# ADA Aquasoil Preparation



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

From my recent experience, AS takes over a month to get rid of all 'noticable' tannins. Tannin is not deadly to fish as far as I know. I've had my tank running for a little over a month now and even after adding purigen, my water is still not crystal clear. I still see a minuscule tinge of yellow in it. I'm not sure if this will stay with the tank or not, maybe someone else can answer this for us. 

As far as cycling, if you're using your established filter and tank water from older tanks, you'll be cycled within 2 weeks. Some people say to rinse the soil first but I didn't because, it says right on the bag lol. I actually did the same thing you're planning to do, but with me I started planting right away. For the first water change (1 week after your initial setup) use more of the old tank water to refill. After this just keep doing weekly water changes using tap and after 2 weeks you should be able to add fish. I didn't use any additives except dechlorinator (Prime). 

Some people worry about ammonia spikes and say you need to cycle the tank longer, but that's if your using new water with a new filter. If anyone objects, they can certainly state their points. I'm just giving my personal experience so do take it with a grain of salt.

Hope that helps.


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## Guns286 (Sep 17, 2009)

This may sound like a really stupid question but these the normal 1/4 to 1/3 water changes? Or, due to the tannins and due to the fact that its a newly planted tank, do you do more?


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Guns286 said:


> This may sound like a really stupid question but these the normal 1/4 to 1/3 water changes? Or, due to the tannins and due to the fact that its a newly planted tank, do you do more?


My bad, I forgot to mention that part. These will all be 50% water changes. This is mainly because I'm dosing EI method. If you're not dosing you can still do "up to" 50% weekly WC's, for the first month or so to get rid of any excess ammonia/tannins. People who don't dose just top their tanks or do minor WC's after the tank has completely cycled.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

_How long does aquasoil have to be soaked? to get rid of tannins and to make it safe for fish._
It doesn't really need to be 'soaked' per say. I've never had problems with it releasing tannins, it may cloud the water with debris when fillied initially though. It's also known to release ammonia so you'll have to allow the tank to cycle. 

_What are some additives that people usually put onto aquasoil?_
Nothing, some people may put down a layer of ada power sand but it's not required.

_What are different size pebbles of the aquasoil for?_
If you're talking about normal vs. powder, powder is intended to be used in the forground as it looks nicer and it's slightly easier to plant delicate plants in. (Personally I wouldn't bother, it's a pain in the ass and tends to float)


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## itzjustjeff (Apr 27, 2009)

*Speedie408*: Thanks for the thorough response, it's nice to have most of the information needed to get my 3rd tank running roud: Let me know if you need anything!

*Dollface*: Thanks for the advice about powder, i was just about to pick some up today from NA. haha


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## Tonysok (Apr 1, 2008)

There's no need to soak Aquasoil since you're setting up a new tank. Some people will soak it in a bucket when adding it to a pre-existing tank to rid of the ammonia it release. Just fill the tank slowly so it doesn't cloud up and any floating debris can be netted out. Which type were you looking to get? AS1 release a lot of ammonia compare toe AS2, so make sure to plant densely or do major water change.

Tony


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## kurosuto (May 20, 2009)

For me, it took a week. Dumped a bunch of plants into the established tank, kept lights on a few hours a day, added "stress coat," supposedly removes ammonia, and then within a week, my ammonia is 0. 

To my surprise, there were baby guppies in the tank when I added the soil. Guess they hid in the moss.

changed water every other day.


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## itzjustjeff (Apr 27, 2009)

i dont really know all the diferrences of as1 and as2, but i know that it's not enough to deter anyone from religiously buying one from the other, as2 is darker also no? maybe that'd look nicer. im not sure...still deciding


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

From my understanding AS2 was released to take care of problems some folks had with very hard water. If you have neutral to soft tap water from the beginning go with AS1.


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## jnaz (Apr 12, 2009)

I have noticed that you see a lot more of the orange with AS 2 compared to AS 1 when using Amazonia.


