Black Earth premium substrate for L046 catfish

dw1305

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Hi all,
I wouldn't use it, not because of the water softening properties, but because it is a nutrient rich substrate for planted tanks. If you have a planted tank it should be OK.

If you use sand and fine gravel, the water current will sort them, dependent on flow.

cheers Darrel
 

dw1305

Global Moderators
Staff member
May 5, 2009
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Wiltshire nr. Bath, UK
Hi all,
Thanks everyone

I am going to bring the pH up (hoping 6-6.8) by:

1. Removing half the substrate out
2. 40% water change

These substrate does not release ammonia.

http://www.calaqualabs.com/BEP.html
Not releasing ammonia is definitely an advantage over substrates like "Ada Amazonia", but there are the other nutrients to take into account.

All active substrates work via "ion exchange". This means that they take up a multivalent ion (like Ca++ or PO4---) and swap it for a mono-valent ion that is lower down the lyotropic series (http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/ac172e/AC172E05.htm), and less strongly bound.

On the Calaqualabs page it says
....Although Black Earth Premium is highly-fertile and rich in organic nutrients, our advanced production process locks the ammonia inside the substrate. This assures that most of the nutrients remain within the substrate for the plants, and not washed away by water. As a result, the substrate remains fertile longer....
There is no advantage to this if you don't have plants and keep fish (like Hypancistrus zebra - L46) from very low conductivity water. The substrate will raise levels of NO3- and K+ in the water via ion exchange.

You can get substrates that are naturally low in ions which will reduce pH, like sphagnum peat and Akadama, this is because they come from areas of high rainfall, where all the reactive metal ions have been leached from the surface layers and replaced with H+ ions from the rain-water.

In use these substances will exchange H+ ions in the substrate for more strongly bound cations like Ca++ in the water column.

If you have very soft water you can use "oyster shell chick grit" to add a bit of dKH/dGH. Have a look at <http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9323> and linked threads.

cheers Darrel