HELP with aquasoil deteriorating quickly!!

[kristina]

I don't know what on earth is happening with my aquasoil. I grabbed a whole bunch of it about 4mnths ago and ended up having half a bag left over that I threw into another tank up one end just because I had it left over and could. The left over stuff is breaking down into a dust/silt type substance that seriously clouds the water very quickly and for a long time at the slightest movement over it. It is only the left over stuff and so it's nothing to do with the aquasoil being the cause of the problem. I am using dechlorinated tap that's aged in a big plastic barrel (anywhere between 1 and 4 days). Nothing else added. Nothing. In either tanks.

Tank going good is planted AR510. housing bitaeniata pair with fry. Plant growth lights for 8hrs a day on timer. temp 26. pH <6. filter is built-in trickle with sponge filter attached. bio balls, matrix and regular wool. Aquasoil is staying in-tact and will only cloud water slightly when disturbed intentionally.

Tank with problems is standard 1ft housing nothing ATM. regular aquarium lights irregularly approx. 9hrs a day. temp 27. pH 6.8. hang-on filter housing sponge, ceramic rocks and regular wool.

So other than the aquasoil breaking down into a fine dust, the pH is constantly different. I am not using different water at water changes. Both tanks source their fresh water from the same barrel. I'm so confused.

Can anybody shed some light on this? I've googled it but haven't found anything useful.

[Pheonix]

I used the Malaya Aquasoil and found the same thing. after 12 months i wanted to change the scene around but all the moving and uprooting of plants resulted in a very fine silt suspension that was almost impossible to clear much like a massive bacterial bloom. Was not good for my UV filter either!!!

Had excellent results with it but it is really one use only in my opinion, for long term planted tanks.

[ILLUSN]

to everyone even thinking about using aquasoil read here

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=109743&highlight=aquasoil#109743

seriously for the money if you want a VERY good planted substrate theat doesnt bugger up your pH use red sea flora base, just like malaya only silt and cloud free after 4 years use in my tanks, dupla ground is also very good, Eco complete is fantastic but will raise you pH and kH slightly (about 0.3-0.6)
IME flourite seems to depleate way too quickly, however flourite black does look awesome.

[kristina]

hmmm, so there's nothing I can do about it?

I had thought there was some form of environmental factor that encouraged the aquasoil to deteriorate quicker in one tank rather than the other... perhaps because I only used a small amount and the pH was kept higher it broke down? Is it possible that aquasoil needs to be maintained in a lower pH environment?

I like that aquasoil bought my pH down. It saves me from all the hard work trying to get it down by myself :D I just throw the water in and it stays steady just below 6 constantly. I don't have to use peat, filtered water, leaves etc. to encourage the water. If you don't want low pH I wouldn't suggest using it in any extreme measures as it will give you hell - but if your aiming for a low pH its cheaper and easier to use it as a substrate than constantly using chemicals and filtered water and all that stuff to lower it.

[ILLUSN]

flora base also buffer your ph down by about 0.5 most of my tanks with it run 6.6-6.7 when the tap water is 7.2. live and learn