# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Garden Soil and Potting Soil Questions



## ohiocarper (Jan 6, 2005)

In Diana's book she states that she uses either garden soil or potting soil, but advises not mixing them together. Why is this? 

What are the differences between garden and potting soil?

I bought a bag of cheap potting soil and noticed that it contains small, white"balls" abot 1/8 of an inch in size. This material easily crumbles between my finger. Is this lime?

Is there any downside to using potting soil if I decide to go the high tech route?

p.s. Diana, I really like your book. I'm a newbie and your book is the the only plant book that attempts to explain the true "inner workings" of the planted tank. I must admit that I have little knowledge about chemistry and biology, but your book has inspired me to learn more about these subjects.


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## ohiocarper (Jan 6, 2005)

In Diana's book she states that she uses either garden soil or potting soil, but advises not mixing them together. Why is this? 

What are the differences between garden and potting soil?

I bought a bag of cheap potting soil and noticed that it contains small, white"balls" abot 1/8 of an inch in size. This material easily crumbles between my finger. Is this lime?

Is there any downside to using potting soil if I decide to go the high tech route?

p.s. Diana, I really like your book. I'm a newbie and your book is the the only plant book that attempts to explain the true "inner workings" of the planted tank. I must admit that I have little knowledge about chemistry and biology, but your book has inspired me to learn more about these subjects.


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## Hobart007 (Dec 30, 2004)

From what I read in Diana's book, you might want to avoid the little balls. They sound like styrofoam and she mentions that, though they don't hurt the tank, they tend to float to the top every time you do nything with the tank and are annoying to clean out. As far as the difference between garden and potting soils, I am not sure about that... Oh well, good luck with your studies!


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## Margolis (Sep 22, 2004)

I would say the little white balls were either perlite or vermiculite. Whether or not they are acceptable in an aquarium I don't know.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

If you've already bought the potting soil, I wouldn't worry too much about the white balls. You can always net them out.

There are big differences between garden soil and potting soil. Potting soil may be 50-60% organic matter, which will add lots of CO2 to your tank. This is a plus.

If you mix it with other soils (laterite, garden soil, etc), its hard to predict what will happen. See today's other post to this forum "My low-tech 15-gal" where hobbyist reports peat reacting with Onyx and causing problems. See page 132 in my book where I describe a major problem after mixing potting soil and laterite.

Caveats for potting soil: If your water is very, very hard and/or contains sulfur, I'd use garden soil. This is because hardwater usually contains excessive sulfates and these sulfates may be converted to H2S, which is very toxic to plants and fish. 

Garden soil has more iron, which can neutralize H2S. It has less organic matter, so less H2S is produced, etc.

I like both, but I lean towards potting soil.


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## Harry-Proton (Dec 11, 2004)

really interesting !












> quote:
> 
> I like both, but I lean towards potting soil.


why ?


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## aquabillpers (Apr 13, 2006)

If you use potting soil, be sure that it is not enriched with chemical fertilizers. Those would leach into the water column and probably cause a real mess.

And be sure not to use too much potting soil, probably no more than a wet half inch.

Good luck!

Bill


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Harry-Proton:
> really interesting !
> ...


Convenience. Potting soil comes in a bag, so I don't have to dig up topsoil.

Plants grow very well with potting soil. I think plants just love all the CO2 generated.

If you use potting soil, make sure that it is not fertilized with ammonia, phosphate, sulfates, etc (calcium and magnesium carbonates are fine). No more than a 1 to 1.5 inch dry layer. And if your water is very, very hard, it may be risky (sulfate problem I mentioned earlier).


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## Franco (Jun 25, 2010)

The pearlite won't hurt anything, it is just unsightly as it will never ever sink. If you get the soil wet in a bucket, the pearlite will float to the top. Let it sit for a week and then skim off the pearlite and other floaters and carefully siphon out the water--don't disturb the mud at the bottom. You will then have mud that you can let dry a little more to use in your tank.
You can also get topsoil in a bag. Its usually only like $1 for 40 lbs and it works great in dirt tanks.
I prefer the free soil I can get with a shovel and bucket though.


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