Are Aqua Soils Worth It? My First Impressions

I decided to try a nutrient-rich planted tank substrate for the first time to boost the growth of the cryptocorynes and dwarf aquarium lily. Did I make a mistake?
🐟 MATERIALS I USED
(As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from the links below. Also, I work for Aquarium Co-Op but do not receive commissions from their links.)
▶ Landen aquarium soil: amzn.to/43amrqZ
▶ Black aquarium gravel from Petco
▶ Easy Root Tabs (to fertilize the gravel): www.aquariumcoop.com/products...
🌿 RESOURCES
▶ Aqua Rocks aquascaping store: aquarockscolorado.com
▶ How to get rid of blue-green algae: • How to Kill Cyanobacte...
🦐 EXTRAS
▶ Members Only content: / @girltalksfish
▶ Instagram: / girltalksfish
▶ Merch store: girltalksfish.creator-spring.com
EDITOR: Matt Gray at www.grayfamilyfilms.com/ and / mentalityfilms
ATTRIBUTION
Music from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/referra... (if you use my referral link, I get 1 month free 😀)
#girltalksfish #nanofish #plantedaquarium
0:00 Trying active substrate for the 1st time
0:48 Aqua Rocks aquascaping store
3:16 Tank teardown
6:32 Adding new aquatic animals
9:18 Time to redo the substrate again
10:44 Lessons learned about active substrate

[@GirlTalksFish]

*What's been your experience with using aquarium soils? Any tips and tricks to share?*

[@AussieAquatic]

I've had amazing success with Oliver Knott AquaEarth, zero shrimp problems, or fish, plants have loved it, highly recommended :)

[@lemonlizard1]

I've used Fluval Stratum (low tech planted tank) and have has no issues with nutrients being released and crazy ph changes. It's been really easy and I've done only a few water changes over the course of 4-5 months

[@pencilpauli9442]

As a newbie trying to figure out what is the best substrate to use is very confusing. I've past experience in horticulture and it was a lot simpler. Soil types I can understand but with the added wrinkle of how it affects the water parameters and how that in turn affects the biology is too much. I'm only a bear of small brain! Sorry you lost your some shrimp.

[@brittratzburg6591]

I use fluval stratum in all three of my nano shrimp tanks with no cap, but I also have very hard water. The tanks are all between 1 and 2 years old, and no issues - my crypts really love it!

[@Kraus-]

I've only used Fluval but it's by far the least maintenance of any substrate I've used. With established plants and no water changes the chemistry is extremely stable. A variety of algaes appreciate it lol. Maybe not the best choice for the sterile style that a lot of aquarists like. And smaller tanks are more sensitive to changes with less volume to dilute so I probably wouldn't use aquasoil in less than twenty gallons.

[@metaldesire4]

the missing thing in this video is the solution to using a nutrient-rich substrate - getting rid of it completely isn't the only option. putting gravel on top of it will make the nutrients leak into the water column, which results in the stuff you see in this video - that's why you should use sand instead, at least one inch (preferably two). sand is a lot more packed and won't let the nutrients escape. if you want gravel, put some on top of the sand, or have sand around it - you need that compact layer that doesn't let nutrients escape.

[@XBullitt16X]

@Stephen Swain I reccomend it, its worked for me and my 3 Aquariums.

[@donutcat8462]

M .😊.om

[@reymundorodriguezg]

It’s pretty odd to how many people have had issues with aqua soil. For me, even having the soil uncapped,my fish and shrimp never had any issues and plant growth was always insanely good. Doing tons of research I found a lot of benefits to uncapped aquasoil and the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

[@haifutter4166]

​@@reymundorodriguezg It depends on your overall setup. A capped nutrient layer is the easiest way to do an aquarium, especially like in the Walstadt method. Open aquasoil is good if heavily planted and combined with good bio-filtration.

[@rjejames28]

​@@reymundorodriguezgexactly I think this video is missing the point. I think they have water issues, something else is at play. Use beneficial bacterial to avoid ammonia spikes.

[@gfamily1943]

With soft water I've never used active substraight without capping with a fine sand to keep the nutrients contained. This video just confirmed that for me. Thanks Irene, sorry you had to go through all that but it'll help others out there to see this ❤

[@somdov]

That's funny I was just watching one of your videos, went to my homepage and saw this posted 9 seconds ago. This is also actually the exact topic I needed to watch right now.

[@seansmith5904]

Thank you Irene. I am just about to setup a my second cherry shrimp tank and you've convinced me to stick with an inert substrate. I hope you've recuperated fully from your medical issues, I love your videos, and I will be looking forward to the next one. Have a happy Easter.

[@mattkinsella9856]

Totally agree about that tree root scape, that looked amazing! I would love to have something like that in my living room.

