countryboy12484 Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 I recently picked up a 29 gallon tank and im thinking of trying some more difficult shrimp... what substrates are you guys using? Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Depends on what your looking to put in there. For,crystals, Taiwan bees and cards ADA soil is the best. -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4n Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Ya best in general will be ADA Amazonia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subtletanks91 Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 I love Amazonia so don't get me wrong. But don't Malaya and Africana do the same exact thing in buffering a low ph? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryboy12484 Posted June 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Wheres the cheapest place to get Amazonia? And about how meany bags do you think it would take to do a 29 gal? Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subtletanks91 Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Maybe one 9l and half a 3l My 55g took 18l of Amazonia and I bought three. Didn't know how much was actually there. Lol http://www.adana-usa.com This is the cheapest place to get Amazonia, but to save on shipping I would buy at least 2 bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryboy12484 Posted June 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Yeah the shipping made me cringe..... but I guess its worth it considering what ill spend on shrimp. .. Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subtletanks91 Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Yeah, it is. Especially since the shrimp your getting need a lower ph. And it's a lot of work without a buffering substrate. I tried keeping neos in tap water with only gravel. And it worked well but as soon as I switched from neos to crystals. I made the change in substrate. You might as well buy 2-3 bags to make shipping worth it, and you'll have extra for future tanks, or when this substrate goes bad after 1.5-3years you'll have it already to swap out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Yeah the shipping made me cringe..... but I guess its worth it considering what ill spend on shrimp. .. Derek Yea,it sucks man. where do you live? check the ada website and see if a distributor is close. its an investment and is worth it to keep your parameters stable. more work doing it the other way and costs more in the long run.-Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High5's Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 I have read that ADA aqua soils do have different buffering capabilities . I think Africana can buffer lower than Amazonia and for longer. The color of Africana is not appealing, that's probably why you don't see it a lot in shrimp tanks. ctaylor3737 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 I have read that ADA aqua soils do have different buffering capabilities . I think Africana can buffer lower than Amazonia and for longer. The color of Africana is not appealing, that's probably why you don't see it a lot in shrimp tanks.Yea the Amazonia is the best looking one That buffers well imo.-Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High5's Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 I picked a bag of this up locally, I'm think about getting another bag and doing a 10 gallon. It is kind of on the pricy side but it is another choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 That's what I use for my crs. (I only have 5). No ammonia leaching and brings down the ph well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elo500 Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 Is that up aqua shrimp sand? How long have you had it running? I've read some reports of buffering ability only lasting a few months which seems odd for an expensive soil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subtletanks91 Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 It seems Africana would be good for wild caught specimens from South America where ph ranges between 3-5.5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicca32 Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 the buffering all depends on if you use ro water and remineralize or use tap. if you use tap water it will not last as long because it has to work harder to buffer the water down. ive seen fluval has changed their substrate some how. i had the old fss in my crs tank and used tap water with it. considering i payed like $15 including shipping for the bag of it i had i thought it was awesome that it lasted a year before breaking down. with that said i have thought about trying the new fluval to see what it would do since i have ro filter now. it also is one that does not leach ammo. do keep in mine that the cycle of the tank is the important part. it allows for the bio film to build that feed the shrimp. i personally didnt mind the ammo leach of ADA amazonia it just allowed me longer to build the bio before i got shrimp. my tank ran about 3-4 months before i got shrimp and all are happy and healthy so far Pika 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High5's Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 Is that up aqua shrimp sand? How long have you had it running? I've read some reports of buffering ability only lasting a few months which seems odd for an expensive soil.Yes that is up aqua shrimp soil I have not used it as of yet I want to get another bag and start another 10 gallon tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High5's Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 It seems Africana would be good for wild caught specimens from South America where ph ranges between 3-5.5Africana dose buffer down to 5.0ph ranges, I know some people mix Africana and Amazonia to achieve different water parameters. @wicca32 the new Fluval plant/shrimp stratum dose leech ammonia check out my 10 gallon tank thread. I used the new Fluval stratum as my substrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 I only used 1 bag of Aqua sand in my tenner, but I am using remin RO. It lasted so well for me that when I broke down my previous tank, I spread the sand out on a pan and baked it in the oven until dry, then stored it in a 2 liter bottle until I used it again recently. High5's 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High5's Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 I was going to use it as a cap for my fluval stratum for extra buffering. If your saying it's good stuff, I'll take your word on it and start another 10 gallon tank. I could see using in bigger projects if it lasted 18 to 24 months it would cost 80$ to do a 20 long to me that's a little much, ADA is half the cost and its proven. Up aqua doesn't seem cost effective unless it can be reused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 I think, in general, we tend to go with what has worked for us before. For me it has been the sand, so as of yet I have no reason to switch. Of course, I also don't do a nice thick 2" substrate. I've just done one bag in a tenner- and that is way under 1." So far it has worked well, but who knows what the future holds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elo500 Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 Did you bake it just to dry and sanitize it for storage? Is the sand as good as Ada for plants or is it limited to its buffering ability? If there is no ammonia leach how soon is it safe for shrimp after setup? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Hiatus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 "Did you bake it just to dry and sanitize it for storage?" Yepper. Kill off any snails, nasties, etc. and dry it. "Is the sand as good as Ada for plants or is it limited to its buffering ability?" I don't know if it is as good for plants, since I'm not a plant guy really. "If there is no ammonia leach how soon is it safe for shrimp after setup?" Pretty darn Safe. Give it time to adjust the ph and in they can go. (Now take that with a grain of salt. What works for me, may not work for you.) This last time I let it sit three days and in the shrimp went. Now, keep in mind to do it right you still want time for biofilm to build in your tank... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High5's Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 I'm pretty sure it's formulated and marketed for shrimp it has minerals added for shrimp. I'm sure it will grow plants,how well I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 the buffering all depends on if you use ro water and remineralize or use tap. if you use tap water it will not last as long because it has to work harder to buffer the water down. ive seen fluval has changed their substrate some how. i had the old fss in my crs tank and used tap water with it. considering i payed like $15 including shipping for the bag of it i had i thought it was awesome that it lasted a year before breaking down. with that said i have thought about trying the new fluval to see what it would do since i have ro filter now. it also is one that does not leach ammo. do keep in mine that the cycle of the tank is the important part. it allows for the bio film to build that feed the shrimp. i personally didnt mind the ammo leach of ADA amazonia it just allowed me longer to build the bio before i got shrimp. my tank ran about 3-4 months before i got shrimp and all are happy and healthy so far That's what I did always had ammonia readings and pretty much cycled on its own. Sucks waiting that long but I had some berried shrimp quickly after I added parameters were very stable.-Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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