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What is the lifespan of AKADAMA?

11K views 26 replies 14 participants last post by  Soothing Shrimp 
#1 ·
Hello.

I've have my AKADAMA set up for about a year now and am starting to think that it needs to be changed out. My water gets buffered to 6.5 PH but I would like it a little bit lower (this is with BW HUMIC as well). I use RO water so I thought it would have lasted a bit longer.

Now my dilemma:
I would like to use AquaSoil but I have tons of babies in this tank between all the grains of akadama. I literally have babies about 1.5 inches under the gravel right next to the glass...not sure how they get there but they manage to find a way through the labyrinth. How do you guys change out the the substrate? It seems like a gigantic pain in the ass, especially since the cycle will get thrown off. Is it better to just cap it and have about 4 inches of substrate (akadama + aquasoil)? Even capping it would probably require multiple seedings.

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
Get another tank and start cycling it with Amazonia, keep both going until you can fish out all the little ones. That is what I do. I am about to pull my 2 month old akadama because I want to use Amazonia and Africana for my tanks now. My akadama buffers good but I want it in the 5.5 range and only africana will really give me that
 
#6 ·
I have done weekly water changes for a year with RO. I honestly never missed a single week and even had friends do it when I was on multiple vacations. So yeah, my akadama is probably worn out.

This whole substrate change is a huge PITA. :icon_eek:
 
#13 ·
Yeah, if you can do that will be the best!
:)

(I've been thinking to get another nano tank to start a new scape this way. Then shut down the existing one and repeat the process when I want to)

The way I did it was really really simple BUT THEY WERE NEOS.

Measured the existing parameters.

I took a 3 gal plastic container and transfer the HOB, some moss and plants and filled up with tank water.
I net out all the shrimp into this container.

Then uprooted all the plants, put them in another plastic bowl and catch the last shrimplets.

Took all the fluval soil out, clean the tank and place my new DIY UGF in there, using a big strainer I rinsed the akadama under the tap before placing it in there.

Filled up the 1/2 tank with DI water and 1/2 of what was in the container with the bugs. Started the eheim 2213 w/UGF to clear it up.

Plant it up and place the rocks and all of that.

Compared the parameters, matched GH and temp. TDS and ph were off.

Transfer the Hob to the tank and "drip" (rather quick, more like "stream") acclimate the shrimp in the container.

Put the shrimp back in.

Then, weeks after, I got rid of the neos and got CRS. I monitored the water the whole time. The tank didn't "recycle".

:D

I'm not saying that you should do this with your PRL tho. But it would work with inert substrate and neos FO SHO
 
#12 ·
Last time I did it with netlea soil, I put the soil in panty hoses, let it leech ammonia for its 2 months with a few cycled sponge filters and grow some nice biofilm in the soil, then netted the shrimp, took out the old soil, cut open the panty hose and dumped in the new soil, done in a few hours.
 
#14 ·
I have my Akadama for 6-7 months with biweekly RO water changes. Its start with buffering to PH 5.5 3 months lather PH6.2 and now PH6.8. 3 days ago I added Malaysian wood and PH went to 5.1.looks like Akadama don’t have any buffering capacity any more.
In tanks with 14 months old Africana , Malaya and Amazonia wood didn't change pH at all.
To lower you PH you can use fist size Eheim peat moss $9 per box .It can hold 0.6-1.0 point less PH in 20 gal long for 40-50 days/ in to the filter/
When i have to replace substrate I'm waiting till Feb when shrimps are not breeding much. Young shrimplets are big enough to be pulled out. I'm moving shrimps from all tanks in one tank and I'm replacing substrate. In April I’m selecting best shrimps and separating them in already cycled tanks.
 
#15 ·
Thanks all for your comments. I really wish I have started with aquasoil right from the beginning. Luckily there is a store near that carries Amazonia II so I'm off to spend some money. I really wish there was an easier way to do this instead of setting up a second tank. Any girl I bring to my apt already thinks I am a freak for having a tank in my livingroom and bedroom....now I'll have a random tank sitting next to my TV cycling. haha
 
#21 ·
hedge_fund: Ever decide what to do with your old substrate?

I ask because I'm noticing a lot of hobbyists run into the same problem lately (not just Akadama, but substrate that's a year or two old and such). When you do decide, it may be a good idea to set up some sort of how-to post to show people what they can do with their used up substrate instead of tossing it out.
 
#23 ·
I also use spent soil in my house plants and garden beds.

Akadama only lasted about 8 months for me before it lost its pH buffering. I use remineralised RO.

Easy to tell when it lost its life too... All of a sudden shrimp are dying, then I check pH and its 7 or higher, ouch.
 
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