Substrate choice

[Mark49]

Hi everyone, Im about to replace my ADA substrate and have been looking at Dymax as an alternative.It is darker than ADA and less crumbly.Has anyone used it and if so how do you find it as a shrimp substrate.

[jayc]

It's a very new brand. I have not used it yet and you might need to do a review being one of the first to use it . They sound promising but how good it is only comes with time using it.

Where are you buying it from? And how much is a 3L bag?

It better be cheap for a brand that doesn't have any cred yet.

[Mark49]

It is double the price of ADA.

My LFS wants $36.90 for a 3kg bag or $99.95 for a 9kg.

[jayc]

9 hours ago, Mark49 said:

My LFS wants $36.90 for a 3kg bag or $99.95 for a 9kg.

? Woah!

[kms]

 I use Black earth premium, it doesn't crumble like ADA, and is much cleaner, when mixed water together, the water is very clear, whiles ADA take days to clear.

[nicpapa]

Find the cheapest soil... in 1-1.5 years you must change it... so why to buy expensive soils?

There is no diferents in breeding shrimp what ever soil you have... soil is just for lowering ph and kh.. that all.

[jayc]

18 hours ago, kms said:

I use Black earth premium

I use Black Earth Premium as well from CAL labs.

@Mark49, Try this Dymax soil out, if it doesn't work out swap if for something else. Let us know how it goes, or else we will never know whether it is good or not.

 

[kms]

6 hours ago, jayc said:

I use Black Earth Premium as well from CAL labs.

@Mark49, Try this Dymax soil out, if it doesn't work out swap if for something else. Let us know how it goes, or else we will never know whether it is good or not.

 

I know, you recommended  it to me, I purchased a 3ib bag of the normal version and fine version, haven't touched the normal version yet.

[Mark49]

I purchased 2x9kg bags of Dymax today.I have setup it up tonight and will post updates on how it performs and cycling times etc.

[Sabertooth]

I went from using ADA and fluval stratum to up aqua sand not sure how popular it is but i like how it holds its shape when it is new you it is a lot harder to crush than other substrates. Comes in black and red variants. No clouding of the water and no ammonia issues. Set up another 10g tank about 3 weeks ago and cost was AU$39 for 5kg bag.

[kms]

I got rid of ADA, about 8 months of use, it starts to break up, i'm using black earth premium, and i'm happy with in.

[Mark49]

Ok so here are my results from using Dymax.

Tank produced 0.25 of NH3 after 7 days.After 14 days it was zero.

Crystal shrimp were put in on day 1.No deaths.The only thing I noticed was that there was some foamimg of the water surface for 2 weeks.

In my Co2 planted tanks the existing plants were removed and Dymax replaced the exhaused ADA substrate.All plants were replanted the same day.Every plant has done extremely well and I am very impressed with Dymax.

It is my new favourite although a little more expensive.The water stays crystal clear upon refilling the tank.No need to use the existing substrate bag on the bottom to prevent cloudiness.

Pics taked 20 mins after filling the tank.

Cheers Mark/AquaCare Aquarium Maintenance Services.

Edited October 24, 2019 by Mark49