# Can Aquasoil Amazonia substrate support plants with no CO2 injection?



## x2h (Dec 23, 2008)

As the title described, can the Aquasoil Amazonia substrate support plants with no CO2 injection? Does it have carbon to suuport plants? I don't care if the plants grow slowly but on the other side I don't want them to die either. Thanks for helping!:fish:


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

x2h: Aquasoil doesn't necessarily contain carbon support for plants but it is a substrate packed with nutrients. If you don't overdo the lighting and follow the directions for setting up a tank with aquasoil it will do great in a lower tech setup. If you are pumping lots of light into the system (2.5-3+ wpg) then some form of carbon supplement is definitely still going to be needed.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

You can use ADA AS like soil for non CO2 planted tank approaches.
They function the same fairly much.

Note, this is noit some cur all either, you have other elements that need addressed whether or not you chose CO2 or not, there's no easy way out or one simple solution, you need to focus on all the aspects, of which, sediments are only one.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## x2h (Dec 23, 2008)

Thanks to both for the quick response. Here's my plan and please let me know whether you think it will work or not:

2.5 G tank with 8W stock light (8 hrs/day), I suppose it's low light considering it's a small tank? I will turn off the lights duing weekend since it's in my office. I hope that will help me control algae.

Substrate: Aquasoil Amazonia, and rocks as decor
Plants: 1 willow leaf hygro (I will cut a branch from my 29 G), as well as bunch of pennywort as background; plus lots of Marsala Quadrifolia and Glosso as ground cover.

Ferts: Excel, N/P/K/S (if necessary)

Animals: RCS, plus a couple of small fish such as white clouds.

I will plant the groud cover and cover them with the soil, and then plant the background as well. Then fill with water and monitor the NH3/NH4 until it drop to near 0 so I can move animals in.

My goal is to have no CO2, no filtration, no water change, therefore a low tech tank. Would it work?

BTW, currently I do have another 2.5G tank in the office, which has plants, same lights (off during weekend), no CO2, no filtration, no heater, 2 white clouds, a betta, no water change. It works really well without any algae, and the fish are happy (or I think so)! The substrate is just plain gravel with root tabs embedded. Being encouraged by that tank, I decided to set up a even more heavily planted (thus "prettier") tank, hence the idea above.

:fish:


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Sounds like a solid plan. Thats pretty much exactly how I have my 2.5g set up with aquasoil. It seems to do well with dwarf sag, crypts, and low light stuff, didn't have much luck with Glossostigma or Dwarf Hairgrass with the 8W light though. With the low light things seem happy for me with a tiny splash of macros (flourish or CSMB) and excel once in a blue moon. After you get the initial aquasoil fun settled down it should be a fairly hands off tank other than the occasional water change if you go with slow growers.

On mine there is no heater though and I've never really found any livestock that I felt comfortable putting in there. I'm thinking this spring I'll add the heater back and start a little shrimp colony in there.
Which reminds me I really need to start a new journal for the current tank setup since the HG and Glosso failed miserably. If you want to check it out the link in my sig goes to the old journal.


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## x2h (Dec 23, 2008)

MrJG said:


> Sounds like a solid plan. Thats pretty much exactly how I have my 2.5g set up with aquasoil. It seems to do well with dwarf sag, crypts, and low light stuff, didn't have much luck with Glossostigma or Dwarf Hairgrass with the 8W light though. With the low light things seem happy for me with a tiny splash of macros (flourish or CSMB) and excel once in a blue moon. After you get the initial aquasoil fun settled down it should be a fairly hands off tank other than the occasional water change if you go with slow growers.
> 
> On mine there is no heater though and I've never really found any livestock that I felt comfortable putting in there. I'm thinking this spring I'll add the heater back and start a little shrimp colony in there.
> Which reminds me I really need to start a new journal for the current tank setup since the HG and Glosso failed miserably. If you want to check it out the link in my sig goes to the old journal.


Thanks! My office temperature is 72-75 C stably, and currently my white clouds and betta seem happy in it. Therefore I don't plan to add a heater. With no heater, no filter, no tubing, the tank looks a lot cleaner.


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

True on looking cleaner... dunno about the no filter/no water change thing. I run an aquaclear ac20 on mine. I've never tried to do a tank sans filtration.


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## x2h (Dec 23, 2008)

i used to have a nano filter on my other 2.5g, and within 3 weeks of setup the filter pad is full of green algae. I clean it and the next day it's green again. The algae also accumulated on the gravel and the glass where the filtered water flow passes. I guess the water flow on the filter brings in a lot of CO2 from the air into the water. I then took off the filter and also started turning off light during weekends. After two weekends all algaes are dead. The fish didn't seem to be affected before and after, I guess they are some really hrady ones.

BTW in that tank I haven't changed water for a month.


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