Maybe you should do a comparison test with your normal go-to substrate, without co2 injection, the same light, the same water change schedule and plants etc...
'Hybrid' compost - lots of woody material and yes microbes - that's my guess, producing a 10 ppm of CO2 in the water column, with injection of course at least double that is normal. Still, if this can be replicated by a number of folks it would make life a lot easier for large tanks with a lot of the easier plants. Doubt the relatively low lighting was important certainly after a few weeks while decomposition started to happen in the substrate and , indeed, may have contributed to some of the plants failing, but of course hard to know.
I was waiting for a good video to base off of as I wanted to try a Dutch style tank for the first time and once a again you cease to amaze me! This is a beautiful tank and I can’t wait for my tank to arrive so I can get it set up and order the plants! Keep up the amazing videos!
It's always difficult to know what's going on specifically with the these products, but according to the website: "This product is very rich in all the ingredients necessary for bacterial reproduction. The bacteria grow quickly and produce the CO2 necessary for aquatic plants, which dissolves in the water due to the water pressure itself." In other words, it's high in organic matter (probably explains why it's so "powdery" as you say, and the website advises not to wash it). This is why the organic compost and mineral top soils used in dirted tanks provide co2; The heterotrophic bacteria slowly consumes the organic matter, regularly releasing co2 as a byproduct. If you want to be particularly lazy, even without soil this can be accomplished by allowing mulm to build up in gravel or otherwise pelleted substrates, and utilizing vigorous root-feeding carpeting plants that can feed off the mulm as it were a soil, releasing co2 as it decomposes. And actually, can you tell me if these pellets are disintegrating over time, because I'm curious how they're utilizing organic material in a stable granular form.
That plant growth is amazing! I'm using a really cheap aquasoil (aqueon plant and shrimp) and i'm having to dose fertilizer to get decent growth. Do any other commenters know if you get similar results with other soils like fluval or seachem?
I'm always confused about how to plant the emersed grown plants do you guys remove the emersed part once plant is done transitioning or you left it as it is.. some of my hobbyist friends told me to plant short piece of plants so I can trim nd replant the submerged parts in 1st trimming
@@MJAquascaping hi MJ, can I use bottled water from the store (treated with ozone) because I don't have osmosis..and the water under the tap is gh=17 kh=14 ph7.5(8)??and also under the tap comes with over 20mg\l nitrates...
Thanks for this interesting review and test, IMO all these plants will grow with usual soil like Tropica or Ada and without co2, unless maybe S.Repens which can be tricky and Monte Carlo which will grow much slower without co2…and that’s exactly what happened here so I’m not impressed by this product. Maybe you could do the same experiment with your usual go to soil in the future, I bet you will have the same results. ✌🏻
Pardon my ignorance, MJ or anyone else on the comments who could answer my questions. What exactly causes plant melt? Are certain plants susceptible to it or is it pretty much hit or miss per tank setup? Is there anything that can be done to prevent it? On another note…when trimming the healthy plants during growth, does this stimulate thicker growth like it does in regular houseplants? Thanks in advance for any information on this topic. SF
Plant melt is most common when putting in a new plant. Most aquarium plants are grown emersed (above water) cause they grow faster that way. It's typical for them to melt when placed underwater cause their leaves need to convert to their submerged form. Then there's more sensitive plants, like crypts, that are known to melt if conditions in the tank change or they're moved. As long as the roots are healthy, most plants will come back from melting. 🙂
@@suzanneforman8859 Big environmental changes, normally as said from air to water, is the commonest, so lots less CO2, from 425 air to a max of around 30, in this tank probably almost zero initially and then I guess from the colour of the pH indicator 10 or 15 ppm. But any big environmental change can do it, soft to hard water and a lot less light or more light.
@@williammcdowell6257 thank you. I didn’t realize there was that much difference between air CO2 and what is in water without CO2 injection. I’ve never used CO2, but that does make me wonder about how this product is getting around that issue. I guess it’s like MJ said…there was eventually good plant growth with this product, but it would have been more significant faster with CO2 injection.
@@suzanneforman8859 You are welcome. Most natural waters in the tropics only have around 10 ppm of CO2 in the morning, but of course in a deep lake or large river the plants can't normally exhaust the CO2, but in a shallow lake they can reduce it significantly. A pH rise of 1 in warm well lit shallow water between dawn and dusk is not unknown, so in soft water, 2 KH pH can change from 6.4 to 7.4 over the course of the day in shallow still water, 24 ppm of CO2 to 2.4. In an aquarium, especially with air operated filters agitating the surface, hard water and plants, and of course no injected CO2 levels can be below 1 ppm at the end of the lights on phase. We think atmospheric CO2 is now about 50% higher than before the industrial revolution, just don't mention it to Donald Trump. Best wishes and good night.
