Active Soil Review - ADA Amazonia

​​David Ward · Monday, 5 November 2018

ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia substrates will lower the pH and KH, thus creating an ideal environment for tropical fish, shrimp and aquatic plants. The soil contains organic materials that are much needed to keep healthy shrimp. Humic Acids found in the substrate will promote plant growth.

Now I’ve come across this soil from my aqua scaping days, and it was a highly revered soil. I was surprised to find it also a very very good soil for shrimp tank setup.

The soil adjusts the water PH to about 5.8, is a lighter brown than other shrimp soils and is available in either normal or powder versions.
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This soil LEAKS AMMONIA during setup, this is to allow the tank to fishless cycle, it also means the tank will defiantly cycle and cycle well the down side to this is it will take at least 40 days to 2 months for the tank to stabilise, but once it’s stable the tank conditions are pretty much perfect for Taiwan bee shrimp.

One thing I’ve notices about my tanks with ADA Amazonia is the parameters don’t fluctuate, and the water stays crystal clear. The downside to this soil is that it takes so long to cycle plus if your planning a tank reset you’ll need a second tank due to the ammonia that it initially leaks, even with a mature filter it will still take 2-3 weeks before it safe to put shrimp back in. That said it’ still a really good shrimp soil and one used widely by breeders in Taiwan.

I would rate this soil 8/10