Any Subsutite for ADA Amazonia II

[LS6 Tommy]

Originally Posted by macclellan

Don't be disappointed if they don't have the black. I was. That said, after a few months of waiting, my order came in. 50# is A LOT, enough for a 75g and then some (it is very high volume for 50# compared to gravel). If you don't mind the red, you can get it straight away, as that is the stuff they use for baseball infield conditioning.

The Lesco by me said they never even heard of the black SMS. I ended up comparing Schultz Pod Soil to it. It's almost identical except the color. I use Fluorite in the 58 and would have used it for the 10 Shrimper, but I already had the Schultz from a container pond.

Tommy

[Spiritwind]

Black SMS is actually called charcoal color and it is rather dark, but definitely not black.

[dhavoc]

Originally Posted by macclellan

Some eco does this, at least initially. Mine is inert. Tahitian moon sand is inert (I have it too). What are you basing these claims on?

yep, your right, mixed up onyx and tms. but every tank i have used eco in, it has buffered the water. they supposedly have a new version of it, but i have not tried it yet. i like the look and feel of eco though and use it in tanks where the buffering is not an issue.

[bsmith782]

Originally Posted by aquagirl

Hello Andrew,

For a 15g tank it would cost me $92.00 for the product and shipping.

I agree with you that substrate is is an important aspect of keeping CRS, especially when you have water perimeters like mine. I am planning on getting the SMS and setting up a test tank to see if the water perimeters are appropriate for the CRS. If it isn't than I will not buy any CRS until I can afford the ADA. Thanks for your input.

Thats crazy!

I dont know the demensions of a 15g tank but it only cost me ~$70 for the AS to fill my 37g (same footprint as a 29).

I would assume that you would only need 1- 9L bag for a tank that size.

adgshop.com thats where I got mine....

[aquagirl]

Originally Posted by macclellan

My SMS is inert. No effect on hardness. Actually, I have a bunch of left over SMS+Flourite mix (black and red). $16 for a box full shipped. PM me if you want it.



To the OP: If you've got RO water, plain old sand is cheap, effective, and looks great. If growing plants, some peat underneath helps a lot. $2 for sand (or free if you know where to look ) and $2 for peat. Can't beat that.

Hi Maccellan,

Thank you for your offer to ship me some SMS & Flourite, that was very nice of you. I found the SMS at a local lesco it should be here by the end of the week and it only cost $10.00 for a 50lb bag of charcoal color .


lauraleellbp..... Thanks for your help.

Should I use some type of substrate under the SMS?

[lauraleellbp]

You could use a little bit of peat underneath for nutrient content, lower the pH if you'd like. Not necessary, though.

I've heard some ppl cap it with some Colorquartz or TMS to help keep the plants down till they root, but that's not necessary either.

SMS has a high CEC, so will absorb ferts over time as you dose them, so that's a plus.

Your 50lb bag should get ya a long ways!! lol

[aquagirl]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

You could use a little bit of peat underneath for nutrient content, lower the pH if you'd like. Not necessary, though.

I've heard some ppl cap it with some Colorquartz or TMS to help keep the plants down till they root, but that's not necessary either.

SMS has a high CEC, so will absorb ferts over time as you dose them, so that's a plus.

Your 50lb bag should get ya a long ways!! lol

I'm hoping that the SMS will help bring down the PH and hardness, using peat sounds like a good option.

I planned to use this in a shrimp tank so I won't be using ferts.

CEC, TMS? Clueless

"Your 50lb bag should get ya long ways!! lol"

ROAK, S&S lol

[aquagirl]

I picked it up yesterday. Going to set up the tank today. Thank you everyone once again for all your help.




lauraleellbp

CEC, TMS? Clueless

[lauraleellbp]

Tahitian Moon Sand (like Colorquartz just a whole lot more expensive comparatively =)

Cation Exchange.... coefficient? (don't quote me on the last word LOL) Basically refers to the chemical property that SMS has to absorb nutrients from the water column and hold them for the plants.

[aquagirl]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Tahitian Moon Sand (like Colorquartz just a whole lot more expensive comparatively =)

Cation Exchange.... coefficient? (don't quote me on the last word LOL) Basically refers to the chemical property that SMS has to absorb nutrients from the water column and hold them for the plants.

I didn't have the time to do the tank that I wanted to but I did use the SMS in a 2 1/2g. OMG, it takes forever to rinse the SMS.

[go9ma123]

I did buy 9L bag of ada soils and used for my 20g tank. I had some left over and used it on 10g tank. One bag should be enough for 15g tank. Any ways if you get from here http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/ you would save some money on shipping and if you get from here http://www.adana-usa.com/ they do charge about 5 more bucks on shipping. Also, if you look into the web site I do belive they had flora base for $20 and probably $10 shipping. Instead of getting ADA soils you will save some money.

[aquagirl]

Originally Posted by go9ma123

I did buy 9L bag of ada soils and used for my 20g tank. I had some left over and used it on 10g tank. One bag should be enough for 15g tank. Any ways if you get from here http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/ you would save some money on shipping and if you get from here http://www.adana-usa.com/ they do charge about 5 more bucks on shipping. Also, if you look into the web site I do belive they had flora base for $20 and probably $10 shipping. Instead of getting ADA soils you will save some money.

Hello go9ma123,

I did try the web site, thanks for the links. I underestimated the size of the 9L bag . I read somewhere that it barely covers a ten gallon, bad information. The shipping is expensive because I am on the south east coast of PA. I wanted the ADA to lower the PH and GH for CRS. I bought a bag of SMS and set up the tank over the weekend. I need to check it today to see what the readings are. Thanks again for the help .