[japbart]

I have a 20 long that has used aquasoil (mixture of Ada and controsoil and probably other aquasoils). I wanna add more depth to the substrate and was wondering if I can add a few cups of controsoil without harming my fish. Heavily planted tank but the foreground still needs to fill in.

Tank has been up for a month but the everything else in it has been in an established tank.

Not shown in the photo but I added more crypts and stem plants to the tank. I just wanna add a bit of height to the front, left and right side for the root feeders.


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[Frshwtr]

Controsoil doesn't leech ammonia into the water column, so I don't see any issue. I just added 3/4 of a bag of controsoil to my established tank and didn't miss a beat.

 

[Bootsy]

I think there have been reports of inconsistency from Contosoil concerning ammonia. I think @somewhatshocked has posted before about this.

 

[somewhatshocked]

I think there have been reports of inconsistency from Contosoil concerning ammonia. I think @somewhatshocked has posted before about this.

Yep - it can vary from batch-to-batch. I've had it release ammonia for as long as 5 months with some batches. With others, there's been very little or none. Most batches will release at least some ammonia, though. Whether one's established tank can keep up with that ammonia is another issue entirely, as many can.

If there's not a lot of ammonia being released, it can typically be handled by putting it in a bucket for a week and doing a bunch of water changes. That's if one wants to use it in an established tank. And then, just be gentle when moving it from the bucket to the tank.

The only higher end substrates that I find don't tend to vary between batches are ADA's Aqua Soil products and those from Tropica. Just have to be diligent about testing when using to be sure you're not unintentionally causing harm. XL Aqua is another brand that doesn't seem to vary much but I'm not sure I would consider it higher end, as its availability is often hit-or-miss.

 

[Le duke]

On the UNS website they provide a series of graphs. My two questions for them would be: how much Controsoil would that be, and in how much water?