[@caewalker9276]

I've never had nothing but trouble with aqua soil. I didn't notice any better growth than just using gravel. Thanks Irene. Happy Easter 🐇

[@GirlTalksFish]

Thanks for your input. Happy Easter to you too!

[@aigomorla]

You need to CO2 inject with Aquasoil otherwise you will have an algae bloom on prehistoric levels. But if you inject CO2 and have good stem plants, aquasoil wins for almost any plants, and it also keeps your water slightly acidic and soft.

[@Batmancontingencyplans]

The first step of keeping the red cherry shrimp solution is learning to learn the tank

[@harleytyler9840]

Great video thank you for sharing - I appreciate you posting the goods and the bads of your adventure. Its a good video style. Keep up the good work!

[@rorschachgotnicemask9449]

1 tip for dealing with ph drop caused by aqua soil: adding slow-releasing ph buffer. I added tons of crushed eggshells in, almost like eggshell sand. Since they are slow-releasing when the ph is neutral, they won't release into the water. But when there is a ph drop, they will release faster and balance the ph.

[@chasitydomenici109]

So glad to see your videos popping back up in my feed!

[@SequoiaElisabeth]

Thanks for sharing Irene. Aquasoil does up the maintenance some, though generally speaking it is advantagous. I have Blue Dream Shrimp in my aquascape and they are doing well, though I do have an occasional death. The pH is 6.5ish and I do have to dose minerals from time to time to keep them healthy. The substrate is just a tool to use to attain a result. It is good you found what works best for you.

[@ilikemochi2268]

Hi Irene, I have Seachem Fluorite black black sand, which doesn't change the water parameters but is a very good substrate for plants without root tabs. You should try it!

[@ilikemochi2268]

But also do your research before to see if it's good for you!

[@michaelfox6820]

I have also used Seachem Fluorite black. It lowered the pH a bit (to 6.8). It didn't stop algae. Cutting my aquarium light time to 7 hours helped a bit. My algae problem is mainly on the plants, not the glass. It is spot algae, not blackbeard.

[@michaelfox6820]

Sorry, my soil is Fluval Stratum, not Seachem Fluorite.

[@angiebear8727]

@@michaelfox6820 I love fluval stratum but it does lower the ph a bit which works for me because I have really hard water. Did add crushed coral to bring balance it with my snail tank. Works great.

[@amazonbrown]

Seems like a lot of work, for what? The original ecosystem looked beautiful as it encompassed form and function beautifully.

[@paul_kim_k1135]

love you videos irean they bring me joy to watch everyday and I have really become a better fish keeper because of them

[@lakeshiamills1454]

One thing I've learned using aqua soil is that sometimes it takes months not weeks before you can add more sensitive animals like shrimp. I have much better luck with caridina shrimp and active substrates then I do with neocaridina on active substrates. My favorite active substrate is UNS Controsoil and Brightwell active soils. Neither of those two leach ammonia in the way that other active soils like ADA Amazonia. I've been curious about the Landen soil since it is priced way lower then other aquasoils so I appreciate the video! I know aquasoils aren't for everyone and thats perfectly fine 😊 but I'll definitely be checking out the Landen soil now! Your review of the product provided the info I needed to make a choice on whether I should try it or not and it seems perfect for my needs!

[@Evil_Genius_888]

I’ve been using Fluval Stratum. It doesn’t take as much maintenance, or buffer, as the other aquasoils. I also don’t go longer than 2 weeks without a water change. I have hard tap water, but there is no way I want to get so far into the weeds as to do rodi water. I have hundreds and hundreds of cherry shrimp now.

[@FishingMaster_99]

normal stratum does buffer water, even says so on the bag... the new bio-stratum is inert and does not... if you have enough kh in the water with weekly/bi-weekly wc's you wont notice a dip in ph/kh, after a while the soil will not be able to absorb kh and stop buffering

[@jonathanpilmore7140]

@@FishingMaster_99 would you say normal aqua soil like fluval stratum wont affect PH as long as you have enough KH in your tap water? I have 7 KDH in my tap water so I should be fine right with aqua soil?

[@FishingMaster_99]

@@jonathanpilmore7140 it should be fine, just keep an eye on the pH/kh levels and make sure they dont drop too much.

[@catpax6075]

I’ve been to Aquarocks!!! It’s a great place 🙂 loved to see it featured.

[@marcramey9529]

Hello from Colorado! Thanks for showing this store, I will have to drive up and check it out.

[@locoNsane]

Same exact thing happened to my red cherry shrimps not long after adding them to my new aquasoil set-up, which went through a dark start method for nearly two months. Prior to that, I had a dirted tank set-up and never had issues with it other than it can get messy when you're moving the plants, hence the switch to aquasoil. Had more than 30 individuals in the tank, which were all gone in less than a month. Another month had passed and I added another 3 shrimps which were lucky enough to have not been included in the earlier batch, and now these 3 are thriving. I should have waited for at least a few more weeks before adding the shrimps. Never did water test ever, just a good old fish-keeper's intuition. If you want to have a planted tank, then aqua soils are the way to go, although you really have to have the patience during the crucial first few months.