Ok what I'm missing here: price comparison. How much for the soil vs CO2 setup? I'm sure it's cheaper and less fussy for beginners? Unless you go for the super cheap low-tech CO2 setup with the sugar/yeast thing? Also, how long will it last?
A couple of cms of sand I think would not matter, 10 cms might make a big difference. 'Pore' size affects speed of percolation, so a compact clay a big difference, pea sized gravel, no difference. There is a fancy law about this but it eludes me currently.
Quite interesting. But I like to do things low maintenance and and I'm able to source Dennerle aquasoil from a certain hardware store for about 10 euros less per bag than other stores. I'm sticking with my routine for the time being.
Would be nice to compare to normal aquasoil and a dirted tank, which also generates a lot of co2. Also this soil with a not too thick sand cap to see if you still get good results and able to cut down on water changes.
MJ, in the beginning of the video, you said this product isn’t available to purchase yet. That was in October. Now in January, has it become available? I’m in the US and Buce Plants has their regular Neo Soil in stock but not the “No CO2” variety. Any news on it’s availability in the US? I’m very interested in trying it.
Rotala bonsai, there is something with that plant in in vitro cultures. Tried a few times with cultures, melt away just like yours. I got success with its emersed form. Any feedback on chihiros substrate you used on Heems aquas?
CO2 in most ponds is derived from decomposition of carbon rich plant material. But I do wonder how effective substrate CO2 can be, I've never found Walstad tanks a great success. And Mark was using moderately soft water, very hard water would really put this to the test, you can grow plants in water with a TDS above 250 with bright light and lots of injected CO2.
my experience since 1996 with red plants without co2 is red cobamba & red tiger lotus. rest either went brown or green. i used ADA aquasoil, lava chips & what not! if you dont have CO2 setup better go for low CO2 red plants. ask the seller about the requirements of CO2 before you order them!
You should have done a three-way side-by-side, with this soil sans C02, another branded soil sans CO2, and either this or another soil _with_ CO2. Without a control you'll have no way of judging how reliable the "no CO2" claims are.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Maybe you should do a comparison test with your normal go-to substrate, without co2 injection, the same light, the same water change schedule and plants etc...
Agree, I think the results would be the same 💯
Specifically with the regular aquario neo soil to see if its just marketing to up the price of their regular line
The result definitely beat my expectations, great video MJ!
Yes! I have been wanting a low tech dutch tank video forever. Thanks MJ!
I would consider using aquasoil products high tech. it's quite a remarkable product that has taken many years to develop.
The mold in the aquasoil tells me the substrate is pre-mixed with some species of microbe (that releases significant levels of CO2 for the plants).
'Hybrid' compost - lots of woody material and yes microbes - that's my guess, producing a 10 ppm of CO2 in the water column, with injection of course at least double that is normal. Still, if this can be replicated by a number of folks it would make life a lot easier for large tanks with a lot of the easier plants. Doubt the relatively low lighting was important certainly after a few weeks while decomposition started to happen in the substrate and , indeed, may have contributed to some of the plants failing, but of course hard to know.
Yes probably mycorrhizal fungi, it gives off co2
Very cool. I’ve never done a Dutch style tank. Might need to. I like the look of that solid plant background.
Pretty damn good results. The mouldy stuff looked a lot like biofilm. The same type that starts on spiderwood.
And if there is a lot of woody material in a soil.
Great to know about new soils coming to the hobby! :)
Cheers mate
I'm definitely going to try a bag on my next tank.
Wow- really impressed. Keep up the awesome work MJ!
Brilliant love the video 👍
Nice video. Would love to see a follow up video a few more months later to see if the co2 drop checker changes over time 😊
This is more my speed. I've been thinking about trying co2 but I've been fine without it for 30 years in the hobby.
I would definitely like to try that aquasoil. Your aquascape turned out beautiful, even if it did take a little bit longer.
I was waiting for a good video to base off of as I wanted to try a Dutch style tank for the first time and once a again you cease to amaze me! This is a beautiful tank and I can’t wait for my tank to arrive so I can get it set up and order the plants! Keep up the amazing videos!
amazing aquariums you inspire me a lot, thanks for every tutorial!
It was a very nice share my friend, thank you for this nice share.
Can you try planting a dutch style with just fine gravel and root tabs?
In my opinion, the secret of growing lush plants in a non co2 tank is a damn good light, frequent water changes, fertilizers and good soil 😊
Beautiful tank MJ
another game changer products from aquario👏👏👏
Nice as always
Hmmmm could be the crazy lights and quality water mineral levels also ..
