# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories >  How to use GEX Shrimp & Plant soil?

## Zenislev

Recently just bought a 2kg packet of GEX Shrimp & Plant soil (Black). Notice that all the instructions are written in japanese, think they mention something about water turning clear and PH thingy. Can anyone help me with that? And do i need to clean the soil before use?

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## David Moses Heng

there is no need to clean the gravels. Just pour the soil into the tank, add water and you are ok for setting up.

Regards

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## derk

Yea, for Gex shrimp & plant soil, there is no need to rinse it first. just pour it into your tank and wait for it to settle, depending on your filter and such, may take from a few hours to 24 hours to clear up..

There wil be some floating bits when you firsty pour it in, can just use a fish net to scoop them out..

Regarding the pH thing, this Gex soil will be able to lower the pH or your tank. the pH will be approximately 6.4 or so (+/- 0.2 or thereabouts)..

I'm using it (the red packaging one) for my shrimp tank and it's working well.. Cherries are breeding..

Hope this helps.. good luck!

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## genes

The chinese characters on the package reads "Maintaining pH at same level". Which i think they are trying to imply there is no pH fluctuations during setup. How true i am not sure, have heard stories of plants melting upon planting immediately after setup.

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## Samuel2618

Ya.. Bro Zack

As mentioned.. there is no need to rinse it before adding to the tank.. Just pour it into your tank and wait for it to settle.. It maybe cloudy initially but takes a few hours to 24 hours to clear up..

To add on.. Try to add a plastic foil on the top of soil before pouring in the water slowly.. This will better reduce the amount of nutrients lost through the adding of water.. 

Regards
Samuel

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## enhanzed

is GEX soil also know as custom soil ?

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## torque6

these soil from gex do not need to clean, however *you* need to cycle the tank for at least 1 week. Btw, the water clears after 2 hours after i did my aquascape. Its that good.

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## Zenislev

Cool, im actually going to set up a small nano tank for shrimps. Going to use only lighting and fan, no filtration and pump. Wonder will it be longer for the water to clear if theres no filtration taking place.

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## larlee

I believe you might have read from websites and everyone's advice that it takes 4-6 weeks to cycle the tank.
I have tried new tank setup with GEX soil (1 tank with GEX red and light green and 1 tank with GEX dark green) and in 3 hours I move all my CRS, cherries into the tank (no choice, in office so manager won't GGYY) so far no deaths. Maybe I am lucky but not advisable to do that.

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## Zenislev

Oh...haha. I think it shouldnt be a problem i guess. Further more my tank is really small, no filter/pump used in my setup. Just a light and mini fan. Its been one week already, just started to introduce plants into my tank, will add in cherry shrimps soon.

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## samhon

was just wondering,

if i have a matured tank with flora and fauna,
is it ok just to dump the soil in.

after dumping them in, there is no such cycling thingy as the tank is already a matured tank right?

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## PLee

add small amout at a time to be safe  :Grin:

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## fishnoob

hmm... *DON'T* think that will be a problem, thats what i did for my new 2 feet tank any way =)

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## lampham

Hi all 
Where do you buy Gex shrimp & plant soil or magic soil?need some help for a new CRS tank.thanks

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## jetset

I've heard that the Green Packaging has less ammonia/nitrate than the reds and are more suitable for tanks with less or no plants. Not sure how correct is that as the packaging is all Japanese.

Anyway, I'm using green as my plants are mostly mosses and may not need that high a nutrient base that the red package supposedly offers.

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## Mr.XP

sorry to dig out this old thread. What are the difference between the red, green and blue packagings?

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## NingNing

size of the soil.

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## iapetusjin

Sorry for bringing up this thread again. I just brought another 2kg of green packet gex soil to top up my existing crs tank.Can i put all my crs into a pail & wait for 2 or 3 days be4 introducing them back into the tank.My current 10 gallon tank is about a month old with a mature filter and 2kg of gex soil.The only plants are java moss, nana & marimo.

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## Fuzzy

Its likely to take more than 2 or 3 days for the fresh soil to be free of ammonia. Its likely to trigger a mini-cycle again in your tank.

You might want to make provisions for a 1 or 2 week temporary home for your CRS just in case, do you have ammonia and nitrite test kits handy?

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## iapetusjin

i regret to say that i have not used any test kits for my shrimp.A beginner to crs and considered very lucky that none of the CRS perished.Are the test kits you mentioned the only ones i need to get.I really dun want to leave my crs inside a pail during the chinese new year.

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## iapetusjin

I have not yet top up the soil i just brought.Seriously is 2kg gex soil in my tank enough for crs.I'm not planning to have any root plants.

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## Fuzzy

Ammonia and Nitrite are 2 test kits you usually will only need when you are cycling a tank, or doing things that could potentially start your cycle again.

You will ordinarily probably not use these two test kits unless something went seriously wrong, prolonged power failure, mass deaths etc.

For CRS keepers usually you want to have a pH test kit also, and possibly GH/KH later on. I use Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, GH/KH test kits, but for all except pH and maybe GH/KH you probably won't use much beyond setting up of a tank or restarting a tank.


I recommend the API brand for test kits, avoid the paper dipping strip type, they are not very accurate and are more expensive per test.

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## iapetusjin

Is ph really vital for crs.I'm keeping only low grade crs & is 2kg gex soil in my 45x30x30cm tank enough for maintaining the ph level.If i decide not to top up the soil i just brought,can i just add chemical to maintain the ph level.Anyway i will try to get ammonia,nitrate & ph test kits at y618 or aquarstar.

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## Fuzzy

Yes you can just use pH down solution, peat moss, etc. But how are you going to adjust the pH if you don't know what your current reading is?

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## iapetusjin

I'm going to get some test kits for my shrimps.As for topping up the soil,decide not to do it afterall.Chinese new year,Ta ji Ta Li .Want nothing bad to happen to the shrimp. Anyway,thanks for the advice.

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## -Kelvin-

you might have an issue after you top up, hmm or u setup another small tank with a sponge filter to house them for maybe afew days for the tank to cycle ?

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