[@lizettebusquets4305]

I use fluval stratum with a gravel cap. I also have relatively hard water, so I dilute 50/50 with ro water, and that seems to work fine. I do a weekly 20% water change. I have blue and red neocaridina shrimp, and they reproduce like crazy. Glad that you've found what works for you!

[@onlywei]

Fluval stratum is not a true aquasoil. It doesn’t have anywhere near the same level of nutrients as real aquasoils.

[@Raitis.F]

Great timing. I'm in process of planning an upgrade and substrate is one of bullet points... I was considering rich substrate but: changing water parameters and 1-2 years of lifespan crossed that of the list... The rest of your experience just adds the extra lines on it.... Thank you!

[@_invertico_]

I have great experience with some aqua soil types like ada Amazonia ver.1,ada Amazonia africana and Akadama(bonsai soil) I use aqua soil for shrimp.I personally like Akadama a lot because it has less nutrients but lowers the pH and softens the water for a long time! Akadama soil also is great for low tech walstad tanks too!

[@zintoki8211]

Akadama isn't fired and will dissolve after year or two. Better option is terramol.

[@ItsLaurenE]

I'm glad your doing better post medical issues. This was a really neat video. Love the footage of the warehouse. I keep saving videos for "easy beginner plants" as people just push them on people in FB groups as if it's as mandatory as putting water in the tank. I'm 100% happy with my pothos and spider plants & my semi clown puke set ups. I've gotten into driftwood and rocks, I personally am NOT ready or plant minded enough for the extra upkeep. If that makes me a bad fish mom so be it. I'll keep being inspired via these videos though. Love to you and your family hun!!

[@kenk8215]

Plants don't have to be difficult. Just buy some Jungle Val and I bet you'll have a little jungle in no time. It really doesn't require much.

[@diamdante]

Aquasoils are a great tool, but really aren't a one-size-fits-all strategy. Where they really shine is in setups with fish that already love very soft, acidic water; tetras, rasboras, some osphronemidae, etc. In this way you can completely cover the ground with plants, which will mature into a dense "rainforest" look, while keeping the water oxygenated for the fish, while the soil keeps the water at those low values. This creates a perfect environment for our friends, and I also keep amano shrimp in such tanks too, although they are somewhat more hardy than neocaridinas (despite actually being caridina shrimp)

[@TheLiddojunior]

I use UNS aquasoil. I think the trick is less water changes, I notice water changes really impact the shrimp's ability to molt correctly. For caridina shrimp, use akadama soil! I saw it on the shrimpo expert video visit by Cory and he hasn't changed the soil in 7 years!

[@growinginportland]

Thanks for sharing. I still plan on using this active substrate aquarium soil in my new aquariums, but I don’t plan on adding fish it’s purely for plants, so thanks for your experiment very, very informat.

[@pecosR0B]

At this point I'm just using pool filter sand with root tabs from Aquarium Coop, they are super effective. I bought some Rotala Indica a couple weeks ago and after planting them in my tank with the root tabs you can see the explosion of growth at the ends and the leaves are so much more dense/thicker and it looks amazing! I wish YT would let you post a photo in with comments because it really is impressive. Inert plus root tabs is the way to go. Also I hate fluval stratum or any substrate that has a similar shape/style - plants don't like to stay planted in that substrate compared to sand. Gravel is harder to grow plants in (for me) vs sand - sand just seems like the superior substrate, and the fact you can get pool filter sand if you're not picky about the color for less than $20 for a 50 pound bag is pretty good (it used to be $9-10/50 lb bag but it's gone up since)

[@dawnt6791]

I use sand over a dirted bottom. I agree completely about the difference between planting in sand versus gravel. I recently planted a friend's gravel base aquarium. It was a pain in the patootie! My sand base tanks are WAY easier to plant. Even with things like plecos pushing through things, the plants stay put. His pleco kept popping plants out of the gravel. I finally had to resort to putting the plants in net pots, well secured, then bury the net pots in the gravel. Made a royal mess of the water column until gunk settled, but hey, it worked! That pleco hasn't knocked any of the plants out again.

[@jasongoodwin8702]

I use an active substrate in one of my 20 gallon aquariums that host Neocaridina shrimp. I put crushed coral in a pouch, inside the HOB filter. This so far is keeping the GH/KH levels in the safe zone and allows me to be lazy. I do zero water changes. The aquarium is now 3 months old and has some algae. It's perfectly fine as I also have a few nerite snails and a clown pleco along with the shrimp to eat it. My shrimp are on generation 2 and thriving thus far.

