumped this much c02 tank in any tank that I have set up, so that could well be the difference maker. Also, it is not likely that I will be able to maintain these levels long term and will likely have to gradually taper back the c02 and remove a couple of the bottles as I will need to populate the tank with fish and I doubt that they will be able to tolerate this level of c02.

[supersmirky]

Very good post. Keep us updated. It will be interesting to see what happens after you taper the CO2 off

[bra8ndy8]

WOW looks good!!!! Thanks!

[Homer_Simpson]

Thanks :) The Aquasoil costed me an arm and a leg. The duty, and shipping charges were the major killers :eek: :feint: But being so obsessed with this stuff, once the shock, disbelief and denial settled in, I pretty much forgot about shelling out that much
dough.
:noidea: :morning:

By the way for anyone considering good substrates to start a planted tank, here is a really good review.
http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2007/04/substrates-for-planted-aquarium.html

[supersmirky]

Very nice....I printed the article to read. I ordered SMS and it's finally here. I am curious to see how that will do for me.

[fatfutures]

You mention rock wool? What is that for?

Very curious as, the only application I have used rock wool in is to re-insulate my 1950's stove! And, I can't imagine the stuff being good for fish.

[eklikewhoa]

IMO aquasoil is about as good as it gets!


Like the Oliver Knott touch with the Buddha.

[Homer_Simpson]

You mention rock wool? What is that for?

Very curious as, the only application I have used rock wool in is to re-insulate my 1950's stove! And, I can't imagine the stuff being good for fish.

Many of the aquarium plants sold in local fish stores come rooted in rock wool. I belive that this is done as the shops anticipate short turnover and cannot really be bothered with the expense and trouble of rooting them in an expensive substrate. I don't plan to leave the narrow chain sword in the rockwool for much longer than a week. I figured that if I gave the plant more time to adapt to my tank without disturbing it that it would do better once I removed the rockwool and planted the bare roots in the substrate. As far as rockwool being bad for fish, in another tank a long time ago, I tried by hand at keeping anubias and java ferns but left them in the rockwool. The clown loach would totally mutilate the rockwool and uproot the plant. I am not sure if he consumed any of the rockwool, but he did not seemed harmed by it. Right now, I have not populated the tank with any fish. Once I get the plants growing the way I want and fill the empty spaces with riccia, I will gradually add a rosy barb, florida flagfish, some ottos, and amano and or red cherry shrimp. I have also ordered some Christmas Moss and was going to try creating a christmas moss wall behind the Buddha. The only problem that I am seeing is the snot like goo being produced in my c02 diffuser from my Do It Yourself C02 setup. From what I have read, there is nothing that can be done to prevent this and the best thing to do is to clean it as it develops. I have to do a major trim this weekend. It is a shame to threw the cuttings away, but there does not appear to be much of a market or interest in planted Aquariums in my city, so what can I do :confuzeld:

[Homer_Simpson]

IMO aquasoil is about as good as it gets!


Like the Oliver Knott touch with the Buddha.

Thank you for those kind words and I agree ADA Aquasoil is likely as good as it gets, but some people claim that Red Sea flora base and Soil Master Select will give equivalent growth to ADA Aquasoil, so I was going to experiment with those substrates, time, space, and tanks pending, just to see. Flora base is supposed to turn to mush in 6-12 months but said to provide growth equivalent to ADA Aquasoil, so for my next setup, I was going to experiment with an equal 1.5 to 2 inches of Flora Base overlaid/capped with 1.5-2 inches of Soil Master select, just to see. If the Flora Base turns to mush, the Soil Master select should be able to pick up the slack and continue to support the plants.

[EAST_TX_RN]

Homer, that is some nice looking plants. Are you in the science field, by the way? If not, you need to be!

[Homer_Simpson]

Homer, that is some nice looking plants. Are you in the science field, by the way? If not, you need to be!

