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Clay In A Tank


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#1 Ryan-w

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Posted 10 December 2016 - 04:23 PM

Hi guys, im planing on a rescape on ly 11ft tank.

I have a hell of allot of ADA Amazonia in it at the moment but its anoying my that it keeps finding its way ontop of the white sand i have ontop of it (a good 1"-2" layer of sand)

Now ive heard of people using clay as a substrate, so i was thinking if i do a layer of that over my ada soil before capping it it should keep it under control.

Will that be my beat bet?
What clay do people use and where do you get it?

#2 Bombshocked

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Posted 10 December 2016 - 06:20 PM

i have no idea why you would want to do this but ill try and share some experiences ive had

 

im guessing if you lay a thick bit of clay and then sand over the Aquasoil it will go anaerobic due to lack of water movement and oxygen, that will make the roots not grow well,

with the sand being heavier and smaller then the Aquasoil in my experience the sand will always sink and the aqua soil will come to the top as soon as you try to pull anything out or move anything around, i personally would divide the substrate,

 

but if you have Large Corys, Bristlenose, L# , sand sifters or any other boisterous fish i would use 1 type of substrate as they will constantly be turning,mixing,burrowing and sifting it.  you could use stones on the initial setup to completely separate the planted areas and the sand areas but the above mentioned fish i personally find a pain for a meticulously planted tank

 

personally if i was going to cap Aquasoil which i never would, i would look at a smaller non rounded aquarium gravel as it should lock together better and be bigger and heavier then sand roughly 1 inch deep of gravel should keep it down and allow you to do light gravel vacs without bringing it up

 

edit:spelling


Edited by Bombshocked, 10 December 2016 - 06:21 PM.


#3 malawiman85

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Posted 10 December 2016 - 07:02 PM

Clay that folks use is laterite.
What you are doing Sounds like the worlds most expensive 2tone.
If you want to grow plants and put sand on top, how's about using propagating sand instead of aquasoil with a cap of either washed propagating sand or river sand

#4 Ryan-w

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Posted 10 December 2016 - 08:19 PM

I was always under the impression that i had to cap ada, if thats the case maybe i get rid of the capping all together then

#5 dicky7

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Posted 10 December 2016 - 10:51 PM

There is one ADA that you will have to watch very closely and that is Amazon  which I have been told does make an ammonia environment could some else please cast some more light on this please



#6 malawiman85

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Posted 11 December 2016 - 06:14 AM

It initially releases ammonia when you put it in the tank. After the spike it's fine. ADA Malaya doesn't spike as high as Amazonia. Some other Aquasoils don't have the initial spike.
Capped or uncapped makes no difference in terms of the ammonia leaching.
I thought the only reason you capped ADA in the first place was for the colour/pattern of your discus (remembering back to last years Aquascaping Comp).
If colour isn't an issue, I'd get rid of the sand ASAP!

#7 Ryan-w

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Posted 11 December 2016 - 08:39 AM

Thats some food for thought. Thanks for the help




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