Im a relatively new "underwater gardener" who has started to take the step from a slightly haphazard semi-planted tank with laterite and gravel to a fully planted and (hopefully more self sufficient ) eco-system.

Here in the UK ADA products seem to be rather expensive.

The cheapest I can get soil for 28 pounds per 9 litre bag - about 56 dollars
The cheapest I can get powersand for is about 56 pounds per 6 litre bag - about 112 dollars.

My tank is a 350 litre (92.5 Gallon) corner aquarium (Hagen's Venezia 350).

Do people on here think
4 x 9 litre bags of Amazonia and 1 x 6 litre bag of powersand is sufficient? Ive used the ADA guidelines for a 75 Galon tank as a rough guide.

How deep should the layers be? Also other then the precuationary tips with regards to looking after the setup? For example any good ways to stop the substrate polluting the water?

any other advice from experienced growers?

lastly given how much its likely to cost me, about 400 dollars for substrate alone do you still think its worth it - other products which are more readily available are more comparative to US prices.

many thanks for any advice

Marc

I decided not to go ADA when I caculated that for my 4x2x2 tank, it was going to cost me over $800 for the substrates alone. Amazonia goes for AUD$80 per 9 litres in Australia, and the powder form is even dearer.

I think that I calculated that I would need about 60-70 litres of the stuff when you take account of having a slope from the front to the rear.

I went for fine gravel (black) and Dupla laterite. My plants are going great, although I am not trying to grow particlarly difficult plants, and I already had pressurised CO2.

It is sometimes depressing living in a smaller country with lower economies of scale at work...

I tried shipping it in from the US, but they won't do it so the local distributor has it all stitched up...

hiya,

yeah its pretty much the same here. One local reseller and no competition.

I guess we are lucky in that the local reseller seems to have some scruples and hasnt gouged the price quite as badly as with you guys.

Frustrating though when you see how cheap it is in the US. especially with the dollar where it is. Wonder if i can fill a few suitcases on my next trip over the atlantic

Ive bitten the bullet and gobe for the AS and PS. I figured id pass at buying the entire ADA range and stuck with just those two for now.

Definately going to be looking for advice from some of the more seasoned growers. i think my biggest concern is that ive developed bad habits with my current setup.

Dont want to distrub that super expensive substrate too much.

Marc