Lol, thanks for the compliment. I am in the Social Science Field ;) and am a Social Worker by training. Science always made be nervous. I still remember how sweaty my palms used to get in high school just thinking about attending the required chemistry and biology class. I had to actually attend summer school and take chemistry again and boy did I hate that. Then, I had to take a human anatomy, physiology, and development course in University. I still have flash backs when I think about that . That was truly hell on earth. I dug myself into such a hole in that one that I had to pull a 3 night all night cramming session before the exam. I pumped myself full of caffeine tablets just to pull off the all nighter. Lol, I was so tired despite the caffeine, that I could barely stay awake while completing the test. Hey, but in the end I survived. I managed to pull of a B and learned two very valuable lessons, never cram for an exam(and I never did after that) and don't take caffeine tablets(I never ever did that again either).

I have kept fish only tanks for over 9 years with no problems. My interest in planted tanks was sparked by the many beautiful Amano Takishi tanks and member tanks that I saw on many planted tank forums. An interest grew into an expensive obsession and so here I am.

[eklikewhoa]

Flora base is good too! My second favorite!

As for SMS.....it can't compete in nutrient levels of either the other two....start blasting the light and co2 and you will quickly see where SMS cannot keep up.

[Homer_Simpson]

Flora base is good too! My second favorite!

As for SMS.....it can't compete in nutrient levels of either the other two....start blasting the light and co2 and you will quickly see where SMS cannot keep up.

Something that I find puzzling in the planted tank hobby is the continual argument that I hear from people who say a nutrient rich substrate does not matter and effect plant growth as long as you have good water column fertilization. While I don't disagree that water column fertilization helps, nobody and I mean nobody who says a nutritious substrate is of no benefit, has an explanation explain why a nutritious substrate like Aquasoil works so well. These same people just say, Aquasoil is the exception. How can you have an exception to something that totally contradicts a statement? There are people who don't use any fertilizers at all with Aquasoil and still get explosive plant growth. To me that tells, me that a nutritious substrate may be far more important than people believe and even more important than water column fertilization.

As far as SMS, I agree with you, but here is something else that supports my point. I have discussed the importance of a rich substrate with Mrkookm a member on another forum. Now here is the kicker. He totally agrees and uses Soil Master Select over root tabs and inserts root tabs every month. He fertilizes the water column with a very lean fertilizer method known as PPS- PRO. Check out his 20 gallon. Would he experience the same benefit with plain SMS given that he is running high light and c02, I think not. Check out his tank.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/55788-20gal-diy-co2-plant-possibilities.html

My point is that it may be possible to get plant growth with Soil Master Select equivalent to Aquasoil and at significant cost savings, but only if you use root tabs underneath and good water column fertilization like PPS PRO - I believe Estimative Index would probably work just as well.

[Homer_Simpson]

**Update*** FWIW, this is what the tank looks like as of Feb 17 2008. http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/aadhanani/DSCN1717.jpg http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/aadhanani/DSCN1715.jpg http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/aadhanani/DSCN1718.jpg As far as any critiques of the limted type of plants used in the tank(hygrophilia polysperma, anubias nana, java fern, cardamine lyrata, riccia fuitans, and ambulia), sorry folks, I had to use what was available and what I had access to. Lol, I hope this doesn't bring out the crazy Buddha Spammer Lady :(

[supersmirky]

Wow....looks like it's doing a good job! Did you ever put a fish in there?

[bra8ndy8]

WOW can you plant me a tank...let it grow and mail it to me!

[Homer_Simpson]

Wow....looks like it's doing a good job! Did you ever put a fish in there?

Lol, the snails are the only lifeform in there right now. I wanted to let the plants grow a little more, give the tank a good trim, threw in a few amano shrimp. And perhaps an "algae insurance" crew of fish (Florida Flag Fish, Black Mollies, Rosy Barbs, Bristlenose Pleco, otocats) to have on standby in case the tank takes a turn for the worse. And a dwarf loach, like a chain loach to take care of the snails Right now, the problem is throttling back on the c02 so that it is not too much that the fish suffer but not so little that plants suffer and algae takes a foothold. The snails seem to be doing fine with the level of c02, so fish and shrimp may be fine, but it may still be a gamble :(


WOW can you plant me a tank...let it grow and mail it to me!

