# ADA Amazonia questions



## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

Hi All,

I'm new so a big hello :smile2:

I'm changing my planted 20g tank that has guppies, shrimp and small BN plecos (they will be moved to a bigger tank) from Seachem flourish black topped with aragonite to ADA Amazonia soil (9L) and powder (3L) topped with play sand for my new peppered corys. For starters is there any issue with this setup?

Can I put the ADA soil in a tote to let it leech out all of the ammonia? Also, does the powder leech ammonia? 

The reason I'm asking is I don't have a spare tank so, I would have to house the current fish in a tote. I would have trouble doing a lot of wc due to a serious knee injury :icon_sad:

Any help would be very welcome :smile2:


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

Yes it does leech ammonia considerably. There are ways to speed up the process however you end up sucking nutrients out of the substrate in order to speed it up and cuts the life of the substrate by doing so which only means you will have to replace it sooner than later. Personally I would do the opposite of what you pointed out. Put the ADA in a tote and let the ammonia leech into the tote. Do weekly water change on that and let the fish stay relaxed for now rather than a double move for them. Just make sure that ammonia reads 0 on that tote which can take 2-4 weeks pending. Others may have other ideas as well.

The use of the tote maybe a pain later when transferring fish out of the tank but over all easier for you and the fish.


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## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

katas said:


> Yes it does leech ammonia considerably. There are ways to speed up the process however you end up sucking nutrients out of the substrate in order to speed it up and cuts the life of the substrate by doing so which only means you will have to replace it sooner than later. Personally I would do the opposite of what you pointed out. Put the ADA in a tote and let the ammonia leech into the tote. Do weekly water change on that and let the fish stay relaxed for now rather than a double move for them. Just make sure that ammonia reads 0 on that tote which can take 2-4 weeks pending. Others may have other ideas as well.


Thanks for the reply :smile2: Yeah, that was I had been planning. Does the powder also leech like the soil?


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

As far as I know any of the ADA Amazonia does no matter the grain size. Potentially could leech faster due to small grain size but nothing I have tested extensively. There might be a difference between the type 1 and type 2 Amazonia leech times though however again no testing. I know the gray bag (type 2) is suppose to be the lighter organic makeup opposed to the colored bag (type 1). Not sure which you may have but something to be aware of. Took my ADA type 1 normal grain size two weeks to leech with weekly water changes.


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## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

katas said:


> As far as I know any of the ADA Amazonia does no matter the grain size. Potentially could leech faster due to small grain size but nothing I have tested extensively. There might be a difference between the type 1 and type 2 Amazonia leech times though however again no testing. I know the gray bag (type 2) is suppose to be the lighter organic makeup opposed to the colored bag (type 1). Not sure which you may have but something to be aware of. Took my ADA type 1 normal grain size two weeks to leech with weekly water changes.


This is the soil I received 










same as the powder type.


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## slipfinger (Jun 8, 2016)

Personally I would really reconsider the the idea of topping AquaSoil with play sand. 

My reason for saying this is, the sand will eventually just settle into all the open pore space around the AquaSoil and in the end you will have AS on top of sand. 

I'd pick one or the other and avoid the mixing. Just my 2 cents.


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## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

slipfinger said:


> Personally I would really reconsider the the idea of topping AquaSoil with play sand.
> 
> My reason for saying this is, the sand will eventually just settle into all the open pore space around the AquaSoil and in the end you will have AS on top of sand.
> 
> I'd pick one or the other and avoid the mixing. Just my 2 cents.


Is the soil ok with corys?


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

I completely agree with @slipfinger. Brain totally skipped over your note on that. @jmf81 the soil is fine for Corys, at least my 9 Dwarf Corys have no issues at all and are fat. The soil you have is type 2. In my opinion the better of the two types.


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## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

katas said:


> I completely agree with @slipfinger. Brain totally skipped over your note on that. @jmf81 the soil is fine for Corys, at least my 9 Dwarf Corys have no issues at all and are fat. The soil you have is type 2. In my opinion the better of the two types.


