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JBL Manado

I've used it, would i recommend it? Nope

It doesnt contain any nutrients, if u dose micros and macros it will hold it. Not ideal for shrimps as it contains certain properties, cant remember what, thats leads to shrimp deaths. It also very light, will move around quite a fair bit if u have a strong flow in ur tank:
 
Idled it's the colour your after just go for tesco cat litter. Look in the substrate section there's a big thread on it. Manado is not worth the money and for ten litres of kitty litter at £2.80 it's a huge cut in what you'd be paying.


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I've got some, it looks like fired clay so should be inert. It's looks a little like Tesco's cat litter only smaller grain size and darker.
 
This is the only plant substrate i can get at my lfs.. he also has JBL aquabasis... so what would you guys recommend me,, JBL manado+jbl aquabasis OR fine gravel+jbl aquabasis
 
Gravel would probably cost you more than the cat litter would. Jbl aqua basis is great as a base layer, worked well for my heavy root feeders. It's down to personal choice though. Why pay all that money for manado which is really light too, when you can get cat litter at tesco for less than 3 quid for ten litres.


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JBL Manado is made from red scoria. It is volcanic material, with a very porous structure, that does not disolve in water. Therefore it will not alter the tank chemistry in any way. Also it does not create mud clouding in the aquariums. It is completely innert which makes it good for planted tanks as a top layer, a cup on the Aqua Basis fertilised substrate or any other similar.
 
Get the aquabasis for sure, use a layer of fine gravel or sand over it.
 
I used manado mixed with sand in my low tech tank for over two years. No issues, a little bit light when starting the tank but after a while when it releases the trapped air works like a charm.

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same as @clonitza except used it on its own (bought it on a whim to try, before discovering this forum)- took a month or two to settle down and has since been fine
 
Is it better to use on this own or i should put a layer of aquabasis underneath it as recommended by jbl..??
 
I have aquabasis+ and manado. As I've only 1 planted tank and it is my first I cannot comment whether any other is good or not but I have had no problems. It is quite light if I clean the tank n go near the manado it does move but all u have to do is slow down :?: do need to wash quite abit, but I used a fine strainer and run a shower head over which only took me 5mins to clean and water was clear! To be honest if I knew about the cat litter before I bought manado I would of saved a lot more £

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logi-cat said:
I've used it, would i recommend it? Nope

It doesnt contain any nutrients, if u dose micros and macros it will hold it. Not ideal for shrimps as it contains certain properties, cant remember what, thats leads to shrimp deaths. It also very light, will move around quite a fair bit if u have a strong flow in ur tank:
Click to expand...

hmm I just read that. 1 of my shrimps died a few days ago but rest are ok, couldn't figure out why?! I have manado, is it proven that this is not good for shrimps at all? because if that's the case I need to change substrate!!
 
Hi I glad I've found this post, I've been considering getting aquabasis+ and manado for the tank that I'll be setting up in the next few months. Think I'll still use the aquabasis+ but will rethink the manado.

Can I ask, the tescos cat litter, is that the clay based cat litter?
 
That's a great looking setup Clonitza - hope I can achieve something like it when I get my low tech tank setup :thumbup:
 
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