Tropica powder vs Tropica aqua soil

[Vítor]

Which one of tropica soil or tropica powder is best for montecarlo, Ludwigias repens, foxtail, Egerias and probably gonna add some more but still don't know yet

[Lennie]

Do you mean hornwort by foxtail?

If so, with normal tropica aquasoil, I keep all of those and many more in 3 tanks of mine. They all do well. 
anacharis and hornwort mainly feeds from water column tho so not the best way to utilize spending on active substrate ngl.

for monte carlo planting tips, green aqua has a great video on how to use tweezers on aquasoil for all popular foreground plants and he mainly shows aquasoil. It helped me a lot while planting monte carlo. 
 

If you have any questions please ask

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/4/2023 at 4:45 PM, Vítor said:

Which one of tropica soil or tropica powder is best for montecarlo, Ludwigias repens, foxtail, Egerias and probably gonna add some more but still don't know yet

I have the contrasoil extra fine.  For clarity I would've gotten the "fine" size if that was available.  I believe that fine covers just about everything and is universally a good size for all plants, even those with very shallow root systems.  I would then recommend using the Extra fine or something similar as a cap on the top to help hold the plants in.  For my setup, I have the soil on the base with the cap being flourite black (it's just a bit heavier) and that works really well to plant into.

The tropica soil powder looks to be equivalent to the EF size.  While the normal soil is the 2-3mm pellet size.  (I would go with the normal soil)

Here is an example of planting in the soil powder:

Here is the example in the base soil version:

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by nabokovfan87
fix link

[Vítor]

On 5/5/2023 at 2:58 AM, Lennie said:

Do you mean hornwort by foxtail?

If so, with normal tropica aquasoil, I keep all of those and many more in 3 tanks of mine. They all do well. 
anacharis and hornwort mainly feeds from water column tho so not the best way to utilize spending on active substrate ngl.

for monte carlo planting tips, green aqua has a great video on how to use tweezers on aquasoil for all popular foreground plants and he mainly shows aquasoil. It helped me a lot while planting monte carlo. 
 

If you have any questions please ask

 

Yes the foxtail is the hornwort.And which one do you guys think would be easier to plant? I saw some reviews of the bio stratum of Fluval saying that is hard to plant,and tha plants will float. I will check it out i read that Montecarlo would grow better in the powder but the powder looks a lot more fine and easy to break

On 5/5/2023 at 5:25 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I have the contrasoil extra fine.  For clarity I would've gotten the "fine" size if that was available.  I believe that fine covers just about everything and is universally a good size for all plants, even those with very shallow root systems.  I would then recommend using the Extra fine or something similar as a cap on the top to help hold the plants in.  For my setup, I have the soil on the base with the cap being flourite black (it's just a bit heavier) and that works really well to plant into.

The tropica soil powder looks to be equivalent to the EF size.  While the normal soil is the 2-3mm pellet size.  (I would go with the normal soil)

Here is an example of planting in the soil powder:

Here is the example in the base soil version:

 

Thanks!! I just don't have do money do get both of them and in my zone fluorite and other inert substrates are basically the same price as the tropica thats why im goibg for an active soil

[Lennie]

On 5/5/2023 at 11:48 AM, Vítor said:

t Montecarlo would grow better in the powder but the powder looks a lot more fine and easy to break

I have montecarlo on normal tropica aquasoil and it holds well. Just plant it right

Here I tagged the part  for you where he shows how to plant montecarlo properly on aquasoil. I followed this and it worked well for me. 

 

Just know that it grows fine but very slow without co2

Edited May 5, 2023 by Lennie

[Vítor]

On 5/5/2023 at 9:58 AM, Lennie said:

I have montecarlo on normal tropica aquasoil and it holds well. Just plant it right

Here I tagged the part  for you where he shows how to plant montecarlo properly on aquasoil. I followed this and it worked well for me. 

 

Just know that it grows fine but very slow without co2

Do you think Montecarlo could grow with a twinstar 30b and the tropica aquasoil but no Co2?

[Lennie]

On 5/5/2023 at 9:21 PM, Vítor said:

Do you think Montecarlo could grow with a twinstar 30b and the tropica aquasoil but no Co2?

Based on my assumptions, it should be. I use a cheap plant LED on my 10g betta tank where I planted montecarlo on aquasoil couple weeks ago. It is not dying off, slowly growing and sending roots. I am also experiencing it very recently so I cannot make exact statements to not misinform you. My tank is wide and deep but pretty shallow, but I dim the light and not use it on max setting. But again, the growth is really slow. Don't have huge expectations like those co2 injected tanks.

You can also search for dry start methods if you like. This way plants have access to co2 directly so you can grow your carpet faster and then fill your tank later on. I just did not expect to have a fast carpet so even if it takes months and months without co2, I'm just okay with it.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Lennie

[Vítor]

On 5/5/2023 at 7:56 PM, Lennie said:

Based on my assumptions, it should be. I use a cheap plant LED on my 10g betta tank where I planted montecarlo on aquasoil couple weeks ago. It is not dying off, slowly growing and sending roots. I am also experiencing it very recently so I cannot make exact statements to not misinform you. My tank is wide and deep but pretty shallow, but I dim the light and not use it on max setting. But again, the growth is really slow. Don't have huge expectations like those co2 injected tanks.

You can also search for dry start methods if you like. This way plants have access to co2 directly so you can grow your carpet faster and then fill your tank later on. I just did not expect to have a fast carpet so even if it takes months and months without co2, I'm just okay with it.

Me too ,i mean slow growing is low maintenance.So it sounds great to me,i just don't wanna put it there and then it starts to melt

[Lennie]

On 5/5/2023 at 11:37 PM, Vítor said:

Me too ,i mean slow growing is low maintenance.So it sounds great to me,i just don't wanna put it there and then it starts to melt

Mine melted on my 50cm cube tank. I bet it was bcoz I use tap water there and my tap has high kh and ph. 

In my betta tank I mainly use RO, and remineralize it, keept it around 6.5-7 ph. No melting whatsoever

[Vítor]

On 5/5/2023 at 9:52 PM, Lennie said:

Mine melted on my 50cm cube tank. I bet it was bcoz I use tap water there and my tap has high kh and ph. 

In my betta tank I mainly use RO, and remineralize it, keept it around 6.5-7 ph. No melting whatsoever

I will try it then! Thank you