You know if it was possible, I would in a heartbeat :);)

[Homer_Simpson]

So here we are, a little over a year. And so people may be wondering(or not) about whatever happened to this tank. Well for starters, the snail problem continued but luckily they did no major damage to the plants. As for algae, Buddha's left lap seems to have developed some green spot algae stains. The funny thing is that only Buddha's lap suffered. There is no green spot algae anywhere else on the glass. This is where it is also seen when it forms. There was some green dust that began to form a few months ago but it disappeared on its own. I have no idea what brought it on and what caused it to disappear. Perhaps the increased heavy growth of plants that further filtered the light may have had something to do with it, but I cannot say for sure. Other than that, no blue green algae, no black beard algae, no thread algae, no clado, no staghorn, no fuzz. The sole Siamese Algae Eater and Kuhli Loach(lol, I think it is still alive but it is hard to tell) appeared to thrive. I dosed Estimative Index at 1/2 the dose and also dosed calcium sulphate and magnesium given that my tap water has submarginal levels of calcium and did 50% weekly water changes. As far as plants some did better than others. Sunset Hygro, just did not do well in this tank. It melted on two different occasions. Riccia and hygrophilia difformis did well. Anubias did really well and the one that did the best of all was the java fern. I know that java fern is not a demanding plan to begin with, but I have never seen java fern in any tank that I have set up devlop such lush green coloration and sprout plantlets, left, right and centre. Also, interesing to note, the water remained crystal clear and the substrate has not dintegrated or self destructed even with the Kuhi Loach really stirring things up. This tank has impressed me the most as far as plant growth. In fact so much so, that I use it to start cuttings. That is why it looks like a jungle. Excuse the cr*ppy picture, but I don't have the best camera.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/aadhanani/2-1.jpg

[Typical Tony]

whooooa ... trimming time.

[alta678]

Very Cool! Thanks for the posts and the "experimenting".

[Homer_Simpson]

Very Cool! Thanks for the posts and the "experimenting".

Thanks. I know it needs a trim, but I have to rescape another tank where some of the plants from this tank will be used. Right now, I have no place for them. Plus this tank is to start cuttings only as they root so well in the tank, That is why I have pretty much decided to neglect the aquascape. Also, out of fear I have avoided doing a major trim. I am not sure if a major trim would ignite algae as high plant density is know to keep algae at bay. If I give it a major trim, I may add some floaters like water lettuce to offset any negative effects of excessive trimming.

[supersmirky]

Very nice homer. The greens are definitely lush looking. Looks like it is time for you to enjoy a salad now courtesy the tank.

[Homer_Simpson]

Well, there won't be any further progress on this tank. Stupid tank sprung a leak. The biggest lesson learned: ADA Aquasoil grows plants well with at least DIY C02 and good lighting and is worth the money. Used tanks are never the savings cause you just never know, lol. Luckily the leak happened when I was home and was able to spot it before too much damage was done.

[alta678]

Thank you so much for sharing your work. I have really enjoyed reading this thread as it has progressed. :)

[Homer_Simpson]

Thank you so much for sharing your work. I have really enjoyed reading this thread as it has progressed. :)

You are welcome and thanks for those kind words. I am really disappointed as I really wanted to see how this tank would fare out over several years. But in some ways it is a blessing in disguise, because I can now go onto my next experimental tank without worrying about space or about where I am going to be able to find extra electrical outlets. Wait until you see the "peoples' tank." Who knows, you could end up with membership in that tank if you choose. In a literal and figurative sense of course ;)

[alta678]

roflmaoroflmaoroflmao