Help with Schultz aquatic plant soil

Hi, I'm new here. I've been reading alot about planted discus tanks here and i was trying to set one up.

I recently bought some due to all the good things i was hearing about it online. I was really excited about it, but that quickly changed. I put my aquatic plant soil in a 60 gal tank and it looked really nice. I decided to check the water parameters just to make sure everything was ok (just to make sure the soil was not doing anything) and boy was I surprised. My ammonia levels are through the roof. I immediately took my fish out. I then tried a different ammonia test that I had and it agreed with my first one. I also went to my LFS and their tests also turned up the same thing. So my fish are in a temporary home until this is resolved .

I also tried putting some left over plant soil and clean water in a separate container and that container also ended up being saturated by ammonia, so the aquatic plant soil is the culprit.

So I wanted to know if anyone has experienced this before. Is this normal? What can I do about it? Help would be greatly appreciated since my fish are all crammed into a smaller tank at the moment .

Where did you get the soil? I just purchased a load of substrate from aquariumplants.com and they garenteed me successful results.

I bought it at Home Depot. Maybe I have a bad batch?
It seems odd because it is a lot of ammonia not just a little bit. Maybe someone tampered with it at the store? If anyone can help I would really appreciate it, because my fish need their home :(

hi darkbluestar
if you bought it from HD then its not made for aquariums right?
the soil probably had a bunch of ferts in it like nitrogen and what not
and gave the ammo burst

Well I have read many reviews about people using it in aquariums and liking it. The bag also clearly states "Safe for Fish".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by darkbluestar

Well I have read many reviews about people using it in aquariums and liking it. The bag also clearly states "Safe for Fish".

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I know some people using it, although I personally don't like it because it's very light weight and too easy to stir up in my opinion.

Just to double check, are you sure your not reading the ammonia in your tap water and being fooled by the dechloramine additive (I'm assuming your tap water has chloramines).


Walter

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attach...4&d=1217215567
http://www.schultz.com/ProductCatego...aticPlantSoil/

well I ran an experiment to make sure it was the gravel. I got some clean water from the tap. I did an ammonia test and had no detectable amount of ammonia. I then added the same water to the substrate on a clean container. I tested the water with the substrate and got about 5ppm of ammonia. I did this a few times just to make sure. If I let the mixture sit there and test it later the ammonia levels get higher.

That is the stuff on that picture you posted Wahter.

maybe you can contact the manufacturer of this and see if this is part of a bad batch?

http://www.spectrumbrandshomeandgard...m/Contacts.htm



Walter

I'm thinking you have a bad batch. Given the way it is packaged in a sealed bag, I don't see how it could have leached anything in after being sealed. I just added some to my tank but haven't run any tests on it.

The package states it it 100% arcillite which is another calcinated clay product like Turface, Soilmaster select, or laterite for that matter, so it is chemically inert; however, given its properties makes it a good nutrient "sponge" for lack of a better term.

I think you have a bad batch. I used Shultz's in my big planted tank for about 6 years: 1/2 shultz and half small inert gravel, mixed....I had ZERO problems with it. I bought it at a plant nursery, not an aquatics fish store also.
Harriett