Cool, that is actually really good news. I would like a change from sand substrate to something darker plus less work :nerd::grin2:


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

Haha hold that tongue on less work.... only downsize to ADA aside from the ammonia is the grains will eventually break down to a "mud". Also the life span of 2 years pending if you use buffers because ADA buffers the water already and if you want a higher PH then you are fighting that very effect.


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## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

katas said:


> Haha hold that tongue on less work.... only downsize to ADA aside from the ammonia is the grains will eventually break down to a "mud". Also the life span of 2 years pending if you use buffers because ADA buffers the water already and if you want a higher PH then you are fighting that very effect.


I just meant less work than having to wash and wash and wash the play sand lol. I have heard that but also heard people using it for years so I'm a little confused.


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

It does last for a while from what I have heard. I just started using it a couple months ago personally. However if you use those buffers... shortens the life span considerably from others experiences (only makes sense). Always considered the variables. Good luck and look forward to seeing your tank pictures once you are all setup!


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## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

katas said:


> It does last for a while from what I have heard. I just started using it a couple months ago personally. However if you use those buffers... shortens the life span considerably from others experiences (only makes sense). Always considered the variables. Good luck and look forward to seeing your tank pictures once you are all setup!


Thanks, my plants are already growing like crazy. I thought it was a good idea to get some duckweed and banana lilies....not a good idea lol:laugh2:


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## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Something to consider is it will be buffering the substrate as @katas said so it will turn any kh to no kh. So the more kh you have in the water the faster you will deplete it. Highly recommended to use remineralize RO water for buffering substrate using a gh booster and not adding any kh. If not you will greatly reduce the buffering capacity. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

clownplanted said:


> Something to consider is it will be buffering the substrate as @katas said so it will turn any kh to no kh. So the more kh you have in the water the faster you will deplete it. Highly recommended to use remineralize RO water for buffering substrate using a gh booster and not adding any kh. If not you will greatly reduce the buffering capacity.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Would love to, but due to not being able to work because of illness and this stupid knee, so money is very tight, unfortunately. I haven't in the past really looked into Gh and Kh but yesterday purchased a test kit for it. Well test tap water tonight and report.


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## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

Ok, I have added the soil to the tote and filled with water. Anything else needed in the tote? heater, airstone or sponge filter?

Does the powder also leech ammonia? If so, can that also be "pre-soaked"


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

If you want to grow out the bacterial colony as a secondary to the ammonia "cleanse" you could throw a heater and sponge filter in the tote. Safe way to test the powder is throw some in a plastic cup or bowl over night and test the ammonia the next day to confirm. My suspicions is it does..


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## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

katas said:


> If you want to grow out the bacterial colony as a secondary to the ammonia "cleanse" you could throw a heater and sponge filter in the tote. Safe way to test the powder is throw some in a plastic cup or bowl over night and test the ammonia the next day to confirm. My suspicions is it does..


Great idea. I suspect it does as well


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## Sherminator (Aug 29, 2011)

katas said:


> Haha hold that tongue on less work.... only downsize to ADA aside from the ammonia is the grains will eventually break down to a "mud". Also the life span of 2 years pending if you use buffers because ADA buffers the water already and if you want a higher PH then you are fighting that very effect.



It does?










That Soil is 5+ years old in that photo


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

Good to hear actually. Nice to hear the positive experiences as well.


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## jmf81 (Jul 26, 2017)

Sherminator said:


> It does?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Mine already doesn't look that good lol


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## natemcnutty (May 26, 2016)

Big difference between type 1 and 2. Always get type 1 if you can. That's the one that lasts longer before breaking down.

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## KeeperOfASilentWorld (Mar 18, 2017)

jmf81 said:


> Thanks for the reply :smile2: Yeah, that was I had been planning. Does the powder also leech like the soil?


Powder one leaches even more because you have more soil material for the same space ( 3L ).


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

The ammonia that's released by AS in the beginning does serve a purpose in that it kick starts plant and bacterial growth. It seems as though placing it in a tub until you've removed the ammonia is a bit counterproductive, but I get your reason.


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