Aqua Soil Amazonia 2

I personally prefer Amazonia I and not II.

The "downside" (more like something you have to be aware of) is that Amazonia will release ammonia into the water column for a few weeks.

I don't use Power Sand with Amazonia; some people do, but most use the Amazonia alone, I believe.

I have amazonia in a couple tanks and love it. The ammonia spike is done with in those 2 weeks of cycling and you wont see it again. I do use some RM root tabs just for a kick start for some more demanding plants.

amazonia

Is it better to let it sit out in a bucket of water for a week than put it in an established tank, because I want to redo my 20 gallon tank and still be able to re add the fish to it. Not throwing out the old water, other wise you would think the bacteria should be able to deal with the ammonia spike.

I have the same question, I Would think that the established filters would take care of the ammonia spike. Can anyone answer that?

Power sand is really expensive and not at all necessary.

Even with an established filter you will have to cycle the tank, it will just take less time. If you do a large water change each day it also speeds things up. I set up two aquasoil tanks and each cycled in 13-14 days with daily water changes (and an established filter).

While you could let the aquasoil sit in a bucket for a few weeks it tends to break down easily if handled a lot. Transferring the soil from the bucket would be messy and will release ammonia and organics trapped in the soil.

Fish will be fine in a bucket with a heater while the aquasoil cycles, do a small water change for them every day or two.

my tank has been running with Amazonia I for more than 3 weeks now and is yet to cycle fully. i'm in no rush and i keep checking my parameters right before a wc. i just think it does take more than 2 weeks though. plus, i had some established media that went into my 2213

Downside: Shipping! Can't find it out here. Grrrrrr. Same with Azoo.

Aqual Soil

So is it worth the money or am I better off making my own MTS?