Ultum Nature Systems Controsoil - Freshwater Aqua Soil Substrate for Fish, Shrimp, Live Plant Propagation and Aquascaping - 6.8pH Low Ammonia, Volcanic Ash - Black, Fine (1 Liter)

Amazing substrate! Can’t go wrong with it! The substrate when rinsing it off is very dirty and messy so keep that in mine! It will also make your tank very cloudy but it clears up within around 4 hours (if you have your filter going, in this case I have a sponge filter) or overnight without a filter. The next morning the water was crystal clear, I’ll probably update within a couple of months to see if my plants are doing any better than the gravel they were in but I have high hopes for this soil. This soil does great for bottom feeders! I have cory catfish and a betta in a 10 gallon tank and my cory’s now love to lift their behinds up to dig into the soil because it’s so soft and light weight. I’d highly recommend this for any bottom feeders that aren’t rough with the soil because the pellets CAN break and turn into little crumbles of dust or dirt. UPDATE: Still a really good substrate! I added Ludwigia Repens to my tank and they grew so fast along with the hornwort which I added a couple of weeks ago. My betta fish loves resting on it and weaving through the overgrown plants BUT the only thing is that the darkest shade that it comes in is two or three shades light so black is brown and brown is tan. I got the black/brown and it’s a dirty brown-tan color. It’s perfectly fine because I’ll be topping it off with Fluval but this is a better bang for your buck if you wanted Fluval but wanted a big bag. Update 2023: It’s still going strong and continues to help my aquatic plants thrive! I did realize that you need to wash the soil out a lot and wait a good amount of time for the black to really set in. After a few months the color changed from brown/tan to black with spots of brown throughout. It’s been a minute since I’ve bought this soil and the price has gone down drastically (by $30) so I’ll definitely be buying myself another back to touch up on the old soil.

This is great substrate for planted aquariums. I love that it is low ammonia because beneficial bacteria don’t need a lot to ramp up. I combine this with the APT S Starter Bacteria underneath and it cycles the tank in two to three weeks without fail. The small ammonia release from this substrate is perfect for the bacteria and results in zero ammonia and zero nitrite with low nitrate in a very short period of time. This isn’t nutrient rich like Amazonia but you can crush up root tabs and sprinkle them on top of the APT S before you pour in the Contrasoil for a boost. I usually do this and dark start the aquarium per the APT S instructions and the results are great. Low algae and great plant growth. Because this is partially made from volcanic ash it really soaks up things and keeps your tank clean as well. It’s strange but it does absorb a lot of impurities like advertised. This soil with Purigen makes a crystal clear aquarium. It’s definitely best for clarity. All in all, a great product. Thanks UNS!

I started using this for all my TC’s and young Alocasias and I can’t say enough good things. Gives my little baby plants amazing roots and strength. Only drawback is I tell everyone about it and now it’s harder to order cause it seems to be out of stock. Guess I’ll need to stock up more when it comes back.

Ultum Nature Systems Controsoil works amazingly well for my Alocasias. The texture and moisture retention are just right, helping new roots develop quickly and evenly. It’s clean, lightweight, and doesn’t compact easily, which makes it perfect for tissue culture plants and freshly imported specimens that need a gentle but stable medium. I’ve noticed much faster root growth and healthier leaves since switching to this substrate. It also drains well while keeping enough humidity around the roots, preventing rot. Even though it’s designed for aquascaping, it performs beautifully for plant propagation and acclimation. Highly recommended if you grow tropical plants or start delicate TCs.

Wash it, or cap it when it's dry with sand. For the first time in my life, I decided I would trust the manufacturer and not rinse it. BIG mistake. It turned my water to mud. I capped it with sand and let it sit for days. Water wouldn't clear up, so I drained the tank and refilled it. Now it's fine. I have some left over and I rinsed it to see how long it would take. It was very, very messy. For a small quantity it took several rinses. Love the color. Yes, I capped it, but it will eventually get mixed and it's hard to find something that isn't black. I wanted the bigger size originally, but it was out of stock. I think that was a happy accident because this size seems great for my plants. I also didn't want soil loaded with nutrients. I've done that before and had a terrible time battling algea. With this, I can add root tabs and fertilizer, controlling the quantity. All soils eventually deplete anyway. One bag would not be enough to get a 2 inch depth across my 30x15 tank, but it was perfect for me since I wanted sand in the front.

I've ordered some Sakura (Cherry Red) shrimp. While I wait for them to arrive, I'm preparing my aquarium. The aquarium has been established for 20 years, and the water parameters are excellent, but the pH is 8, which is at the top end of what Sakura shrimp like. I read that UNS Controsoil reduces tank pH, and I also wanted to cover my gravel substrate with something smoother for my two goldfish's sake. (Not that my goldfiah ever seemed to mind the gravel, but I've read that a smoother substrate is better..) By the way, one goldfish is 20 and the other is about 10 years old, so they are well cared for.) For these reasons--the incoming shrimp and the goldfish, I bought a 3L bag of Controsoil. I've attached a photo of my tank immediately after I added the Controsoil. The water is a bit cloudy, but it cleared within a few hours. (I have a Fluval 305 on a 55-gallon aquarium, so the tank is over filtered, which is perfect because of the goldfish.) Pardon the messiness; the bag I bought wasn't enough to cover everything deeply, and I got some Controsoil on my anubias (in the rock on the left). When I incautiously lifted the anubias' rock to pour off the Controsoil, I discovered that my anubias had gorgeous, healthy, long roots that I had just pulled out of the substrate. I only planted the anubias a bit over a month ago, so I didn't expect roots that long! When I gently replaced the rock, I scooped gravel and Controsoil over the roots, and that made a mess in that area. I've ordered another bag to more completely cover the gravel. The one thing I'm going to keep my eye on is ammonia. I've read that all active substrates like Controsoil produce some ammonia for a few weeks to a month or more after being added to an aquarium. Mileage varies; some people report they didn't have any extra ammonia in their tank after adding the Controsoil, others, in older reports, say ammonia spiked high. Before I added the Controsoil, my aquarium's ammonia tested at 0 (using my API test kit). Because ammonia is toxic to fish and shrimp, I'll test the water every day for a week, then every few days, to make sure the ammonia doesn't spike. I have fresh zeolite in my filter, and the plants in the tank will also help. Cute note: My golfdfish seem to like the Controsoil addition. They starting checking it out before I finished adding it.

Perfect size for tiny fish tank

Best soil ever