Man the guys over at ADA sure make their products sound appealing and necessary. I read over their product line and have some question/chime ins on anyone who has used these products or understands what they are.

First up:
ADA Green Gain (Stem plants requires a trimming once in a while. Stress that plants receive at trimming, sometimes restrains their growth. Green
Gain, contains active ingredients (trace elements, minerals, amino acid etc.). Among other various botanical hormones, Green Gain includes cytokinin which, extracted from natural materials, eases plant stress and increases the resistance of aquatic plants against diseases.)

**Is all the above true? Are we missing something when trimming that this can aid in?

ADA Phyton Git (Aquatic plants are known for secreting phytoncide to protect themselves from diseases and germs. Phyton Git is a formula which works gently with naturally extracted Phytoncide, as well as other disinfectant agents and helps aquatic plants to regain their natural strength. Contains no chemical
ingredients.)

**Anyone tried this? Is there any validity to this stuff? If it helps fight alge so well why dont we all use it?

ADA ECA (Plant color-loss is a commonly observed problem in planted aquariums. In most of the cases, this is caused by deficiency of iron in the aquarium water. ECA, rich in iron in a form which does not easily combine with other ions, prevents color-loss and improves the condition of aquatic plants. Also contains various natural organic acids.)

**Can this really work? Or can we simply up our iron levels?

Most of their products boast a few key words that i would like some clarification on.

1st) amino acid - are those that use EI missing the boat on this one?? Can adding more amino acids greatly effect conditions? Or is this just a buzz word like "organic"

2nd) botanical hormones - is it possible to dose hormones to cause plants to do things for us? a.k.a grow faster, bush out more ect....

Alright ladies and gentalmen lets see what you can come up with!

Here is a link to their line up
http://www.adaaust.com.au/products/p...Fertilizer.pdf

IMO, if you are dosing EI adequately and providing good c02 and light, that is all you need. Filtration, water flow, etc are good, then plant growth will also be good.

I would not spend money on this stuff...........

I do not know if they help or not, but I see no need for them if doing as stated above.........

Even if they give you 10 or 20% better growth, is it worth the money to pay for this stuff long term????? Dosing weekly?

It's called marketing

Dupla did the exact same thing 20 years ago.

Same mumbo.
I still like ADA, and the tanks and soil etc, the overall line does look nice but can set you back a lot of $$$.

Like Dupla, there are many places you can maintain the aesthetic, without spending a lot of $$.

Ferts for example, K+ is always going to be K+, no matter how it's promoted.


regards,
Tom Barr

I have used all ada products for a while now (see link below) - but I have just switched over the to Brightwell products. Many ADA folks are using Brightwell now. Go to their website and check out their stuff. It's MUCH cheaper and people are saying the results are better!

You can DIY the liquids already

Regards,
Tom Barr