[@russsherman]

I've always used aqua soil in my high tech tank, and found that I battled algae and chemistry until moving to RODI and remineralization as well. It's not that hard with a home filter and I've not ever had or heard of such significant and persistent livestock challenges. You've inspired me to try low tech for my next scape though! Also, glad to hear about this store and can't wait to check it out! I miss having aquascaping stores nearby since moving to CO.

[@cherylmockotr]

See you there!

[@denveronebroncos]

What do you use to remineralize ro water

[@russsherman]

@@denveronebroncos SaltyShrimp Shrimp Mineral up to target gh.

[@nickrector]

I think other people have mentioned the fluval shrimp aquasoil. I set up a tank with just that as the substrate and a very thick layer after watching the video about the fish store that can’t do water changes and his advice of a thick layer of substrate for bacteria. I have blue neo shrimp, tangerine tiger shrimp, guppies, amano shrimp, mystery snails, hillstream loaches, and a few other algae eaters. Everyone is doing well. The Guppies and shrimp are all breading well. The amano shrimp and snails are trying to bread as well. I did need to put in floating plants because all the algae eaters and plants couldn’t keep up with the algae and the floating plants instantly took care of it. Just putting in case you wanted to try again. My only maintenance has been removing some floating plants as they just keep spreading and to clean out the pre filter sponge when it gets too clogged and the hang on back can’t run.

[@zacharnold6350]

I went through a lot of the same stuff With my tank and my dad got into an accident and I left it alone for a good month or more and it seemed like everything got right. In that month and a 1/2 and I kind of learned that I was trying too hard. Now my tank is the way I wanted it

[@akoayisangogag]

Nice video. Very helpful. Did you use some of the old water?

[@georgeballentine1045]

Thank you great information

[@mofish3601]

Loved the video, can relate to some of your struggles but have found if I just use a small amount of aquasoil just under my crypts it works out for me. Funnily, after watching this video what I wanted to try the most was multis! They were so much fun to watch behind you!

[@dawnt6791]

I agree re: the multis! I keep seeing hers and wanting to set up a tank to try them. I'll have a couple of tanks free soon, so I'm thinking.... LOL

[@Sophia1991sd]

I love using aquasoil but after a lot of trial and errors I figured out when using aquasoil it's best to have a dark start method. it means putting soil and sand and hardscape and filter and water in tank but no plants and no fish and no lights for three to four weeks. it's the best way to have algae free planted tank and no need for everyday water changes in first weeks.

[@lurklingX]

aww the pea puff : ). that is a wild tank it's in, with the way the branches are forming that looped negative space.

[@realangiechrist]

Wonder-Shells work great to keep the buffer levels up. I used aquasoil in one 10 gal. tank, capped w/ fine gravel, and it was fine for while but then needed more nutrients, so added the root tabs, and had bad luck with them causing nitrate spikes, ended up losing fish both times, so now I only fertilize the water and add wondershell for minerals. I don't change water, just top up w/ RO water. In my other tanks I used an amended soil substrate topped with sand, and it seems to work the best. Still need to fert. and wondershell for plants. Shrimp do well, but in their tank I use tap water that's naturally hard.

[@JoeNocella]

I use Fluval Stratum in my 5.5 gallon rimless (same as yours) shrimp tank and I must say everything is growing beautifully - monte carlo w/co2 grows like crazy. I've had no Ph problems except maybe a little high without CO2. Without CO2, the PH is 8. I keep it at 7 with the right amount of CO2. Cherry shrimp are breeding like crazy too. I unload some of the shrimp into a 40 G breeder. This is my first shrimp tank and so far, so good!

[@user-df2ue1tw2r]

Hey I know this is an old comment, but did you cap your substrate with sand? I just set up my tank with just fluval stratum, but I get super cloudy water every time I do a water change and it messes with the plants

[@45kittyboo]

Thanks for the info

[@surestar74]

I had the same results as you when using an aqua soil!! It was such a bummer as it was my first shrimp tank. After a year I gave up and started using gravel and Equilibrium, 2 months later... tons of baby shrimps!

[@BobMossNanoTanks]

Neos shouldn't be kept on active substate

[@blkmarlin7416]

Sounds like adding the root tabs was the easier and less fussy option after all.... thanks for sharing.

[@ethanray-louisvilleaquasca3553]

You really shouldn’t cap aquasoils. This is because aquasoils have a higher CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) which is its ability to absorb nutrients from the water column. By capping an aquasoil you effectively eliminate its ability to absorb nutrients. Aquasoils have a CEC of about 45-50 meq, versus 0.1-1.3 meq for sand or gravel. 4:15

[@bloatus7611]

I'd suggest looking into Akadama or any other bonsai soil to give those Blue Bolts a go. Cost-effective, lasts longer than a year in most situations and proven to work. Especially if you're starting off with soft water already.

