Should we start a new experiment? Or keep this one going? Everything I'm using for this experiment (affiliate links) Tank US: bit.ly/3qE968B EU: bit.ly/3S0rJ2J Light US: bit.ly/3dVYmPQ EU: bit.ly/3D7RAB1 AQUARIO NEO SOIL US: bit.ly/3Hopkda EU: bit.ly/3fxvcHp FLUVAL STRATUM US: amzn.to/3fqiKJr EU: amzn.to/3SruUQL WIO WETLAND EONIAN EU: bit.ly/3Ci1uPv 🚨Watch this next!🚨 Inspiration playlist! ru-vid.com/group/PLrlvf56gZy-ipL3105SdfKsUBrMUSttoh CO2 buying guide! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dIVrr1yS3sU.html How to SETUP your CO2! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qSHZ4F2PI2o.html Simple fertilizer dosing! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-I_KBOUM1RXM.html 👉🏻Cool Aquascaping T-shirts: mosscotton.com/ Code: mjaqua10 👉🏻Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my RU-vid channel: RU-vid.com/mjaquascaping 👉🏻 Use Code ''MJAMSTERDAM'' for 10% off Fzone products #plantedtank #aquascape #mjaquascaping
How about a deep dive into the two top, unexpected contenders? Maybe scape two tanks, one with pond soil + aquasoil and another with Fluval and see how they compare to each other and your past history with the Neo stuff. New scapes!
I'd say keep it going a touch longer. I also suggested in another video for a comparison of, still water, moving water (agitated but no added air/co2), normal air agitated and co2 added to see if ambient air will have any effect on plant growth vs not having any at all. C02 and stagnate is control in this test.
Number 2 for me! Internodal distance looks good and all round health and colour looks excellent. Interested to see Fluval stratum compared head to head with Tropica soil and Ada Aquasoil with and without CO2. There’s your next 6!
Please continue with adding co2! Great light+great soil+ co2 = i wanna see these results! Only way to properly gauge, in my opinion! Thanks for this experiment so far!
You sir are legendary! I can’t tell you how many questions I’ve had that you answer in each video. Thank you for your content, it helps a lot when one doesn’t have access to be able to run my own experiments!
Keep it going. You have so much experience with all different sorts of aquariums, your opinion on just which substrate might be better in which situation would be very helpful. I’m going to set up two large aquariums in the near future, I’d love to have an idea going in what would be the best substrate for what I want to do. Thanks for your terrific videos!!
Such an underrated channel. Usually channels with videos of this level of production have many more subscribers, but I imagine it’s just a matter of time :)
Man you have the best channel. Idk why you have so few subscribers for this quality. I love love love that you use scientific method, you get straight to the point with no personality selling and you’re really talented with this hobby. You have to keep this set up going. Add more time then right before worse tank plants get to unsalvageable add co2
Now i know which soil I will buy for my next tank - FluvaL Stratum. I got no idea why i did not see this video before, but I love results with this tank. Awsome colours and health of all plants, almost no issues with algae and fact that lack of CO2 is not making a mess is huge win for me. Thanks for this video. I plan to rescape my tank in ner future, so this will be way to go. Now only design is left to choose and I am not best designer lol.
Very good info, thank you. I have sand substrate and my tank went through a huge crash or two in the past month. I decided to add some stratum to the tank that has just inert sand. I wish I could replace it all, but I am going to leave the sand and just add stratum to it and let the fish decide what to do with it when they are able to get back into it. Theyve been in a hospital tank since the crash that happened after a water change. My plants have never grown very well, and when they did, I ended up getting staghorn algae. I do water changes 10-25% every week, but my water changes constantly because we get our water trucked in and I have a water softener. I am so annoyed with this situation, but I dont want to give up on fishkeeping. I really don't know what to do at this point. I am still water changing every week without fish in the tank, as it had to go through the nitrogen cycle again after the crash. I probably should have just started all over again. My water comes out at 6.0 or less pH - what can I add to my tank to buffer the pH to stay around 7.0 pH? Eggshells?
i think ill go with pond soil on bottom and fluval on top of it. maybe 1 inch pond soil, and 2 inch fluval. ill pass from a 13gallon tank, upgrade to a 31gallon tank. + So i want to start the best as possible.
Keep them going. Add 1 or 2 white cloud minnows or similar to each tank and add a little maintenance as you would with your other tanks. Fascinating experiment.
it would be interesting to see this experiment again with more heavy root feeder like carpeting plants, crypts and swords. also im really surprised the root tabs caused the most nitrate and not number 6.
Eu mantinha a experiência pelo menos mais um mês. Estou realmente surpreso que as abas de raiz causaram mais nitrato e não o número 6. O número 6 é uma excelente surpresa. Abraço desde Portugal! I kept the experience for at least another month. I'm really surprised that the root tabs caused more nitrate and not the number 6. The number 6 is an excellent surprise. Hugs from Portugal!
