Just because I didn't see much about this substrate in my searches, I thought I'd give my initial thoughts about it. Buffers to a pH of 6.5
1) It's a bit expensive, but I didn't need very much so it didn't bother me. Might not be my first choice if I was doing a whole rack of tanks though.
2) It comes in two grain sizes. They are both nice and black. I got the Micro grain size and it looks coooool!
3) It looks like the grains will be the perfect size for the shrimpies to play with, but it's also super floaty and light, and so very tough to plant it. Even positioning rocks in it was a bit tricky because with a very light touch everything moves, and slides around. But did I mention it looked cool? :tongue:
I don't have any shrimp in there yet, so I'll have to wait to update with how they seem to like it next week.
Here are some pictures.
Has anyone use the bigger grain size? Wondering if it is just as floaty and light.
Who what were your readings in the tank for Amonnia and Nitrites?? I find when I does my cycling tanks with amonnia it spikes for a while but then goes back down.
Just so no one gets too excited, mordalpus is right. This is just a "fancier" version of Mr. Aqua rolled in montmorillonite clay. I've been using it for almost four months in a few different setups and think $20 for a bag of it would be better spent on 2-3 Mr. Aqua or a couple bags of Fluval Shrimp Stratum. Even a $25 bag of Azoo Plant Grower Bed seems like a better buy.
It's cheap and easy to give your shrimp montmorillonite via the foods you're using or a mineral rock. Better bang for your buck.
P.S. on edit: I still like this stuff. It looks great in all the applications in which I'm using it.
Actually, its not. They are made in completely different factories with completely different formulas. Pound for pound shrimp sand is far more dense due do to its ratio of clay to ash. Fluval,Mr.Aqua are all 100% ash based. They are much lighter, and not nearly as dense grain for grain. Same go's for Azoo. All of which we have had in hand and tested ourselves. These are only a fraction of the soils we have come into contact with throughout 10 years of experience with soil substrates. Ash based soils are light in nature, very soft and porous.
I can not same the same for ContoSoil,Nature Soil,Fluval,Mr.Aqua,Columbo,Brightwell Aquatic, and several others that are all made in the same factory.
Contro-Soil Makes almost every Ash based soil in the market.
This buffers my water way lower than fss did. I am now at 5.8 day 5. Fss gets me to 6.4-6.6 Plus this stuff looks really good and is a lot more pourse (sp) than fss
Im glad to find this thread, im thinking to give it a shot for my 24x24 cube crs tank. from above post, ill need around 8 bags?do i need a layer of eco complete o the bottom?
I've had a full bag in my 6G edge on my desk for about 6-8 months now. i just pulled a couple pieces out and still as hard as the day i put them in.
i dont see any sediment from them breaking down over time like most other soils do.
UP aqua sand is AWESOME!!! I originally had 3 inches of eco-complete and use RO water and buffered a reading of 6.8 ph. I put in 2 of 3 bags of UP aqua sand and over night my ph buffered down to 6.4 ish. My shrimp are going crazy. They usually hide and aren't as active, but they're in the open and owning the tank! The sand does look pretty cool and the shrimp colors seems to pop more against the sand. I am a fan!
Amazon sells this product in a 2kg bag. Does anyone know what volume that equates to? And is there a consensus on what this substrate buffers to on its own?
It's not a Mr Aqua long though, it's one of those nice looking rimless china rectangle tanks. Looks sick for only 35$.
The tank is about 17-20 inches by 10-14.
Need exact footprint measurements for a better estimate. Up Aqua does not go very far at all though...took a whole bag for my 3 gallon. So figure at least 3-4 bags on your tank at $20 a bag. Would also love to know where you got your tank
LOLs. I never went to China before LOLOLOL. I meant those made in china rimless tanks. They looked like mr.aqua, but don't have a brand. They have those tanks at this LFS near my house. They also have a 12g long that looks like
a rip off of Mr.aqua. I decided on the rectangle one. I was going to do the 12G L, but it was 75$. My budget is tank + soil= under 100$. That's really expensive for the UP sand though. I'm going to go with ADA then.
If only I was rich.... *sigh*
I used 3x1L bags in regular 10gal tank/10"x20".Thikness is less than 1".
It is buffer from PH8 to PH6.6 for 6 months with biweekly 15% WC. Now after 9 months I have PH7.5.
Do you think this is because your water had to buffer down so much? Any idea how long it would last with RO water at pH 6.4? At least a year? I'm still searching for substrate for my 12" cube so I can keep Tigers, or try to anyways.
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