ADA vs. Fluval Stratum Substrate

[JTang]

I will be setting up a new 20gal for CRS. This time I want to do it right...

Which substrate is better for keeping n breeding CRS? ADA is well known but more $$. Has anyone tried the new Fluval product?

Where can you find the best deal? Thx!

[trevorhoang]

i bought a 2kg bag for 9 dollars at king ed during boxing week. it was 20 or 3 percent off at the time. pj pets carries them as well but i think its the same price.

[JTang]

Oh yeah! The famous Boxing week sale! I was there 2 wks ago but wasnt thinking about setting up another tank.... miss out another great deal!

[MananaP]

I personally think they are almost at par if we are talking about price, 4kg of fluval stratum is 24.99 i think if i'm not mistaken+TAX and you need about 2 bags to compare it to ADA 9L bag which is $50 LOL... I use both and even fluval is new i can't say the long term use of it, all i know is it lowers PH well...

[trevorhoang]

I personally think they are almost at par if we are talking about price, 4kg of fluval stratum is 24.99 i think if i'm not mistaken+TAX and you need about 2 bags to compare it to ADA 9L bag which is $50 LOL... I use both and even fluval is new i can't say the long term use of it, all i know is it lowers PH well...

ya that price sounds rite. i bought my bag due to impulse shopping. i never seen these fluvals go on sale. i still havent opened my bag yet. if anyone has experience using this fluval then please let us know how its like.

[JTang]

King Ed's has Fluval 4kg bag for $25, 8kg bag for $48. I saw that they have 2 different types. One for plants (available in 2, 4 and 8kg) and the other one for shrimps (2 and 4kg only). What is the difference between the two? They look identical to me...

[Nanokid]

King Ed's has Fluval 4kg bag for $25, 8kg bag for $48. I saw that they have 2 different types. One for plants (available in 2, 4 and 8kg) and the other one for shrimps (2 and 4kg only). What is the difference between the two? They look identical to me...

probably marketing - people who want small portions often will have a shrimp tank.... and when they see a small bag that says its for shrimp, would be the nail in the coffin. just a guess, dont know if there is an actual difference

[igor.kanshyn]

It there any info about how long it last?

Does any one have it in a tank for a long period of time?

[tang daddy]

since its fairly new, no one here has had it in their tanks for too long, and by that I mean 1 year. I am going to try it on a new tank I set up!!

[Jonney_boy]

I have the shrimp version in my 10g and it works great. Does drop the ph a tad... just like ada.

I belive the shrimp stuff has "slightly" smaller pellet sizes then the plant version. All in all they are almost identical too (including in price).

a 4kg bag will "just" fill a 10 gal. I would like another 2-4kg in the tank tho for plants as I have only about 1" of substrate depth.