A new Black Substrate by Aquariumplants.com

[Betowess]

A while back I ordered an Aquarium Plants.com CO2 regulator (The Best) -very similar to Rex's excellent Cornelius/Clippard regulator. I highly recommend either of these regulators as I own both and they won't leak... but anyways, Mark, the owner of AP.com gave me a call to ask if I wanted a permaseal on the regulator. Talk about customer service! Anyhow, we got to talking about Aqua Soil etc.

He mentioned he was coming out with a new substrate which would be black in color, like the Eco and the yet to be released Black Flourite by Seachem. Well, I just noticed tonight that they have it for sale. A 5 gallon bucket for $30.00.
WOW I hope its good stuff. Here is the link...

AquariumPlants.com's own: Freshwater Plant Substrate

[Derekj03]

Did you see how much a 5gallon bucket covers? 4sq feet 3inches deep! One bucket is enough for a 55gallon tank! If it is as good as the others then that is an amazing price.

[Rod Hay]

I would love to see a photo of the grain size of the product. I'd also like to know the weight on the 5 gallon bucket. Is it heavy weighted like Flourite; or is it light weight like Shultz Aquatic Plant Soil, or Soilmaster select?
"Inquiring minds want to know!"

[Jeff5614]

Another thumbs up on the regulator. I picked one up about a month ago and it couldn't have been easier to hook up or use.

[glass-gardens.com]

The site doesn't list an analysis of the contents, so it's really hard to compare it to any other product, nor does it say what it is or how it's processed, which are important things to consider.

[turbowagon]

Looks almost too good to be true. Can't wait to hear some reviews.

[tazcrash69]

Yea, depending on grain size, this could be a nice alternative.
I also can't wait to see the reviews, and content analysis.

It's got some tough competition now though.

[Burks]

I can't wait to see some reviews. May be the perfect choice for my 40g. It's about the same cost as gravel from the LFS....

[glass-gardens.com]

Looks kind of like the coal slag we sell at work for sandblasting, I know people have used it for substrates with good results before, you might look into that as well.

[Ryzilla]

unless they post whats in it then I wont trust it for that cheap of a price. It wouldnt hurt to list its nutrient levels. They have just entered into a big market and without any writing to back that product up then forget about it. Just my 2 nickles.

[spypet]

* Used with our exclusive "Aquariumplants.com's own Substrate Fertilizer Tablets" we GUARANTEE success

this would lead me to conclude that substate is inert.
why else would they advocate using it with fert tabs?

I emailed them 3 different ways asking for more details
about composition and grain size, and still no reply.

[Betowess]

Originally Posted by Ryzilla

unless they post whats in it then I wont trust it for that cheap of a price. It wouldnt hurt to list its nutrient levels. They have just entered into a big market and without any writing to back that product up then forget about it. Just my 2 nickles.

Lets give them some time. It just came out. On the website they stated "more info coming soon". I have a feeling this is going to be a decent product and the price will eventually go up a bit. I like the 5 gallon delivery idea. Got to give them a good mark on that already.

Regards Spypets query, I imagine the root tabs are for plants which require nutrient uptake through their roots eg Anubias, Crypts etc. Also, these days, most companies cannot respond to each email within a few hours. Between Spam and normal operations, it just doesn't happen that fast, unless there is a monetary exchange involved. I try to be timely at my company, but it doesn't always happen. FWIW, I didn't hear back from Seachem for about 5 days on a query.

[Rex Grigg]

The math doesn't add up.

5 gallons = 1155 cubic inches.

48x12x3 = 1728 cubic inches.

So unless the stuff expands when it gets wet the math is all wrong.

[bharada]

Well, according to their covereage estimate, the five gallon bucket comes out to about 28.3 liters, or a little over three 9-liter bags of ADA AquaSoil. At $57 shipped to me in California, it's almost $30 cheaper than the AS.

So I've taken the plunge and ordered me a bucket. Hopefully it'll be all that they say it is and I won't have just purchased the most expensive 5-gallon bucket in non-US Gov't procurement history.

Looks like it'll be time to redo my 10g work tank in a few weeks. Just in time for the holidays.

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by Rex Grigg

The math doesn't add up.

5 gallons = 1155 cubic inches.

48x12x3 = 1728 cubic inches.

So unless the stuff expands when it gets wet the math is all wrong.

I think a "5 gallon bucket" actually holds more than 5 gallons. When I have purchased paint in that size buckets the bucket wasn't full. However, I don't see that accounting for the 50% "error" you noted. Also, I'm not sure all of the buckets labeled as "5 gallon buckets" are even supposed to be 5 gallon size - that may be a generic term. Maybe this is the first time in the history of mankind when a product is delivered 50% over in volume!