# Soil Reviews



## tylerG (Dec 8, 2010)

Due to the lack of general info on what brands of soils are considered safe for aquarium use, I figured I could start a thread asking members to submit their experiences with using brands of topsoil and potting soil. Not only would this be beneficial for me, but it would also aid all other fellow plant enthusiasts with their quest for the right natural soil.

I'll start, I suppose.

Miracle Gro Organic Potting Soil:
_This soil worked out pretty well for me. I used a depth of 1 inch plus a cap of pool filter sand. I should have taken the time to mineralize it, but I guess I was in a hurry to get the tank up and running. Plant growth was great. When I tore the tank down to move into another apartment, I noticed a slight smell of manure. _


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Excellent idea for a thread! I tried something similar for Osmocote in the fertilization forum, but it did not excite much interest.

Miracle Grow Organic Choice Potting Mix is the only commercial soil I have used. I prepared it in three different ways:

*Straight from the bag.* Lots of tanins which required many water changes in the first month. Very good results with plants and animals, although a potasium deficiency did develop after about 8 months.

*Soaked, skimmed, and drained several times.* No tanins, very good results with plants and animals, did develop potasium deficiency after about 8 months.

*Mineralized.* I followed the procedures in the mineralized topsoil threads. Of special interest to me is the addition of muriate of potash (potasium chloride), since potasium deficiency has been a problem in my other MGOC tanks. This soil has only been in use about 3.5 months, with very good results so far.


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## tylerG (Dec 8, 2010)

Thanks! I figured APC could use something like this. 

I'm currently trying to mineralize Scott's Premium Topsoil. It had a lot of mulch-like wood pieces in it, so it took a good hour to sift through half the bag. 

Will let you know how it turns out.


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## activesize (Jun 26, 2011)

At first, I used the Monterrey brand of organic soil from Home Depot. It came in a white bag with orange lettering. It was quite rich looking with no fertilizer pellets but had a tremendous amount of dark woody material in it. I bottle tested it without any of the big wood pieces and the water remained clear after a number of days. I charged ahead and dumped the soil bound for the tanks into large plastic bins and spent what seemed like hours patiently removing all but the very tiniest wood pieces. Then, I aired out the remaining soil for a few days. I tried out this soil with a 1" pea gravel cap in both a 55 gallon and a 32 gallon plumbed together. The result was extremely and laboriously disappointing. The only problem I had with this soil was the extreme tannin content. I'm sure the remaining tiny wood pieces were absolutely filled with tannins. Curiously, I didn't see that, or think enough to test specifically for that, in my bottle test. Anyway, after about a dozen 90 percent or 50 percent water changes and many bags of Purigen, I came to the conclusion that it would take years for the tannins to clear. The tannins remained almost as thick as weak black tea and very much diminished the light for the plants, which did not grow well at all. However, algae was not really an issue. Interestingly, Pennywort that I had floating in the bottom 32 gallon tank did go aerial though. 

So, after a number of months without any real success I decided to tear down both tanks and start over. I also doubled up on the lighting. I used Miracle Grow Organic Choice Garden Soil (not the potting soil) for both tanks and have had better results. In both tanks the plants are growing, some faster then others, of course. Ludwigia repens has reached the top of the 55 gallon. Most others are doing well, ie. Mermaid weed, compact sword, dwarf hygro, crypt Moehlmannii, green cabomba, and various moneyworts. I use subwassertang to cover the inlets to my circulation pump and algae rapidly covers that as well. 

My main problem with MGOCGS after about six months is I'm still getting a lot of algae in the 55 gallon, particularly coming up through the gravel. Maybe that's expected because I am loath to change much of the water now, but I do diligently remove the algae by hand once or twice a week and use an Eheim sludge extractor in the 32 gallon. In the 32 gallon tank I just have invertebrates and a few baby fish and I feed sparingly. It's also more heavily planted than the other tank. I'm not getting as much algae there and it doesn't come through the gravel. It just clumps onto the plants. 