Your videos are always the best man.. less talking and more things to show.. sometimes i don't understand the other RU-vidrs who always talk and explain things like we want to see their faces all the time.. we want results like yours.. good job man.
I have been using pond soil from brico for 2 years and my 60 liter Aquarium with no co2 and low dosage of nutrions are really awesome! In my experience it went really well with pond soil.
Nice experiment! I would have added a cryptocoryne in each of the compartments. Just to compare a pure root feeder versus stem plants which receive most of their nutrients from the water instead of the soil.
been waiting for this video!! excited to see what the results are I'm towards the end and holy cow those weird worms in tank #5 are pretty gross... burn it with fire!!
@@IndoorEcosystem But I am perplexed. Root caps are "sterile" looking, and sand is relatively sterile. I can only surmise that the transplanted plants had some eggs or something on them.
I think you should keep this going. No need for many major changes just keep it going with water changes and algae growth. I would like to see which substrate “exhausts” the substrate over time
I would love to see you keep it going for a while longer. As someone who had her first aquascape in June and then had to move, I'm still setting up my new one. I use fluvall stratum and I'm gratified to see that it is performing well so far. I have never had nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia at high levels.
Keep it going, at least through the 3 month mark. I think that's a good amount of time to see how it's going to perform longer term. 2 weeks, things are still settling down to an equilibrium. Great info!
i think we should also consider the plants in the middle of each tank getting more light then the ones on the outer side since they have 2 connecting led sides and the others only have 1 side, which could be also a factor of to much light to much algae orso
your timing couldn't have been more perfect. In the planning process of setting up 2 tanks right now with different requirements, had this exact question, watched part 1 yesterday, and here you are today. Thanks so much!!
I think you should start again, but keep the fluval and tropica and put them up against some other brands/mixes. Like a tournament. Like others have mentioned, I think you should try and control the lighting more to make it more consistent across all the tanks. Using black plastic dividers or something.
Brilliant experiment! I really appreciate your methodology 👍 My suggestion for a follow up test: take results from 4, 5, 6, and now run similar setups with base layer of pond soil, but this time 1st capped with inert black gravel / 2nd with smaller amount of pond soil and capped with sand layer 3 times thicker than soil / 3rd keep same as original #6. Maybe you’ll find an even better substrate combo.
I invested in a digital pH sensor and I will never go back to the chemical one. It is super accurate and easy as long as you care for it, basically don’t drop it or leave it dirty or anything. ❤ Great video, and I will definitely try your plant substrate method.
Epic video! Going to be adding some multipurpose compost to a tank and adding plants. Going to top it off with gravel, cheap stuff from the garden store, and cap with some decorative sand. Hopefully the plants will grow well and then I can add some livestock when the nitrates calm down.
Nice video and good to see different soils and substrates work differently for a low tech setup. My guess would be due to the high ph in your water that was always lowered by your co2 usage in your other tanks, making it ideal for the plants. The pond soil + aqua soil could’ve better results due to the fact that the ph was lower and is favorable for plant growth.
Not sure what you mean by 'Pond Soil'. At least I cannot find anything by that brand name. I am in Thailand and I would like to be able to duplicate your results in #6. I do not see the affiliate links or a recipe for DIY in your comments. Internet search not helpful.
Please keep this experiment going. It’s extremely helpful. I noticed when I was doing aqua soil mix with pond soil eventually all my aquariums pH level shot up to 8.4, even ones that I was using distilled water in. I reset all but one with just aqua soil it’s actually the flu Stratham, the pH is staying low and not shooting up. I’m curious to see results of all of these different substrates.
Appreciate all the effort and the scientific unbiased approach to the tests! As a next step you may compare Aquasoil and Fluval with different amount of light and CO2. Thank you for the great content!
I think it would be great to try this with RO water or distilled. It was great that you tested pH since that will affect certain plant growth too and I'm not sure what you're water is out of the tap. Obviously different aquasoils will lower the pH to differing levels, but it would be interesting to see how much that might have had an effect. Really great video!
I use Fluval for my plant cuttings. When I want to propagate some, I'll keep them in water until I see roots forming. After that, I add 1-2 TBSP. Never had algae issues.
Thank you for your time In doing this. Been on the fence about getting back in the hobby after a long time. Leds weren't around. Big changes. I was spoiled my buddy owned a pet store. Do some plumbing repairs did his ro system Work a Sat and would get everything in trade for cost. Enjoy your channel and appreciate your time
Very helpful test, I am looking to start a 10 gallon moderate to heavy planted.Looking to do low tech, so I think Fluval Stratum will be the way to go.This was a great help in seeing different setups and the results from each.
