# soil substrate help



## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

k so for starters i been getting help from zapins ty  

so i have a few questions becuase i lost some of my notes sigh.
what type of soil have you guys have used. name, brand, and so on
and using pool sand for a top layer be okay or will any debree move itself up above the sand?

also what has you guys experience been, using a soil base?

i plan on doing a light planted tank for the moment and grow in . fishless tank of course until i have a handle of what i am doing . so all the advice you guys can give me would be great ty


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

You want to use regular topsoil with no additional fertilizers added - so you can't use miracle grow. You also don't want to use compost. Excessive organics will cause problems.

I use Scotts topsoil, its like $2 for 50 pounds.










Here is a picture of one of my 90g tanks where I used Scotts with dark fluorite gravel 4x54w T5HO and injected CO2.










You can use pool filter sand as a cap. Its a good cheap cap, its inert as well.


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## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

do you have to do any prep on the soil before putting in ?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

These threads will tell you all you need to know:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/84918-suitable-soils-walstad-method.html

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...-mineralized-soil-substrate-aaron-talbot.html

And this will take you to a menu page where you can select the mineralized topsoil infographic: http://infographics.myaquacalc.com/


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

I personally don't do any prep with the soil. A lot of people like to mineralize their soil as Michael showed. I don't really like this method since it takes several weeks to do, but it clearly works for people. The links above have a lot of good info on soil.


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## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

k so i went and bought some scotts topsoil however it is a pro blend since they not care anything around here just plain old topsoil would it be okay?

http://www.scotts.ca/smg/goprod/scotts-pro-blends-topsoil/prod10190096/?tabs=general


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

You don't want to use compost and manure in your tank. It is too rich and will cause algae issues.

See my first reply above:



> You also don't want to use compost. Excessive organics will cause problems.


Any soil that is plain and doesn't have compost, added fertilizers, or manure should be ok. You can even go outside and dig up some from about 6 inches beneath the ground level as long as you collect it from an area that has never had pesticides or weed killer applied.


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## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

k so i went and bought some topsoil however seems like the big chain stores are not carrying scotts topsoil so i had to buy a generic brand to homedepot. called vigoro black earth

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/vigoro-black-earth/981460#BVRRWidgetID

it shows nothing in it for additives but i wanna make shur, so what you guys think?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Hmm. I'm not sure. There isn't a lot of info about it online except one review that says:

""I purchased this product expecting a good quality topsoil and instead it was about 60% peat and 40% waste material (large sticks, small rocks, clumps of clay)."

If it is mostly organic material like peat and sticks then its probably no good. If your bag looks like soil instead of as described above then you can use it. 

When you are at the store, just poke a hole in the soil bag and have a look at it. The soil should look like it has a mix of sand and black soil.


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## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

k i bought 2 bags already so  . but i do know i probably have to strain it out . i can feel some twigs in it .


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Pick out the twigs by hand. The soil should feel heavy and dense not light and fluffy. It should sink fast in water not float or take a while to absorb water then sink.


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## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

well i pop'd a bag open and put it into a 2G bucket 1-1.5 inch depth and was kinda gindy and fluffy at same time. but once wet was heavy if that makes sence. i added a 1-1.5 layer of sand to cap still a messy job omg. but meh alot of the twig particals are coming to top but this just for the plants. hopefully i not make as much of a mess when i do the big tank .


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

You want to add soil first, then the cap, then add water VERY slowly and make sure it doesn't dig into the substrate. I usually use a plate or a plastic bag to soften the blow of incoming water. Don't let the soil out from under the cap.


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## deup (Sep 9, 2013)

oh so you don't water down the soil before adding?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

I don't. The water will soak in.


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