Q&A
- General Questions
- vol.001 [Aqua Soil Series]
- vol.002 [Lighting System]
- vol.003 [CO2 System]
- vol.004 [Filter System]
- vol.001 [Aqua Soil Series]
- vol.002 [Lighting System]
- vol.003 [CO2 System]
- vol.004 [Filter System]
Mail for Q&A
Please send us your questions concerning this month's topic.
We cannot promise to answer every inquiry nor reply to you personally, unfortunately.
But those questions which should be shared with other hobbyists will be answered in this "Q & A" section
naweb@adana.co.jp
vol.001 [Aqua Soil Series]
Q) I'm currently using Aqua Soil for my aquarium. And, now I see brown and green colored algae growing inside the substrate at the front of the tank. What can I do to remove the algae and make my aquarium look clean?
A) Mix one part Phytongit and two parts water. Apply the solution with a thin headed dropper between the substrate and the front glass wall of tank. This procedure requires your careful attention. Adding too much Phytongit to the solution and/or injecting excessive amounts of the solution will kill the water plants growing in the foreground, such as Glossostigma and Echinodorus tennellus. Also, remove as much Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) on the surface as possible by using a small hose ; it's very important to eliminate the algae from the tank when it starts appearing. If you are using a commercial cleaning device for substrate, you may not see much Cyanobacteria on the surface. In this case, it's effective to vacuum the surface of the substrate and then give the "Phytongit treatment" when you re-plant the foreground.
Q) I'm currently using Aqua Soil for my aquarium. And, now I see brown and green colored algae growing inside the substrate at the front of the tank. What can I do to remove the algae and make my aquarium look clean?
A) Mix one part Phytongit and two parts water. Apply the solution with a thin headed dropper between the substrate and the front glass wall of tank. This procedure requires your careful attention. Adding too much Phytongit to the solution and/or injecting excessive amounts of the solution will kill the water plants growing in the foreground, such as Glossostigma and Echinodorus tennellus. Also, remove as much Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) on the surface as possible by using a small hose ; it's very important to eliminate the algae from the tank when it starts appearing. If you are using a commercial cleaning device for substrate, you may not see much Cyanobacteria on the surface. In this case, it's effective to vacuum the surface of the substrate and then give the "Phytongit treatment" when you re-plant the foreground.
Q) Do I need to wash Aqua Soil - Amazonia before use? How many liters of Aqua Soil is enough for a "Iwagumi" layout and how thick should it be? The size of tank is 60cm x 30cm x 36cm.
A) There is no need to wash Aqua Soils. In fact, if you wash them, their granules are crushed, and it may cause the prolonged water cloudiness. Please read the instruction manual before use, which explains how to set up substrates in a tank and add water over it. A tank of this size roughly needs one 9 liter bag of Aqua Soil -Amazonia. Substrate is commonly set at the fore side of the tank 3-4cm in thickness and the back side 7-8cm. But for a "Iwagumi" layout, you may make them thinner, like 2cm at the fore side and 5cm on the back, at the beginning. The soil is pushed foreword and creates a thicker front while the rocks are placed. After the rocks are arranged, the soil in the foreground is flattened and fixed to a thickness of about 3cm. You may create banks of soil in the background of the tank depending on the layout composition. So, it's recommended to have an extra 3 liter bag of Amazonia on the side. You can choose the powder type of Amazonia for this extra bag because it easily fills gaps between the rocks and creates a smoother surface.
Q) According to ADA's product catalog, using Aqua Soil for substrate produces acidic soft water. I want to have some fish, such as Cardinal Tetra and African Lamp-eye, in my planted aquarium. I'm wondering if there will be any problem.
A) Aqua Soil has the ability to raise water's pH level considerably at the initial stage of an aquarium. You can start planting water plants during the initial set-up. But fish should be added to the aquarium 3 - 4 weeks after set-up when the quality of the water becomes stable. Inside the aquarium with Aqua Soil, water remains acidic for a while. So, it's better to have fish preferring acidic water in such an environment. Cardinal Tetra likes acidic water. However, on the other hand, African Lamp-eye lives under a near-neutral condition and highly acidic water is not suitable for them. After a certain period of time from the set-up, you can keep acidic water fish including African Lamp-eye in the aquarium where the pH level has risen. But adding these fish right after the set-up when pH is very low should be avoided. Though it depends on the frequency and volume of water change and the quality of tap water, the pH level will generally rise up to mildly-acidic and neutral as the water plants grow abundantly and cover the foreground.