I used aquasoil and fine round pebble sand. Had to clean the sand a lot though, but it's a dark colour with specks of other lighter colours. Looks like teeny tiny micro pebbles. Has worked fantastic. I cut the plants back weekly. No ferts and no C02 at all. The only issue is diatoms, no algae at all. But it's a shrimp and snail only tank and full of baby shrimp that graze on the diatoms, so guess that's great. It is a deep bed with red scoria at the bottom then the aquasoil and then the sand. I have to say the sand is so much easier to plant in that aquasoil, so glad I did it this way.
An interesting follow up would be: How would you fix each tank (not changing the substrate) for example: how would you set the light, or dose nutrients, or ad co2, etc… to make each substrate work?
Awesome video , glad too see Fluval looking good. I think maybe now try CO2 on the tanks and give another few weeks, or even top 4. Awesome video again MJ Aquascaping
Good start and good video. The thing with substrate is that in nature it is stratified and has a complex structure. The other thing is that plant choice is important. #6 did better because the substrate was more complex. Add a little clay to the bottom and some buried rock/gravel (not sand) structure, and it would win by even more and with more types of plants.
Fluval stratum is good, I'm using it but the soil is quite light. Hard to plant if you shallow plant. Need to put more soil so you can push it in further.
Thanks for the experiment. I was about to order aqua soil for my low level aquascape project, but I think I better spend a little bit more and buy fluval stratum😊
Very useful video, thank you! I've been using Flourite in my 10 gal (expensive stuff) which is like gravel but much finer. I've noticed the roots are much more developped, a lot more rizome as well, and my plants are thriving! I'd like to see Fourite topped with gravel :)
I'm definitely going to recreate this with some UNS contrasoil. It's the most expensive substrate by weight I can find and I'm really curious as to how it really stacks up. So I'm very happy that you helped me narrow it down to other two comparison substrates instead of 6 or 7
I can't find aquasoil in my area so I used Fluval Stratum and I love it, everything grows very well, even a year and half later. Advice, put on a good 2-3 inches of substrate to let the roots sink in deep.
Great experiment! Thx for doing it. Would also be good to know which substrate is most beneficial for keeping healthy fish with the least amount of water changes. 😅
This video has been the best option for everyone who wants to try all these types of substrate. Though I'm curious if the results of the white sand would have been different if you were used a darker type of sand
The way capped dirt works is the nutrients leaching slowly into the water. Too thin layer of sand (soft gravel) and nutrients cause algae calamity. With recommended 2"/5cm thickness the nutrients seep slowly and the plants need to reach nutrient-rich levels with their roots. So the plants won't grow fast from the start, but over the months that would change. As the experiment goes, I think #4 wasn't capped properly and #6 may see some issues in the 1-2 months, but maybe not. Aquasoil also falls apart after some time. I'd say the best substrate would be thick bed starting with rich soil, thick layer of sand, some aquasoil and thin capping of sand. That is if I were to start a large planted aquarium going for years. For nano-tanks I'd go with pure aquasoil.
I would like you to keep this experiment running until nutrient deficiencies start appearing in the tanks, this would help to evaluate which one is the best in the long term. Thanks for this experiment and all your videos, really interesting and useful!
Great experiment. Thanks for doing this. I do want to point out that there is a variable for which you didn't account. The middle chambers are getting more light than the side chambers. They get direct light from above and some from the lights above both chambers beside them while the side chambers only get light from above and one side. It is interesting that despite this, you still got the best growth in a side chamber.
It would be interesting to see how you’d revive those set ups that were not doing so great. Perhaps some lessons from there to the aquarists having similar problems.
This is genuinely a great experiment, keep this one going and add a couple of snails, shrimp and micro fish like Chilli Rasbora. You shouldn’t need a filter with all those plants and low bio load 👍
Fascinating stuff! I'd assumed I did something right because my tank has been crystal clear with excellent plant growth for many months now, but I guess that fluval stratum seems to influence that in this experiment. Maybe I just got lucky, haha. I dislike planting in it (a lot of plants struggle to stay planted until their roots dig in), but otherwise it has been a wonderful substrate to get started with.
This substrate head-to-head test was EXTREMELY helpful. Something I think I might want to see is a reset. clean them all out, re-soil, and re-plant with new plants. And this time add some fish, shrimp, or something to put a small bio load on the tanks. Fish will also introduce a small level of CO2 as well I think. This may change results somewhat. Also less of those nutrient additives in tank 5. So far i'm excited about how well the Fluval Strata did as that is probably the easiest to find in my area.
Greatful i saw this video. I bought aquasoil and considered burying in root tabs . I think I'll hold off for a bit on the root tabs until the plants get some of the nutrients from the aqua soil eaten up first