[@adamnagy4544]

I have dirted tanks, and my shrimps are thriving :3 Of course I cycled the tank before added any animal to the setup, but since then they just multiplying :D

[@tamrasirois401]

My 10 gallon tank has my shrimp. I do use distilled water to help me save time. I only change out a few gallons every two weeks, so it makes it so much easier and faster for me. I add shrimp nutrients as needed, but hardly ever.

[@catfrog1975]

I had some similar shrimp loss with active substrate! I knew some of the danger (parameter swings), and so used less than the recommended amount of aquasoil & waited months before adding my shrimp. I'm glad I did, because I still ran into trouble! They seemed fine at first, but after a few months, I started losing shrimp. Eventually, with the help of a more experienced shrimp-keeper, I realized it was the aqua soil tanking the kH of the tank. Even though I have hard water where I live, kH consistently tested at 0 in the tank. (After about half a year the soil finally lost enough of it's potency for the water to keep some of its calcium carbonate, and generations of shrimp have been thriving since!) I don't know if I'll use aquasoil in a shrimp tank again, but if I do, I'll be sure to revisit this video for useful tips on how to do so safely. :)

[@catfrog1975]

Just watched the end of the video- it didn't end how I expected! I am so glad you solved the problem, even if in a way that doesn't incorporate the aquasoil. Low-Maintenance! No shrimp deaths! Plus, I feel like the tank is looking more gorgeous than ever. Thanks for sharing the journey, much health to you and the tiny animals!

[@guadaguppy4798]

My Opinion on what happend ... Not enough root feeders or the gravel made it harder for the crypts to make its way into the aquasoil. I actually use garden soil and cap with gravel but i make sure the cap is not too thick. just enough so the garden soil does not cloud the water. Works well for me. I add tabs later on. directly under plants i want to target.

[@jeck418]

Hey, glad that you found your way of enjoying the hobby. Just a tips, For my shrimp tank, i just use a HOB filter and fill it up with coral stone. No need to add any kind of these shrimp salt/GH/KH additives. It works wonder! Btw: my 2 feet shrimp tank is also fully planted with at least 7kgs of aquasoil.

[@spiraleena9237]

Same I use oyster shells that take about 6 months to dissolve!

[@Omega59er]

I can't imagine actually having soft water. We drink liquid rock here in the midwest. I've never once had to raise GH/KH, and my water is 8.0 PH out the tap. All my problems are the exact opposite as you. Q-Q I love aquasoil, though. It allows me to be extremely lazy with my aquarium upkeep, and even buffers down my 8.0 PH water, though I think all of my fluval stratum is inert at this point as I've had it for 2 years. Never had to use root tabs, though. The never ending plant growth and population of shrimp in my 20 gallon is thanks to how good aquasoil is when you have harder water. I do 0 water changes, just top off with tap water, and my tank is constantly booming. My "maintenance" is snipping some cuttings every few weeks to a month and cleaning my HOB canister filter every 3-6 months depending on flow.

[@tetraguytx1705]

My approach to aquasoil is to do with it what you did with the root tabs: cap it. By covering the aquasoil with gravel or sand, you can get the benefits of using it while avoiding the headaches, or at least that's been my experience.

[@bijan426]

Lol i just went to Aqua Rocks the other day its so cool to see it show up in this video🤣🤣 they sell all kinds of plants and fish too

[@BigShrimpin416]

A lot of aqua soil will leach ammonia for 6-8 weeks especially ADA Amazonia. Also, active substrate isn’t recommended in general for Neocaridina shrimp because it softens the water too much for them. Some people use it if they have really hard water but in general it’s not recommended for neos. Also, capping it with gravel is going to allow more nutrients into the water column where sand would be a tighter cap.

[@Colorado-Coyote]

Omg I gotta check that auqua scape place out. I knew It looked familiar

[@davidhess3320]

I just recently rescaped my tank. Like everyone else around here I'm using the fluvial stratum. I heard people having ammonia spikes with fluval, I'd assume it was because they added it dry? I of course followed the bag which recommended lightly rinsing, to my surprise I had no ammonia spikes. Since switching over I noticed my crypts exploded! I do like the fact they absorb fertilizers and such. What I dose for those java ferns get absorbed and used for the root hungry plants. I also noticed that I had a consistent 8.0ph, since the switch my ph dropped to a consistent 6.8-7.2. some how, idk if my kit was bad but I did have a hard time finding my gh-kh degrees. Before switch I believe my GH was 7° and kh was 5° I think. Now I can't get a GH reading and my kh is at 2-3°

[@gppaula]

I love that store.

[@wendywang2594]

My experience is aquasoil is a must for caridina shrimp. I had my crystal red shrimp in inert soil for almost year. They all gradually died one by one. Since I moved my caridina shrimps to a bigger tank using Fluval stratum, the death rate is a lot lower. I had 2 shrimps when I moved them and now I have 6 after 4 months.

