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  1. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    compost

    be very careful with terrestrial composts, more often than not they contain NH4 as part of their fertiliser mix. Same with terrestrial liquid fert mixes. Aquatic plants dont require anything like the levels of ferts that terrestrial ones do, so most terrestrial growing mediums are way to rich...
  2. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    ....................

    Re: Can I use John Innes no.3 in aquariums? sorry to contradict, but I would say definitely do not use it.. 1. it will have high amounts of NH4 in it.. 2. it will be FAR too nutrient rich.. aquatic plants need far far less feed than terrestrial ones.
  3. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    AquaSoil Leeching

    not to mention the fact that the sand will prevent water flowing into the AS as well, which is one of its main benefits! surely this is a bad idea?
  4. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    calculating amount of needed substrate

    knock yourself out :lol:
  5. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    AS Amazonia vs Eco-complete?

    http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2224 :)
  6. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    How many bags of ADA?

    I seriously think them saying you NEED powersand is purely a sales gimic.. dont be dragged in, its not needed. its purely up to you.
  7. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    How many bags of ADA?

    never bothered with it.. totally optional IMO
  8. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    How many bags of ADA?

    as Aaron just said :) Ive created a thread for this as its something that gets asked many times over. http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2224
  9. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    calculating amount of needed substrate

    ok, lots of people keep asking this so I thought Id put it in its own thread!! here is how to work out how many litres of substrate you need for a given tank size. And also how to calculate your tank volume in total if you need to. the formula is: (length x width x depth) / 1000 = litres...
  10. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Sand vs Gravel

    things like Aquasoil or Ecocomplete arent inert substrates like sand or gravel.. they contain nutrients which last for xxx amount of time. They can also effect the water such as softening and adjusting PH. Because of their more dynamic properties you can use them to accomplish various tasks in...
  11. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    How much ADA?

    length x width x depth (of substrate) = cm2 / 1000 = litres :) so 240cm x 60cm x 5cm = 72,000cm2 / 1000 = 72 litres / 9 = 8 bags :) and yes its definitely worth it.
  12. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    aquasoil

    its pretty amazing stuff.. its alot lighter than I anticipated as it stays in granular form, planting in it is a whole new experience.
  13. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    aquasoil

    :) quite a few. Length x width x depth = volume cm2 / 1000 = litres :D Im reconning on 3 bags for my 100x50 at 5cm deep. Ordered and on its way (hopefully!) Realised its not hair algae I have but Spirogyra.. not so hard to shift if I get reinfected. Due to lack of maintenance I think...
  14. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    aquasoil

    yeah it is :) its been a while. I tried RO for a while, but things didnt do so well in it, plus it was a royal pain in the butt getting enough of it even for a 140ltre, let alone a 235!
  15. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    aquasoil

    I got II as its supposed to be better with my heavily alkaline water. Im quite excited. not been excited by my tank in a while, its quite nice.
  16. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    aquasoil

    lol will see what I can do. Its not often we get a journal on complete resurrection of a total mess is it. Something probably more common than any other scenario
  17. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    aquasoil

    I just ordered £80 of aquasoil.. hope its worth it!!! rebuilding and thought Id finally do the job properly.. everthings struggling horribly in all my old style inert substrate, so time to give it all some meat and 2 veg.
  18. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Using substrate for depth

    one thing you can do, is use pieces of plastic, such as what youd cut out of an icecream tub, to seperate the different teirs. this will hold each level up without risk of it falling down to the next level :) tip: if you leave it L-shaped, the weight of the substrate will stop it floating to...
  19. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Can i use soil as my nutrient substrate if so how do i do it

    IMO its very bad.. the tiniest amounts of NH4, even lower than you can even register on a test kit, can send your entire system into algae hell.. NH4 traces are probably the fastest algae triggers we have.. hence you need to be so careful even cleaning your filter media so as not to destroy any...
  20. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Can i use soil as my nutrient substrate if so how do i do it

    i would use specific aquatic compost for ponds, as it has all the ammonia removed.. most potting composts will have a broad spectrum fertiliser in it, which will include NH4. also, the added grit added to aquatic pond compost will help keep it down and enable water flow through it
  21. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Can i use soil as my nutrient substrate if so how do i do it

    if your going to use soil, make sure you steralise it well first (maybe in an oven to kill all the bugs and microscopic life), then soak it for at least 2 weeks.. soil can contain alot of NH4 that will send your tank spiralling into untold algae issues. personally, i prefer to use aquatic...
  22. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Potted plant sunstrate

    if you dont restrict the root system, the leaves will just appear massive, size of a dinner plate.. in my experience the only way to make the leaves smaller is to prune the roots and restrict their growth in the first place, this causes the plant to produce much more manageble leaves, which is...
  23. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Potted plant sunstrate

    I agree.. but the idea here was to slow the plant down, and make the leaves smaller to fit a smaller tank, this is best accomplished by restricting root growth and leaving it in a lean substrate.
  24. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Potted plant sunstrate

    I would use sand. The more you feed it the larger and more dinner plate like its leaves will grow. Its happy to get what it needs from the water column. :)
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