# Aqua Inspired Review



## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

The store was created by 3 friends who loved the
hobby but grew tired of seeing the cool ada style
products only in Asia, Europe and US. One day they
just decided to import the products themselves and
viola.

They cater to the new age aquarist with the latest products. If you think oak/pine stained tank stands are in, then you were considered new age...... Back in the 80's. The new stands are all solid colored with a lacquered finish.
kinda like those new Ikea beds.

Mostly made in china but copied and sometimes
duplicated, these are designs from Japan and done intentionally to keep prices low.
In my opinion that's a smart move as the quality has
not been compromised. They have everything from
aqua scaping tools to plants, co2 system, shrimp
substrate but most importantly they have beautiful
starphire glass aquariums and ADA style stands.
What surprises me is that the prices are about 10 to
20% more then the old style stands from big Al's.
Later I found out it was because BA buy for cheap
and sell high for big profit margins, something you
can't do with premium products as they become
unaffordable to the average user. That is why their
profit margins are low and everything is afford
especially is you bring in the cost of shipping. These
products are the latest designs and styles and
common place in aquatic capitals like Japan,
Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, and china, but we in
toronto unfortunately are years behind. Psssh what is
else is new. So I'm very happy to hear a store like
theirs opening up and creating a new market here.
Although they are difficult to reach without a car I
suggest making a trip and see for yourself atleast
once and prepared to be surprised. The owners are
very friendly and gave me tons of advice on
maintaining a beautiful Amono or Oliver knott style
tank. Everything is very well priced as they can't
keep the popular products are flying off the shelves
and they are expanding. Oh and have a huge new
shipment of cool and innovative products coming in
next week. Definitely check these guys out.

www.aquainspiration.com


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## Lee_D (Jun 11, 2010)

I think you misspelled the link.

Lee


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

Lee_D said:


> I think you misspelled the link.
> 
> Lee


thx...wrote it on my blackberry


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

Originally Posted by camboy012406
"are you sure thats the real one not fake????? coz aquainspiration sells fake adasoil!!. i bougth 3 bags before and now its useless the ph doesnt lower, so I will never go again in that place"



Camboy I think you should know that I also bought a fake bag from them and another prior from James the year before. Both were fake. I do doubt AI would do this intentionally because they need repeat business to survive and they'd rather sell products that work, rather then rip off a niche client base they have.

They were scammed by the wholeseller but it should of been their responsibility to check the products first. That is why they discontinued the Ada and are purchasing Netlea from an authorized dealer this time. They promise to test the product first and even offered me a sample when it arrives for me to test. The netlea is very rich and nutrient as you will see with the stained water. The filter will clear it in a day or two. It also doesn't have an ammonia spike like Ada and can be cycled in under a week. Im really glad they are giving another try rather then giving up otherwise we'd be stuck only with the fluval crap that fails in a month. tell you what I'll write a setup journal when I get my bag.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

CrystalMethShrimp said:


> Im really glad they are giving another try rather then giving up otherwise we'd be stuck only with the fluval crap that fails in a month. tell you what I'll write a setup journal when I get my bag.


Hey Jay, I agree with you Fluval is crap. Because its cheap! But I would not be so subjective about the product. Have you tried it?? If yes, then I would say it's a fair comment. Right now I'm using Fluval and my shrimplets all survive - ranging from S+ to SSS. It hasn't failed on me yet, but it's a matter of time...haha
FYI if you think Frank is amazing, he bred all his Painted Fire Reds in FLUVAL. I'm not joking you. Although he did say it's crap as well.

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21376





All in all, I wouldn't be so sure if I'd use it if we had something else, but right now we have no choice. Waiting for the netlea to arrive. I've also read on Chinese forums that Netlea gives a low survival rate of babies, but that's yet to be rectified. 

L


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

Hey Leon,

I admit I was a bit bias towards the product. I guess it was the fact that fluval brought aboard their own brand when there are already tons of high end brands on the market and they know very little about the hobby.
What they should of done was have Fluval ADA sub or Fluval GEX sub because they don't specialize in shrimp soils themselves. Instead they just subcontracted the product to a no name supplier and created their own brand with no expert knowledge or reputation behind it. 
This is the same reason why Samsung doesn't release their cars here in NA. They specialize in electronics and to compete with the top tier companies wouldn't work. 

I hear two factors to check with aqua soil is:
-Yellow and cloudiness which means the soil is very nutrient rich and potent.
-A large granule that is dense without a hollow or bouncy feel to it which translates to longevity.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

CrystalMethShrimp said:


> Hey Leon,
> 
> I admit I was a bit bias towards the product. I guess it was the fact that fluval brought aboard their own brand when there are already tons of high end brands on the market and they know very little about the hobby.


I couldn't agree with you more. Either that or they were in a rush to release this line of products and insufficient testing was conducted.



CrystalMethShrimp said:


> I hear two factors to check with aqua soil is:
> -Yellow and cloudiness which means the soil is very nutrient rich and potent.
> -A large granule that is dense without a hollow or bouncy feel to it which translates to longevity.


Posted on the ADA Hong Kong website is a fake product identification and it supposedly shows the minor differences among the real and false. I think what AI should have done was not buy from the US and try to acquire the distribution license from Japan directly.


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

Good Post my fellow shanghaineser =P I'm def waiting for the netlea, hope it comes on time this time. Im gonna scape with it, and maybe some oebt in there.

In regards to fluval here are some of my pros/cons

pro: stupid clean, so no tanin looking water,lowers ph, black in colour, shrimps do great in it (for now)

cons: way too light to hold down plants in the initial stages without some replanting, granules are too big for nano or med size tanks, hard to trim and play with rescaping/moving around plants due to its lightness. I hear it breaks down after a year (considering its density, I can def see that happening). 

So far I'm in he middle, but I rather use ADA when it comes down to it.. the prices are not that much different. Unfortunately there are no close sources for real stuff.


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