substrate for apistos

[edwliang]

hi guys. i have heard that if use fine sand as substrate, there will be toxic gas accumulated in the sand where there is no oxygen. They claimed that the sand would smell very bad. So how do you guys deal with that and prevent that happening.

 

[slimbolen99]

The anerobic gasses will only build up if you have sand at depths greater than one inch. You could also get malaysian trumpet snails to stir up the sand, thus preventing most of the sand from getting compacted. You can also use your gravel vac to stir the sand up a bit. Generally, though, the sand at depths less than one inch will do the trick.

 

[edwliang]

The anerobic gasses will only build up if you have sand at depths greater than one inch. You could also get malaysian trumpet snails to stir up the sand, thus preventing most of the sand from getting compacted. You can also use your gravel vac to stir the sand up a bit. Generally, though, the sand at depths less than one inch will do the trick.

thanks a lot.

 

[Cooder]

i have a sand bed deeper than 2 inch in my Tanganyikan tank and it is fine, no smell or gasses disturbed.

I like to use ada aquasoil for my apisto tanks.

 

[slimbolen99]

Regular play sand compacts the worst.
I have found that pool filter sand doesn't compact so much because it is lighter and I can have deeper sand beds.

 

[Linus_Cello]

What about using gravel for the first inch (or more) and capping with 0.5-1" of sand?

 

[slimbolen99]

I'm afraid that the sand would eventually work its way into the gravel, and then you would have a nice mixture of gravel and sand.

 

[Cooder]

What about using gravel for the first inch (or more) and capping with 0.5-1" of sand?

Dont do it, it turns out crap in the end, a yucky mix that is a major hassle to deal with when you want to seperate them... just dont do it. tried it with aquasoil underneat for the plants and play sand on top... i wouldnt do it again

 

[edwliang]

i have a sand bed deeper than 2 inch in my Tanganyikan tank and it is fine, no smell or gasses disturbed.

I like to use ada aquasoil for my apisto tanks.

i only see asian people use ADA aqua soil to keep Apistos. however, soil is useful to keep both PH and hardness down. and it will make a huge contrast in colour since soil is black.

 

[limchongyu]

ADA aquasoil really makes keeping and breeding these apistos easier. For species that require lower ph get the Africana instead of the Amazonia.

 

[Sloory]

ADA aquasoil really makes keeping and breeding these apistos easier. For species that require lower ph get the Africana instead of the Amazonia.

Really? that sounds strange to me,

only because when i think "Africa" i think high ph lol

 

[Cooder]

Doesnt make sense to me either, i think he means the other way round

 

[edwliang]

ADA aquasoil really makes keeping and breeding these apistos easier. For species that require lower ph get the Africana instead of the Amazonia.

is Aricana breaking down faster than Amazonia?

 

[cichlidmac]

No africana lowers Ph more than amazonia.

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[cichlidmac]

Towards the bottom of this article it shows the ph lowering ability of each of the 4 ada substrates. Malaya is the highest followed by Africana then Amazonian 2 and Amazonia

Please note : These substrates contain ammonia to aid in cycling your new tank.

http://www.aquabotanic.com/?p=1110
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[limchongyu]

'Africana' seems to break down at a similar rate to 'Amazonia'.

I didn't get it the other way round 'Africana' does keep the ph lower. Amazonia is much better for growing plants though. I personally have not tried the 'Malaya' as I find that the 'Africana' good enough with my tap water for breeding species like diplotaenia and elizabethae.

Yes do not add these to tanks with existing lifestock especially apistos I learnt the hard way when I topped up some substrate and killed a pair of elizabethaes.

Thanks for the nice link cichlidmac!

 

[pawel]

I have the eco-complete substrate,