[@jayeshc4092]

Awesome Come Back from that disaster start..i am not so much of a shrimp person but my sister is she has two tanks the first one is akadama soil and other one is ADA soil but one thing she always does is Starting the a new tank with Dark Star Method.. She has very good success with soft by this method.

[@neutronshiva2498]

Pro tip. Dump the aquasoil into some barrel or bucket for a month with water. After that any excess should be out and soil should be safe.

[@gouldschick101]

it would probably be more cost effective to use seachem equilibrium (I use biosoil and black sand). You don't need to change your substrate after a year, you just have to start adding root tabs, which the biosoil will also absorb some of for slower release. you won't need to necessarily add root tabs as often therefore so even after a yr, it still carries more benefits than not using it. The only thing I did find after it aged out was I had a bloom of hardspot and hair algea. Adjusting nutrients given (less phosphate) and reducing lighting by a cpl hrs saw that through.

[@noelbrucker135]

I have been dreaming of visiting Aqua Rocks CO since I found out about it, but I’m worried I’d go broke very,very quickly 😂🤣🐟🌿

[@cherylmockotr]

I've not heard of it before, but I'm looking to set up a new tank and am now dead set on going out there soon... wonder if I'll have enough gas money to get back home???

[@GirlTalksFish]

Haha it's definitely worth a visit! They also have a few tanks for selling plants and fish, but not a ton.

[@cherylmockotr]

@@GirlTalksFish my new tank will be for some livebearer fish I got from Greg Sage. He's up in your neck of the woods... not that I know where you are but my impression is up north? Have you seen his fish room (i.e. entire basement)? He's got endangered fish he's trying to expand the population for, you might enjoy doing a video about it.

[@karltonepps834]

We used an inch organic soil and we capped it off with three inches of sand mixed with fine pea gravel. The water paramenters were off until we put the plants in after two days and within four days of testing the water paramenters are normal. Before the plants the Ammonia 0.25 ppm Nitrite 1.0 Nitrate .80ppm pH 7.6 temp 68.5 After we put the plants in (40 gallon breeder) we tested the water parameters and the results came out normal and in two days we added six glowlight tetras and two panda corys. The ammonia 0ppm nitite 0ppm nitrate Oppm pH 7.6. I have an afterschool program with my middle students and we are studying different habitates of tropical freshwarer fish.

[@simonbuys]

How would you feed a singel pea puffer? I have been thinking about getting a 5 gallon tank with a single pea puffer. But bloodworm cubes are too big for a single puffer i think, and i don't have an other aquarium to keep a snails.

[@northwestlife2794]

Do you have any thoughts on fluval stratum when it says on the back golf the bag not to use other gravel on the top of the stratum? Your thoughts

[@SameerShaikh-lw9xh]

Hi there How did u solve the foaming bubble problem becoz i also bought aqua soil and m facing same issue unfortunately i added fishes in that aquarium , pls advise?

[@henryp3114]

I have always used fluval stratum active soil and never experienced any problems i guess my tap water in Australia is really good.

[@donttalktome4696]

I use eco complete with a mulm injection from another tank combined with crushed seachem flourish tabs. The crushed lava rock in eco complete takes in nutrients, mulm ect from the environment and eventually becomes it's own "active" substrate. I do not get algae and after 6-8 months the tank goes on "auto-pilot" and I never really come across any deficiency. At first phosphates can be lacking.

[@titonitrogen2269]

I would say you NEED to use RO/DI water with active substrates for Caridina's, but I have seen some German master breeders who never swapped their tanks out. Also look into the Asian Undergravel Filter set up, it allows you to easily swap out active substrate. I'm being awful and still buying distilled water from the store and remineralizing, but it's really not bad for a heavily planted nano tank. I've had decent luck with Fluval Stratum, I tried ADA Amazonia and the ammonia leeching is insane.

[@pajamafish8410]

UGH! I'm sorry you've had this experience. I've had zero issues and I use aqua soil in all three of my twenty gallon tanks. I do follow the water change method initially recommended by George Farmer, but only every other day.

[@alanaballoon5661]

lol i love how sunstreaker always gets to visit new tanks

[@bloatus7611]

I've honestly never tried out aquasoil but 90% of my tanks are and have been dirted. Perhaps that can be your next project! Neocaridina shrimp death is unfortunately to be expected before the tank fully stabilizes; which is never quick enough, honestly. It's hard to avoid and always a bit disheartening. A Walstad aquarium is a similar process and could be fun. I've never had to cap that thick, however, because I prefer sand.

[@c4onmylip]

Dirt is better imo.

[@bloatus7611]

@@c4onmylip Only issue for me comes with breakdowns. Would be simpler if I used gravel but alas..

[@c4onmylip]

@Bloatus yeah, tearing down a tank is always a pain but it's an even bigger mess with dirt.