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## stuckintexas (Oct 3, 2008)

aquasoil is awesome for plants on a new setup. dont waste some of its pros by soaking it before putting it in a tank with plants. yea, it will take a while for the ammonia to go away and be safe for fish. i had no problems with water and my water was clear by day 2 or 3. use amazonia 1, i hear amazonia 2 is smaller and turns to mud faster. my aquasoil 1 is 13 months old and is still going strong. also when starting the new tank with AS, you dont need to bother with fertilizing right away I noticed.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

I had ASII when it first came out and it did turn to mush within weeks now I only use ASI, I don't care if they fixed the problem or not I have fantastic results with ASI.

I had no tannins others talk about but I did have massive ammo readings the first few weeks with a mature filter. 
My advice would be to go with ASI no need for powersand or other additives IMO. Stuff the tank with as many plants as you can, don't dose for two weeks then add fish after the tank has cycled. 
Adding old tank water will do nothing for your cycle.


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## jerzguy (Oct 21, 2009)

Where can I get ADA Aquasoil in NJ? PLease let me know.

Thanks


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

jerzguy said:


> Where can I get ADA Aquasoil in NJ? PLease let me know.
> 
> Thanks


You can pick it up right on your doorstep if you order it from either of the two following dealers. They are the only two dealers in the US.
http://www.adgshop.com/Substrate_System_s/1.htm
http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?main_page=afa_product&cPath=12_21


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

mott said:


> Adding old tank water will do nothing for your cycle.


Is this statement your own opinion or a fact? Very curious to know.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

Very little bacteria live in the water column, they grow and thrive an surfaces ie substrate, filter media etc.. At least that's what I understand.


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## vca2004 (Sep 7, 2009)

Anything from an old tank will help - water, substrate, plants etc. Bacteria will be in the water column as well!! And it's definitely better to start of with say a few thousand CFUs from the water column of an established tank culture, than close to nothing in a new, "sterile" tank.


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## vca2004 (Sep 7, 2009)

BTW, I only had some plants from an established tank and it took me less than 3 weeks to cycle with ADA Aquasoil II.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

vca2004 said:


> Anything from an old tank will help - water, substrate, plants etc. Bacteria will be in the water column as well!! And it's definitely better to start of with say a few thousand CFUs from the water column of an established tank culture, than close to nothing in a new, "sterile" tank.


Bingo!

Exactly my experience and understanding.


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## dthb4438 (Nov 12, 2007)

I have changed *all my tanks* over to ADA Amazonia II and have had wonderful results. I didn't prep anything. Layed the soil gently into the tank, placed the bag over the soil, put the water in gently and then put every plant I could find (stem plants are better) to help with the ammonia. I changed the water every day, and as much as I could. So I guess you could say, 100% if you want. Within two weeks, the ammonia was down to 0. The plants really like the soil a lot. See my pic of my 55 gal.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

vca2004 said:


> Anything from an old tank will help - water, substrate, plants etc. Bacteria will be in the water column as well!! And it's definitely better to start of with say a few thousand CFUs from the water column of an established tank culture, than close to nothing in a new, "sterile" tank.


I agree with ya except if you were trying to do a quick cycle with just old tank water it aint gonna do much. 

The point is really null anyway because he'll be doing big waterchanges often.


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## nismo tetra (Oct 11, 2009)

The cycle thing is a weird question with using pre-existing tank matter. With my 20 gallon I used about a bag of old eco-complete that was sitting in a bucket for who knows how long. I rinsed it very well and added a fresh new bag on top. I then added water from a 370 gallon system we have had going for gosh...i would say a decade. I put driftwood with java moss, some giant elodea from out of our pond and 1 amazon sword. I then dosed 5 ml trace, 5ml excel and 1 ml of flourish. The very next day I did a 5 gal water change and threw in a baby blue diamond discus, more elodea from pond, dosed ferts again and added diy co2. 4 days later did another 5 gal water change and tested water, .25 ammonia and .25 nitrite and nitrate was around 50 ppm, GH 14 and KH 3. The very next day I repeated with another 5 gal water change, and added 14 cardinals, 7 brown pencils and 3 undescribed specie of corydora. Added dwarf chain swords, and ozelot sword plant. Dosed all ferts again including some macros this time.