It's always difficult to know what's going on specifically with the these products, but according to the website:
"This product is very rich in all the ingredients necessary for bacterial reproduction. The bacteria grow quickly and produce the CO2 necessary for aquatic plants, which dissolves in the water due to the water pressure itself."
In other words, it's high in organic matter (probably explains why it's so "powdery" as you say, and the website advises not to wash it). This is why the organic compost and mineral top soils used in dirted tanks provide co2; The heterotrophic bacteria slowly consumes the organic matter, regularly releasing co2 as a byproduct. If you want to be particularly lazy, even without soil this can be accomplished by allowing mulm to build up in gravel or otherwise pelleted substrates, and utilizing vigorous root-feeding carpeting plants that can feed off the mulm as it were a soil, releasing co2 as it decomposes.
And actually, can you tell me if these pellets are disintegrating over time, because I'm curious how they're utilizing organic material in a stable granular form.
Hello MJ! Do you prefer Twinstar or Chihiros? Can you say why?
This makes us rethink about CO2.
That tank looks beautiful 👍🏻
That plant growth is amazing! I'm using a really cheap aquasoil (aqueon plant and shrimp) and i'm having to dose fertilizer to get decent growth. Do any other commenters know if you get similar results with other soils like fluval or seachem?
The cube in the back at the end😮😮😮😮
When will we see it😄😄
thats some pretty amazing results! crazy to think how fast this substrate would grow plants if you added co2 😂😂
Nice Dutch style
I always mix my used aquasoil with atleast 1kilo of Amazonia (like what Josh Sims recommended) and another brand aquasoil.. might try this soon
is it possible to do a lowtech tank that is not using RO water and still avoid major algae growth?
I'm always confused about how to plant the emersed grown plants do you guys remove the emersed part once plant is done transitioning or you left it as it is.. some of my hobbyist friends told me to plant short piece of plants so I can trim nd replant the submerged parts in 1st trimming
Dude always like your vlogg about aquascape, nice set up you got there.
How important is it for stemplants like Rotala to get some root fertilizer? Thought that they take what they need from liquid fertilizer?
I think a combination of both is best
@@MJAquascaping hi MJ, can I use bottled water from the store (treated with ozone) because I don't have osmosis..and the water under the tap is gh=17 kh=14 ph7.5(8)??and also under the tap comes with over 20mg\l nitrates...
Nice. But how the heck did you catch and remove the tetras among all of that foliage? I’m still a newbie and need to learn this skill.
Just throw a little bit of food in the tank ;)
Hope i can try some thing like that but it is not avialable in my country😢
in mu opinion this soil not for beginner and the longrun co2clinder is still the best choice.
100%, I can see someone with less experience having real balance issues with this.
Thanks for this interesting review and test, IMO all these plants will grow with usual soil like Tropica or Ada and without co2, unless maybe S.Repens which can be tricky and Monte Carlo which will grow much slower without co2…and that’s exactly what happened here so I’m not impressed by this product. Maybe you could do the same experiment with your usual go to soil in the future, I bet you will have the same results. ✌🏻
Dang when i plant this heavy all my plants turn yellow and die off. Is my superfish light not strong enough?
Pardon my ignorance, MJ or anyone else on the comments who could answer my questions. What exactly causes plant melt? Are certain plants susceptible to it or is it pretty much hit or miss per tank setup? Is there anything that can be done to prevent it?
On another note…when trimming the healthy plants during growth, does this stimulate thicker growth like it does in regular houseplants?
Thanks in advance for any information on this topic. SF
Plant melt is most common when putting in a new plant. Most aquarium plants are grown emersed (above water) cause they grow faster that way. It's typical for them to melt when placed underwater cause their leaves need to convert to their submerged form. Then there's more sensitive plants, like crypts, that are known to melt if conditions in the tank change or they're moved. As long as the roots are healthy, most plants will come back from melting. 🙂
@@Elfglitter79 thank you for such a clear answer. This will help my confidence as I get back into the aquarium hobby after many years.
@@suzanneforman8859 Big environmental changes, normally as said from air to water, is the commonest, so lots less CO2, from 425 air to a max of around 30, in this tank probably almost zero initially and then I guess from the colour of the pH indicator 10 or 15 ppm. But any big environmental change can do it, soft to hard water and a lot less light or more light.
@@williammcdowell6257 thank you. I didn’t realize there was that much difference between air CO2 and what is in water without CO2 injection. I’ve never used CO2, but that does make me wonder about how this product is getting around that issue. I guess it’s like MJ said…there was eventually good plant growth with this product, but it would have been more significant faster with CO2 injection.
