Sukei Research: Substrate system
Healthy plants from the roots on!

Substrate where aquatic plants spread their roots is the most important element of Nature Aquarium. In view of this fact, we have been making research on the materials used for substrate over many years and developed substrate materials such as Aqua Soil. Now let’s do a research on the difference between ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia and other substrate materials.


ADA Power Sand S ADA La Plata Sand ADA Amazonia

Unlike the present time with advanced technologies in growing aquatic plants which has made the thriving planted aquarium a common sight, there was once a time when it was very hard to grow lush aquatic plants within an aquarium. Following the development of CO2 systems and effective lighting system such as NA Lamp which has enabled aquatic plants to grow in aquarium, the development of ADA Power Sand and Aqua Soil has brought great innovation to planted aquarium. Especially thanks to ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia, the growing of aquatic plants has become a lot easier and even the beginner hobbyists can now easily create a planted aquarium entirely covered with lush aquatic plants. This section features the research on the characteristics of ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia and other substrate materials.


ADA Soil Nahaufnahme



Comparison of properties of substrate materials


Comparison of water quality is made in a small container. The value/level may vary from the case when the comparison is made in an actual aquarium tank. In addition, the products using natural soil as the ingredient may show different value/level for each individual product. The data is a reference for the trend in water quality.



A. Comparison of pH level



ADA Soil Vergleich PH Wert


ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia lowers the pH value around neutral to acidic (pH 6.0 or below) by natural organic acid.



B. Comparison of COD level



ADA Soil COD Wert Vergleich


Aquatic plants grow better when planted in ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia with rich organic nutrition. COD shows the amount of organic compounds.



C. Comparison of TDS value



ADA Soil TDS Wert Vergleich


TDS shows electrical conductivity. ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia hardly contains chemical compounds.



D. Comparison of N and P levels



ADA Soil NP Wert Vergleich


ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia contains rich nitrogen as ammonia (not nitrite nitrogen) and organic nutrient.




Growth difference of foreground plants by substrate material



ADA Cosmetic Sand Growth ADA Amazonia Aqua Soil Growth

cosmetic sand | ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia



After 10 days


ADA Glossostigma Wachstum Vergleich


Foregroundplants grow vigorously in nutrient-rich ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia. In contrast, the plants hardly grow in cosmetic sand.




Buffering effect of major substrate materials to prevent change in pH level



ADA PH Wert Puffer Vergleich


Compared to other substrate materials, ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia has a good property in preventing changes in pH (pH buffering capacity) even when acid or alkali is added.




This is the Key Point!



ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia lowers the pH level and has a superior buffering capacity.”

“Aquatic plants grow well with rich nitrogen content.”

“Natural organic nutrients are safe for fish and shrimp.”




Source and Copyright of the article/photos - Aqua Design Amano - ADA