# ADA Amazonia Aqua soil



## kyle1992 (May 15, 2014)

Does anyone have experience with ADA Aqua soil?? More specifically the Amazonia varient. I just got two 9liter bags for a 29 gallon and was wondering if I should wash it off first or just put it into the tank.


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## mayanjungledog (Mar 26, 2009)

Do not wash it. Put it in your tank, place a plate over the soil, and fill it over the plate to avoid the soil and sediment getting everywhere.


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

Some people prefer to rinse it out, some don't. If you don't, it is a bit dirty. I've done it both ways and just found the rinsing to be extra unnecessary work.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Do not rinse it.
Moisten it with a spray bottle before flooding which is normally done anyway during planting
Add water very slowly and use something like mayan states to make sure the soil is not getting a direct flow until its at least 6" inches deep then you can fill faster
There will be fines that float on the surface and coat the glass, just wipe the glass down and siphon the surface, top the water off again
If you managed to cloud the water just siphon out as much water as you can and refill.
I find its less work to get a nice clear fill before adding the filter.

Hope that helps.


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## Ziggy (Sep 2, 2011)

I was going to start another thread but I'll just ask here:

How light/heavy is Amazonia?

I'm looking to replace the horible Fluval Stratum that came with my Flora kit and one of the things I HATE about it is that it is so light, I cannot vacuum properly. Even with reduce flow on my siphon, it gets taken up, fills the siphon tube, and I have to stop the flow...which lets it and the dirt I'm trying to get out escape.

Is Amazonia like that, or is it heavier?


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## 691175002 (Apr 28, 2009)

Vacuuming the substrate is generally not recommended for planted tanks. You will disturb the roots, and mulm can contribute to fertilizing the plants.

Aquasoil is lighter than gravel, but will probably vacuum okay if you tried. The particles will break apart if you play with them too much though, so eventually you will end up converting all your aquasoil to dust.


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## 0xDEADBEEF (Aug 22, 2014)

I just replaced substrate in my tank with ADA Amazonia last weekend. I rinsed it first but the water was brown no matter how much I rinsed it. It just dissolves so there s no way to rinse it without it disappearing ;-)

First time I filled the tank, the water was very muddy. I replaced the water and it became clearer. 3 days later it was already a soup (but probably carrots and cucmbers I leave for otos contributed a bit). I replaced 80% of water and it is slightly cloudy now. I think I will be replacing water again soon.

So be careful. Fill the water using a plate or something (I have big flat rock in the center of the tank). Do not crush the granules, they dissolve in water like mud when crushed.


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## Ziggy (Sep 2, 2011)

691175002 said:


> Vacuuming the substrate is generally not recommended for planted tanks. You will disturb the roots, and mulm can contribute to fertilizing the plants.


True that, but I'm fighting a nasty bit of hair algae mixed with a bit of BGA on the surface of the substrate.... <sigh>


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## kidgrave (Feb 4, 2014)

I'm glad somebody posted a thread about this substrate because I plan on trying it out. I read that ADA Aquasoil reduces the ph of the water. Since the Aquasoil reduces the PH in your aquarium, how do you deal with water changes when your tap water has a higher ph?
How are you supposed to figure out by how much this soil reduces your ph and gh?


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## Ziggy (Sep 2, 2011)

So....ADA Amazonia.....really IS dirt in a sense?


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## cephelix (Apr 8, 2013)

yes, it really is dirt, in a since. I think Tom Barr has mentioned somewhere in this forum what it is exactly but I cannot seem to recall what or which thread.

As the others have mentioned you don't need to rinse out the soil before use, just make sure filling of the tank is done carefully to prevent excessive cloudiness. Also, keep in mind that new ADA Amazonia leeches a ton of ammonia so do keep up with water changes to avoid stressing out your fauna. But it is good for DSM though.


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