# Do I need to use anything in addition to ADA AquaSoil?



## joeyhusky (Oct 18, 2017)

Hi all,
Total noob here. I am setting up my first planted 20 long tank (and first tank in ever, for that matter) and am super excited. I was at my LFS yesterday and was talking quite a lot with an employee who had lots of experience with planted tanks. I ended up buying some flourite red and black (was goign to use a 2:1 mix of flourite red:black), but after doing more research, I decided to use ADA Aquasoil instead as it will require less top line adding of nutrients and supports more types of plants (oh well, now I have a bunch of flourite which I can use on a future tank, I guess )

So I plan to use ADA Aquasoil. My question is, do I need to add anything else to my substrate? I read somewhere isn't to be used on its own, and that you should add a layer of sand to the top. I also read that it's good to add a light dusting of peat/Leonardite to the bottom of the tank before adding the substrate.

Thanks in advance!


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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

Definitely not sand on top of ADA Aquasoil as it may lead to problems. You can use Aquasoil alone. No need to complicate things to begin with. Aquasoil is known to release high levels of ammonia in the beginning ( a toxic thing even in low dosages). So no fish added and you will need to do frequent water changes the first 2 weeks ( every other day works). Afterwards it is a great growing medium.

Keep in mind most plants do better when fertilizers are added to the water column. Google estimative index on Tom Barr's site.


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## Tnalp (Mar 25, 2017)

Here’s a brief over view of how i setup my ultum nature system 5n. The only reason I used Super sand special, which is a breeding ground for beneficial bacteria, is because I had some left over. Not necessary. Yet it does allow you to elevate hardscape. Although that can be accomplished in many other fashions. Now I do have a 20cm cube using only Amazonia and I cannot tell the difference. If you have extra money to spend on he Super sand and the additives. Go for it. If not, then you’ll be just fine. Make sure you keep up on water changes during the cycling period 


































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## joeyhusky (Oct 18, 2017)

Thanks for the responses Tnalp and dukydaf. :smile2:

I plan to cycle the aqua soil as described here, and don't plan on adding any fish for at least 2-3 weeks. I'm hoping 2 bags of the 9 liter AquaSoil bags will be enough.

That is a beautiful tank, Tnalp! So far, all of my research has been on low tech planted tanks. What kind of CO2 setup do you have for that?


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## Tnalp (Mar 25, 2017)

joeyhusky said:


> Thanks for the responses Tnalp and dukydaf. :smile2:
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> ...




If you don’t yet, but the api master test kit for fresh water. Use the ammonia test to test your ammonia. Once it’s at zero you’ll fully cycled. I run a custom 2 stage co2 regulator off my 5lb bottle. 


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