Needless to say, today is the 21st day my tank has been running and I have not lost one plant, fish, shrimp etc. Granted I have added a lot more plants in that time and went to a 50% WC weekly regime with dosing liquid ferts on Fridays and Mondays. My ammonia is 0, my nitrite is 0 my nitrates stay high between 20-50 ppm and my phosphates are over 3ppm (test kit doesn't read higher). I have not had any algae outbreaks either. Plants pearl up very nicely and they seem to be growing well. The old leaves have died off a bit on certain plant species from transport and replanting I presume, but there are many new leaves sprouting and I have had to trim the stem plants twice so far.

Which reminds me I need to test my water today. I don't know about most hobbyist, but I like to write everything down in notebooks that we do to the systems. Not to mention it's cool to look back and see what you had 10 years ago. Or when a fish dies, to look up how long you had it from when you first purchased it.

Thats my experience on fast cycling.


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## vca2004 (Sep 7, 2009)

@ mott: What exactly makes you think that? Do you have any proof for this or is that only your opinion?

Here is a nice scientific article about dynamics of nitrifying bacteria:
http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bss/13/4/333/_pdf

The doubling time for ammonia oxidizing and nitrite oxidizing bacteria is 29 and 21 hours respectively. Meaning if you do a 50% water change within 20-30 hours you have the same number of baceria in your aquarium again that you had before the water change. Therefore, doing too many or too large water changes is not all that beneficial (which supports the personal experience nismo tetra had with his aquarium). The more pre-seeded equipment (substrate, water, filtermaterial or filtersludge, plants) you can transfer to a new tank, the faster your cycling time will be.


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## nismo tetra (Oct 11, 2009)

vca2004 said:


> @ mott: What exactly makes you think that? Do you have any proof for this or is that only your opinion?
> 
> Here is a nice scientific article about dynamics of nitrifying bacteria:
> http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bss/13/4/333/_pdf
> ...




In the new issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist there is a 4 pg article on water changes by David E. Boruchowitz. It's part two of the column though. It is indeed a very interesting read. Very, very informative and debunks the ol 20% weekly is good. The EI method does it good, doing 50% weekly is the bare minimum I would do. More is better. 

Getting off thread topic a bit, but you guys should check out that article. It opened my eyes to how important a WC really is.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

vca2004 said:


> @ mott: What exactly makes you think that? Do you have any proof for this or is that only your opinion?
> 
> Here is a nice scientific article about dynamics of nitrifying bacteria:
> http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bss/13/4/333/_pdf
> ...


We are talking ADA Amazonia here! it's known to leach ammonium for weeks!
If you had any livestock in a tank with new AS you'd better keep up on those WC's
The more water changes the better in this case. 

Also no where in that whole study did they use so called "Seeded water"
What thy did use was seeded "Siporax" the glass bead media much like Ehfisubstrat.


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## vca2004 (Sep 7, 2009)

I myself was talking about the doubling time they have found in that article, nothing more. And even if ADA Amazonia leaches Ammonia for week*s* (mine didn't by the way), it doesn't matter if you have enough bacteria in the tank to convert it! You will only end up with LOTS of Nitrate after a few days. BTW, most ammonia oxidizing and nitrifying bacteria are motiler, meaning they can "swim", therefore they won't just hang out on the filter or in the substrate, but will be in the water and everywhere else. 

My own tank with ADA Amazonia II was completely cycled after only 3 weeks and I didn't even have anything to inoculate it with other than a few plants that I bought. Actually it was even cycled a few days before that, but I added some more ammonia to ensure once more that it was really cycled. 

As with any new tank one still needs to constantly monitor the water parameters (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) of course and make water changes accordingly. Anybody who doesn't do that is just relying on their luck! But with such a long doubling time (and 20-30 hours is a loong time for bacteria) it doesn't help the cycle to keep doing massive water changes. Doing massive water changes is especially pointless if one used inoculated water only for the new tank - taking most all of the bacteria back out and/or keeping them at the same level?!

I'd rather wait a few days before adding any livestock and not do any water changes to give the bacteria some time to establish.


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