[@spiraleena9237]

I use about an inch, give or take .5”, of regular organic potting soil, in most tanks. I’ve never had that problem? But like a lot of other people said, I always cap with sand (even just .25”), you really have to do this, and always add crushed coral or oyster shells. ( very cheap, takes forever to dissolve), plus sone wonder shells here and there. Never a random death, and the plants go crazy! I never have to add root tabs, or do extra water changes. The nutrients are used up from the soil after 1-2 years, but by then the mulm has sifted down and started refilling the nutrients up! It’s a great way to organize an ecosystem with the least amount of work. There are so many good videos and resources online to find, of people with a lot of experience of doing this:) ( bonus is if you get it just right, after a while you don’t need to gravel vac or even do water changes !)

[@morwenna]

My tanks stay algae free because I keep them covered with floating plants, they're all medium-heavily planted, and the lights are on a timer for 2-3 hours on and off throughout the day, plus I have shrimp and snails that will eat any that might pop up here and there. :)

[@lam4517]

I like UNS Contrasoil as it leeches very little ammonia into tank. I cap with sand though.

[@muhammadhassankhan4210]

I have this same API test kit, please can someone tell me how to get GH and KH values from these kits

[@WhatIsMisophonia]

On the topic of RO water, I use it roughly half and half with my hard water, and it helps to keep the ph around the same as yours; i.e. slighly above neutral. I have an open topped riparium which looses a lot of water, so it has a sump with a mini float valve attached to an RO system that's plumbed into the water lines. There's a splice in the line with another tube running to another float valve at the top of one of those cheap plastic 5 gal beverage containers with a built in tap if I need a bunch of RO water at once. RO systems don't have to be expensive for just the basic stuff without the reinforced containers that can cost hundreds of bucks; Believe me, I always go cheap. As far as basic minerals go, calcium chloride isn't super expensive and goes a long way, use Epsom salt for magnesium, some baking soda for bicharbonate, and potassium chloride is also cheap and also goes a long way. I got my potassium at a whole foods place for super cheap to replace expensive potassium fertilizer in general. All that said, you can just add oyster grit if the water doesn't immediately need to be hard.

[@BrljoMrljo]

If I notice problems in my tank ( I got live soil type of substrate) I usualy have aquaclear and some type of live bacteria like from Easy life. That is my go to for new tanks and it works like a charm. Also as I have huge box filter. I never ever clean that in time of rescaping tank. Usualy I got no to very little issue if at all. Also, worth notice that i got stock in tank almost next day after rescaping, with regular dosing of bacteria (easy life or something alike that).

[@Lunch_Box_74_]

beutiful shrimp, and snail.

[@HyldenLord]

I had issues with shrimp death when I switched to RO water. I had a gravel setup with tap water that was fine for shrimps and they multiplied rapidly. One day I've gone to switch to RO water, bought remineralizer and started gradually changing the tap to RO. After a while I've noticed that there are barely any shrimps. I was to set a new setup in bigger tank with aquasoil soon and when I took old one apart I counted only 18 shrimps. In the new setup I used only RO water and after few days from introducing shrimps into the aquarium I noticed a dead shrimp. I changed the remineralizer to a different one and it stopped. Now I have tank full of shrimps again. As for your case it might've been that this cheap soil was not ment for shrimps at all. It might have had high amounts of copper or other heavy elements that shrimps are sensitive to. I keep GH at 6, KH at 2 and shrimps are thriving.

[@karinchristensen220]

I have hard water so maybe that makes a difference but I had a completely opposite experience. This is my first tank in about 30 years. I used an undergravel filter because that is what I used 30 years ago, with the Landon aqua soil then a thick layer of some tiny rocks that I collected from desert ant hills from around my property. Most of these tiny rocks are lava rocks. I let it run for a month with just plants growing out the top rooted in the water. I inoculated it with some slime from the bottom of my tiger salamander's water dish. After a month I planted it with aquarium plants then after about another month I added White Cloud minnows, yellow rice shrimp and a couple of Japanese trapdoor snails. I never changed the water and kept checking the parameters. It always has a bit of nitrates but good otherwise. It has been two months now after stocking and the shrimp are doing great, I have baby shrimp everywhere. The snails are reproducing. Some bladder snails appeared as well as one tiny ram's horn snail. The plants are growing slowly but look good, they have grown roots into the aqua soil. There is some algae but the shrimp like it. In all that time I have never changed the water I just add to it. It looks like the bottom of a pond which is what I was going for.

[@metalhead9849]

On March 31st. I upgraded tank size from a 10 to a 15...Decided after using nothing but sand and having plant after plant die, ( for the last year) I went with Fluval Stratum this time. Using media from my previously cycled tank and heavily replanted, I found no issues except every night the PH would plummet to acid. I then decided that the leaching was the problem and topped it with my old sand. That was 3 days ago now and PH is stable as well as all other parameters. This product does claim to make water slightly acid but that was extreme . We'll see what happens now.

