AndrewH
Member
- Joined
- 3 Jan 2013
- Messages
- 169
Hi all,
Im still in planning stages for converting my existing low tech 180L Juwel Vision tank (with lots of fish & shrimp in a community setup) to a high-tech aquascape.
Over the last week I have tried to read EVERYTHING I can find on substrate choice - the pros, the cons and the experience of all you guys.
(Many thanks to, among others, George Farmer for his superb article, and ceg4048 for some superb forum posts and helping to explain the science behind it all)
Can you please double check my choice, and reasoning and make sure I haven't made any blunders (either in terms of the science, but also in terms of marketing hype!)
OK, so Ive decided to scoop out all my existing pea gravel and replace it with:
RED SEA FLORA BASE
Here is my reasoning:
- will be going into an existing tank so dont want an Ammonia/Nitrite spike
- is a complete substrate so doesnt need mixing or combining with a base layer
- suitable for my loaches and cats with barbels
- good CEC properties
- low(er) cost
- i want a dark brown/red substrate ideally (black is ok too)
I would have loved to use ADA Amazonia Soil and cost wise I can afford this (just!) but from the sounds of it the ammonia spike would be terrible to control and my shrimp (and fish!) would suffer.
So does RedSea FLora Base truly tick all the boxes or is there something better for my setup?
I am planning to run:
180L bow-fronted tank
2 x 36w T5 lighting
a 2Kg Co2 FE, through a glass diffuser
Ei daily dosing
50% weekly water changes (thanks LondonDragon for making this so much easier with your excellent 'superSucker' thread!)
Thanks so much guys.
Really appreciate this forum and the excellent help its giving me
Andrew.
Im still in planning stages for converting my existing low tech 180L Juwel Vision tank (with lots of fish & shrimp in a community setup) to a high-tech aquascape.
Over the last week I have tried to read EVERYTHING I can find on substrate choice - the pros, the cons and the experience of all you guys.
(Many thanks to, among others, George Farmer for his superb article, and ceg4048 for some superb forum posts and helping to explain the science behind it all)
Can you please double check my choice, and reasoning and make sure I haven't made any blunders (either in terms of the science, but also in terms of marketing hype!)
OK, so Ive decided to scoop out all my existing pea gravel and replace it with:
RED SEA FLORA BASE
Here is my reasoning:
- will be going into an existing tank so dont want an Ammonia/Nitrite spike
- is a complete substrate so doesnt need mixing or combining with a base layer
- suitable for my loaches and cats with barbels
- good CEC properties
- low(er) cost
- i want a dark brown/red substrate ideally (black is ok too)
I would have loved to use ADA Amazonia Soil and cost wise I can afford this (just!) but from the sounds of it the ammonia spike would be terrible to control and my shrimp (and fish!) would suffer.
So does RedSea FLora Base truly tick all the boxes or is there something better for my setup?
I am planning to run:
180L bow-fronted tank
2 x 36w T5 lighting
a 2Kg Co2 FE, through a glass diffuser
Ei daily dosing
50% weekly water changes (thanks LondonDragon for making this so much easier with your excellent 'superSucker' thread!)
Thanks so much guys.
Really appreciate this forum and the excellent help its giving me
Andrew.