# Brightwell aquatics shrimp/plant soil?



## madness (Jul 31, 2011)

I have been looking forward to seeing reviews on this substrate.

Price seems pretty ridiculous even by planted tank substrate standards though.


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## eklikewhoa (Aug 29, 2006)

http://www.houstonfishbox.com/vforums/showthread.php?48011-Brightwell-Escuro-Soil-Testing


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## Bannik (Apr 2, 2011)

I've used Amazonia, Fluval Shrimp Stratum, Eco-Complete, Flourite Black, and I have a walstatd bowl.

I just purchased Rio Escuro-XF. I added distilled water reconstituted to GH 1 KH 2. PH was 6.8 right before I added it. I haven't added the filter yet since i'm interested to see what the readings will be tomorrow.

So pending what is going on with the buffering capacity my initial opinion is. AWESOME!

It is totally black and looks awesome. It has a clean earthy smell. When I flooded the tank there was no cloudiness at all. They apparently already cleaned out all the micro-fine material that causes that to happen since there wasn't even dust in the bottom of the bag.

The granules are definitely firmer than amazonia. I pulled a small piece that has been soak for about 4 hours now out. I squeezed it to see what happens. With shrimp stratum I squeeze a pellet and it turns into fine dust, with amazonia it turned into mud. With the new substrate it just kind of compacted like a sponge which makes me think it will retain shape for a long time before going to mush.

I'm going to be using this mostly for moss but the particles are about as heavy as Amazonia 2 so it should be fantastic for planting (much better than shrimp stratum)

It is inert so if you plan on having root feeders you're better off with the amazonia.


so far LOVE IT!


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

It actually comes in three sizes,

5 pounds, 15 pounds, and 23 pounds.

and three available granular sizes:

mediuim- 5mm, fine- 3mm, extra fine- 1mm.

Your prices seem off too, but who knows what your retailer is doing...shop around


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## Caleb19 (Sep 27, 2010)

How would someone (myself) go about acquiring this nifty new substrate? I am guessing since it is still relatively new, I should contact Brightwell directly? Any tips? Thanks!


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## mythin (Jun 26, 2009)

My LFS sells it here in houston, its kinda pricey though, for enough for a 20 gallon would be about ~$50. 

I have some Rio Escuro-XF, it didnt ammonia spike at all, and was super clear no water cloudiness at all. No dust particles or floating particles, super clean.


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## alexopolus (Nov 9, 2009)

mythin said:


> My LFS sells it here in houston, its kinda pricey though, for enough for a 20 gallon would be about ~$50.
> 
> I have some Rio Escuro-XF, it didnt ammonia spike at all, and was super clear no water cloudiness at all. No dust particles or floating particles, super clean.


Any feedback on the BW Rio Escuro?


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

Wow that stuff looks aweso e


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## Loumeer (Feb 13, 2012)

Where can we buy this online? It seems to awesome but I can't find it anywhere.


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## Tanman19az (May 14, 2011)

I heard they discontinued this stuff. Try eBay...there is a company here california that is selling it on there but only in the 5 lb bags. There is a LFS in Tucson that I saw the 30 pound bag of this stuff. It was about $80. They are on Facebook and they are called Arizona Nature Aquatics.


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## Loumeer (Feb 13, 2012)

Thats such a shame. I just talked with the Rep from Brightwell Aquatics and he confirmed that they discontinued it because of low demand and an incredibly high minimum order from their supplier in Japan. Such a shame; seemed like a better product than ADA aquasoil since it held consistency better and didnt leech ammonia.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Loumeer said:


> Thats such a shame. I just talked with the Rep from Brightwell Aquatics and he confirmed that they discontinued it because of low demand and an incredibly high minimum order from their supplier in Japan. Such a shame; seemed like a better product than ADA aquasoil since it held consistency better and didnt leech ammonia.


If it is inert, it isn't a better product than ADA Amazonia. There are a lot of inert substrates available, but only a few that are fertile.


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## madness (Jul 31, 2011)

Still an interesting and neat substrate even if it isn't nutrient rich. 

It is a shame that they stopped carrying it.


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## Keyboard Aquatics (Feb 24, 2012)

When I heard that this substrate was discontinued I bought the last remaining cases I could find. Slowly I have been selling it on Ebay. 

KA West


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

How many pounds do you have left?


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Both colors of FlorinVolcanit in XF, F, and M are available as of today, 1/14/14. Not many distributors are carrying it (again) yet though. Contact the company at [email protected] for more information.


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