[@GodFirstGreatGod]

Aqua rocks Colorado! Great store

[@JyajAquaticPlants]

If you cap with sand like a 2inch you wont release the active soil much into the water column

[@sarvajithsantosh1388]

This video is literally perfect I was considered making a tank using aquasoil

[@abhinavsrivastava8615]

I use garden soil with sand on top and my plants and fish are very happy always. That's how fish live in ponds. I also use diy co2 injection in my tank.

[@ItzMohammed_Aymaan]

Hey, i have a well developed ecosystem in my 12 litre/5 gallon betta tank. But now for a week or two my house reconstruction will be there and i will have to go to my grandmother's house so can i take that betta in 1 gallon plastic tank for a week? And will water quality affect its health? Because i have different water quality in my home and different at there.

[@brianna9734]

Too funny! I use a which wich cup for my tank cleanings too. 😂

[@jfdd43]

The easiest way to keep your water hardness up is to add crushed coral to your filter

[@sebastianflores848]

I think the problem was that the soil wasn’t capped by sand. Gravel will allow for excess nutrients to leach into the water. Personally I’m wanting to try a dirted tank capped with sand like the father fish method.

[@WinkingWhiskers]

same here, i got an active aqua soil for my new blue bolt caridina which i was planning to house them and neo caridina (playing the game of balancing the parameters so both would be ok) I lost half of my neocaridina colony by now (KH and GH super low = ring of death) my solution was to add sand on top, it decreased the release of chemicals into the water and added more conditioned tap water which has a high gh and kh the deaths decreased, but it's still a nightmare to balance

[@WinkingWhiskers]

The amount of sand i added was roughly 2cm depth , but now my Fe went from super high to super low, im soo done with this, next time gravel + sand on top and call it a day

[@asharkhan8175]

I have a question, will gourami give a response to its owner. In other words, my betta gracefully came to the surface when he saw me. He also used to jump and catch the food from my hand. So, I want to know if a gourami can do it also.

[@ansleybleu]

Wow. I had not heard about a kh issue with active substrate. I have it a and did have a big problem with low kh. I thought it was likely from too many shrimp and snails using it all up. Probably both!

[@DavidDavis311]

I try to think of my water column in terms of percentage. Remove 50 percent of the water you remove 50 percent of the nitrates. I think the same could be said for additives such as iodine or additives intended to change water parameters.

[@TheVoyagers.]

You guys have uns tanks there in the us right? Should think about getting one imo

[@100bgeagle]

I like coarse sand, everything grows fine, no parameters headaches just some grow pellets , easy peasy!!

[@fisherchi]

What I've discovered raising shrimp is that they are very sensitive to chlorine/chloramine in the water and drastic water temp changes, especially if adding significantly colder water. I use a dechlorinator, Seachem Prime, and it's ok to overdose, but do not under dose. Make sure the new water temp is the same or a little warmer than the current water temp. My guess is that the aqua soil may not be the cause of the shrimp die off you had. Like you, I like low maintenance tanks. In fact, I only have a good light for my planted tank and an air stone to help move the water a bit and a heater. No filer or anything else and my shrimp and fish are doing fine. In fact, they are breeding like crazy. Good luck!

[@Spac3d_Out]

People I know had similar experiences with fluval stratum!

[@alanaballoon5661]

I don't think you should give up just yet! You should try fluval statrum (no cap), it stops buffering the water after a few water changes. I also find your shrimp deaths strange. What exactly were your water parameters like?

[@gunnerneikoify]

I've got 7 heavily planted tanks (one 5 gal, five 20 gallon and a 60 gallon) with either Fluval Stratum or the Lamden Aquasoil in them and have never EVER had any problem. Set them up, wait until they're fully cycled (anywhere from 30-40 days) and then add my shrimp, fish and snails. No RODI water either, just city tap water, 8.2 Ph, dosed with Prime or Safe. Tanks been up and running for years and never add anything extra to the water besides fertilizer and occasionally tabs for my heavy root feeders. Winners never quit and quiters never win IMO. I'd 100% give it a try again, but in a bigger tank maybe. I've also got several planted tanks with regular ole sand or gravel substrate, and they don't do anywhere near as good as the other tanks with active substrate.

[@robertallen9199]

Did you have any issues with your cycle crashing when you changed out your substrate either time? I would like to swap out my substrate, but my tank is relatively new and I have concerns it will crash my cycle.

[@lukeformosa9261]

Try seachem flourite.. it's a clay with no added chemicals. It will absorb naturally occurring nutrients in the aquarium.

[@magicalbooknerd]

I’ve been using Fluval Stratum- no issues and plants are flourishing!