@@suzanneforman8859 You are welcome. Most natural waters in the tropics only have around 10 ppm of CO2 in the morning, but of course in a deep lake or large river the plants can't normally exhaust the CO2, but in a shallow lake they can reduce it significantly. A pH rise of 1 in warm well lit shallow water between dawn and dusk is not unknown, so in soft water, 2 KH pH can change from 6.4 to 7.4 over the course of the day in shallow still water, 24 ppm of CO2 to 2.4. In an aquarium, especially with air operated filters agitating the surface, hard water and plants, and of course no injected CO2 levels can be below 1 ppm at the end of the lights on phase. We think atmospheric CO2 is now about 50% higher than before the industrial revolution, just don't mention it to Donald Trump. Best wishes and good night.
Wow that was an army of Otos!
BEAUTIFUL AND VIBRANT. LOVE IT. AGREE WITH LAST COMMENT. TRY WITH YOUR NORMAL SUBSTRATE AND REPLICATE EVERYHTHING AS HE SUGGESTS. 😀
How did you achieve higher CO2 without pressurized CO2 sistem? That's amazing.
Well I didn't really do anything, so it either came from the substrate or from the fish
How long will it last?
I would just add root tabs after 6 months
Impressiv ❤😊
Znakomity materiał, dziękuje.
Ok what I'm missing here: price comparison. How much for the soil vs CO2 setup? I'm sure it's cheaper and less fussy for beginners? Unless you go for the super cheap low-tech CO2 setup with the sugar/yeast thing? Also, how long will it last?
My new aquascaping tool is a box!
What would happen if you cap it ?
A couple of cms of sand I think would not matter, 10 cms might make a big difference. 'Pore' size affects speed of percolation, so a compact clay a big difference, pea sized gravel, no difference. There is a fancy law about this but it eludes me currently.
Quite interesting. But I like to do things low maintenance and and I'm able to source Dennerle aquasoil from a certain hardware store for about 10 euros less per bag than other stores. I'm sticking with my routine for the time being.
blijft wel mooi zo een Dutch style tank
I'd feel a lot better using that substrate if I capped it with sand. but at that point, I might as well just use pond soil.
ziet er goed uit
Would be nice to compare to normal aquasoil and a dirted tank, which also generates a lot of co2. Also this soil with a not too thick sand cap to see if you still get good results and able to cut down on water changes.
He has done that experiment before. Just look up his older videos
@spazzykamikaze2946 he did, but not with this neo soil.
Finally ❤
MJ, in the beginning of the video, you said this product isn’t available to purchase yet. That was in October. Now in January, has it become available? I’m in the US and Buce Plants has their regular Neo Soil in stock but not the “No CO2” variety. Any news on it’s availability in the US? I’m very interested in trying it.
At the moment I only found one shop in Europe who sells it. I hope it will be available in the US and everywhere else soon
@@MJAquascaping Thank you
Rotala bonsai, there is something with that plant in in vitro cultures. Tried a few times with cultures, melt away just like yours. I got success with its emersed form. Any feedback on chihiros substrate you used on Heems aquas?
Yeah TC Rotala bonsai is a pain in the ***
Regarding the Chihiros substrate, I think it has a lot less nutrients compared to ''normal aquasoil''
thats crazy! co2 is life
CO2 in most ponds is derived from decomposition of carbon rich plant material. But I do wonder how effective substrate CO2 can be, I've never found Walstad tanks a great success. And Mark was using moderately soft water, very hard water would really put this to the test, you can grow plants in water with a TDS above 250 with bright light and lots of injected CO2.
id rather just use co2 myself but it looks like a good product.
I hate the title... 🤨
Love the scape. 🙂
4. I'm Dutch
And no algae issues!
i'm really surprised with the result. i can't imagine achieving this end product without co2 injection.
my experience since 1996 with red plants without co2 is red cobamba & red tiger lotus. rest either went brown or green. i used ADA aquasoil, lava chips & what not! if you dont have CO2 setup better go for low CO2 red plants. ask the seller about the requirements of CO2 before you order them!
Substrate with good colonies of bacteria can do so much work.
You should have done a three-way side-by-side, with this soil sans C02, another branded soil sans CO2, and either this or another soil _with_ CO2. Without a control you'll have no way of judging how reliable the "no CO2" claims are.
The aquarium looks absolutely amazing
Man! just a couple days ago i purchased CO2 😅
Plants and aquasoil cost so much
Gorgeous...when I was a boy that was my dream tank....now I am older and wiser 🤪
Now that ur older and wiser what’s ur dream tank
@Darnss123 4000 gallon Amazon tank like in the Lisbon Aquarium🤩
@@themountain59 older and wiser but maybe not so realistic 😂
@Darnss123 well...we are talking dreams here , don't we?😏😁
so basically it is not a low tech tank
dont give hope. just go with co2 guys. we not mj
Whats the light tho
Twinstar 600S III