I'm thinking that probably if I would've used the MGOC Potting Soil, instead of the MGOC Garden Soil, I would have less algae. Oh well, sa la vie.


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## tylerG (Dec 8, 2010)

activesize: Hopefully the Scott's brand I'm mineralizing won't have too many tannins in it. The water was pretty black, but it was the first soak. Also, how was the growth in the Miracle Gro compared to commercial brands such as Eco-Complete and AquaSoil?


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## activesize (Jun 26, 2011)

tylerG, I don't know as I've never used them yet. I started out El Natural as this approach is what inspired me to get started in planted aquariums in the first place. In the 55 gallon I enjoy overfeeding and stuffing the tetras, shiners, gudgeons, CPO's and other inhabitants with a varied diet and the plants get plenty of light. I never mineralized the soil but I don't have any soil deficiencies to speak of. Maybe a little potassium deficiency is evident in some fine holes on the bottom leaves of the dwarf hygro, but overall it doesn't affect the plant at all. The plants that can stand up better to algae prospered, look great, and are growing at a reasonable pace measured in weeks and months, and that's fine with me. Other more delicate plants like stargrass and red temple I'm in the process of moving them out to other Walstad based tanks I have that happen to get a lot less algae at this point.


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## tylerG (Dec 8, 2010)

Awesome to hear. I've noticed in my old tank with Miracle Gro Potting Soil the growth was very green with no sign of algae on the plants. Everything seemed to get all the required nutrients.

I'm using Eco-Complete right now in a 10gal (which will be torn down to construct another dirt tank) and the growth just doesn't look all that impressive. Seems like soil works better for me.


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## activesize (Jun 26, 2011)

Yes, my algae isn't the fine type that sticks to plant leaves either. Maybe that is a characteristic of the organic Miracle Grow products.


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## tylerG (Dec 8, 2010)

After you soaked the soil in water for the first 2 cycles or so, how did the water look (in the container that is soaking the soil, not the aquarium)?

Mine has turned from a pitch black to a light brown.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

After allowing the particulates to settle overnight, the water looked like strong tea.


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## Prometheus (Feb 12, 2008)

What about Hyponex soil? I got it recently at kmart. I think I've used it 1-2 years ago in my 30 gallon (don't remember for sure), without any problems other than some perlite pieces floating up once in a while and some tannins in the water after a few months (maybe because I added a log). But now I'm not so sure if I should use it. It smells kind of funny and the back also reads that anyone handling the soil should wear gloves. That's suspicious to me as far as what's mixed in, although I did come across some hard rocky pieces and a piece of glass--could that be what the warning was for? Otherwise, I don't know how I feel about putting something in the tank if I shouldn't even be touching it with my hands. I remember it being a finer soil...is it possible that the mix could have changed since then? 

Anyone have experience with this brand???


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## Gilly (Dec 18, 2010)

The glove warning is because the fertilizers in the soil can irritate your skin. It doesn't happen to everyone but I seem to be pretty allergic to whatever is in certain soils. After handling it my skin will burn for hours. Anyone else have that problem?

Right now I'm using Fafard potting soil which doesn't bother my skin but is filled with woody bits and discolors my water and it has gone bad twice. I'm looking for something else that won't irritate my skin and doesn't go bad, but I think i might just dig some soil up from a friend's yard.


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## gorlokmat (Aug 1, 2011)

does anyone have great luck with "aquatic pond soil"?


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

I've had the best experience with using a 50/50 mix of MGOC potting mix and soil from the yard (some from a sandy area, and some from a loamy area). I do a mineralization, but do not let it completely dry, for 7 days. The soaking helps to remove excess tannins and floating material that is stubborn to sink (I wait till the last soaking to remove anything) and the mineralization tempers the organics and ammonia...you get the idea...

Water is clear, fish and plants are happy.


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