Is there an economical Aqua Soil out there I might be missing? If I went with Landen, I’m still looking at about 500 bucks. This is a tough sell to my wife, whom I promised we wouldn’t ever switch substrates again
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My stratum was already over a year old when I started keeping more difficult plants, so I can’t really say. However I think these are things that help provide some context:Thank you! I want to move into more challenging plants and I wonder if I go the cheaper route would just cause disappointment. How’d the more difficult plants go when you had stratum?
If you’re going to constantly be wondering what if and you can afford it by just waiting a bit longer, then I’d say go for all landen or ADA or whatever for peace of mind and greater convenience. But I think I stated all incontrovertible facts that are worth keeping in mind haha.Well said and thank you again.
I can afford it but have spent so much already on the whole setup. I was just thinking if it was possible to keep the price down with a cheaper option. I’m pretty decent at getting good growth with pool filter sand and I’ve seen people use Safe T Sorb with good results. Safe T Sorb, I’ll admit, looks intriguing. Definitely a low cost option but i wondering how long before it turns to mush.If you’re going to constantly be wondering what if and you can afford it by just waiting a bit longer, then I’d say go for all landen or ADA or whatever for peace of mind and greater convenience. But I think I stated all incontrovertible facts that are worth keeping in mind haha.
I can afford it but have spent so much already on the whole setup. I was just thinking if it was possible to keep the price down with a cheaper option. I’m pretty decent at getting good growth with pool filter sand and I’ve seen people use Safe T Sorb with good results. Safe T Sorb, I’ll admit, looks intriguing. Definitely a low cost option but i wondering how long before it turns to mush.
For planting purposes?I personally can’t speak to STS, but a good person to talk to about it would be @Tsing. I know he has some experience with it. One thing I’ve definitely heard is that it’s very light weight-wise, which is a huge downside IMO.
Yup!For planting purposes?
I feel like that would be really messy in a tank with a lot of uprooting, no? @plantbrainFor stuff that big go with the tried and trusted. Its what Tom uses quite a bit and advocates often but falls on deaf ears. Vermicompost aka worm castings capped off with a large grained sand. Before you use them boil them then rinse multiple times. 4 or more to get all the nastys out.
Interesting. Is that like the Kitty Litter substrates of old?Safe T Sorb
Back in the day, using base layers was very popular. Dupla has an iron powder (laterite) that you would mix with the base layer then cap it with something. Then ADA came up with Power Sand.For stuff that big go with the tried and trusted. Its what Tom uses quite a bit and advocates often but falls on deaf ears. Vermicompost aka worm castings capped off with a large grained sand. Before you use them boil them then rinse multiple times. 4 or more to get all the nastys out.
Well, yeah its very messy but then again so is constantly uprooting ADA Amazonia. After a while it all becomes mush. Even my Tropica soil after uprooting 3 times its become powder. Mineralized Top Soil works wonders but its very messy. I guess in the end its all in the eye of the beholder.I feel like that would be really messy in a tank with a lot of uprooting
When I had ADA Amazonia it broke down pretty quickly also. But my stratum I had in my 40 breeder for almost 3 years with over a year of heavy uprooting held up great. Landen so far is holding up really well 3 months in.Well, yeah it’s very messy but then again so is constantly uprooting ADA Amazonia. After a while it all becomes mush. Even my Tropica soil after uprooting 3 times its become powder. Mineralized Top Soil works wonders but it’s very messy. I guess in the end it’s all in the eye of the beholder.