# Soil Brands - Which is the best?



## tylerG

Hey, all.

After much consideration, I've decided to jump back into the "low-tech" substrates. The problem is that I've had a very difficult time gathering info on the different types of top soil and potting soil there are. I know that usually the cheaper the better, as in, cheap = most "organic". 

I bought EarthGro Topsoil and it didn't seem like there was much soil in it at all.... Just a bunch of small wood fibers and 75% rock/sand. Failure on my part.

What brands, if any, do you guys suggest?

'Really needing some advice here.


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## digital_gods

I've had good luck with organic mericle grow. Just sift out the large wooden fibers prior to installation.


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## Michael

The problem with cheap brands of bagged topsoil like EarthGro is that they are very inconsistent. One batch may have pretty good soil for aquarium use. But a bag from a different batch or store may be all sand and wood chips, as you found. Try to find an open bag to look at before you buy it.

Miracle Grow Organic Choice Potting Mix (MGOC) is the most frequently recommended type and brand. It is far from perfect, but it is very consistent and nationally available. Since it is consistent, you will know what problems to expect, and can take steps to correct them.

MGOC is generally a little too rich, and has too much coarse incompletely composted material. You can prevent problems by shifting the coarse pieces out, or by soaking and draining the soil. Let it soak for a day or two in a bucket of water, then skim or pour off all the floating pieces and excess water. It helps to repeat several times. This removes the annoying floaters, excess nutrients that can cause ammonia spikes, and tanins which are harmless but stain the water brown or yellow.

I suggest you read the stickies in the library about mineralized topsoil. Making your own aquarium soil with this process gives you more control over the ingredients so that you can improve the result.


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## tylerG

Awesome info! I've tried Miracle Gro Organic Potting Mix before and it worked very well, however that was before I learned about how to mineralize soil. That thread was really helpful, but it was kind of hard to find a brand on all of those pages that people liked. That's why I posted this thread on here. 

The EarthGro was to be mineralized, but there isn't any soil to work with. Haha.


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## Michael

Glad to help! I've mineralized MGOC--it was tedious because the coarse material took so many cycles to break down. The result was more coarse-textured and fibrous than MTS made from typical topsoil, but it worked very well in the tank.


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## Error

I used the brand "Garden Magic" (no idea if it's available anywhere but here in Michigan) and the results were very good.

I don't like using Miracle Grow because they put too much other crap in it, but as always, YMMV.

Most MTS issues with organic materials can be solved by cycling it over and over again. After 10 cycles or so it should be broken down as far as it can go no matter what is in it. This heat wave we're having is perfect for this.

That said, if you decide to mineralize something with a lot of wood/roots/etc., I would avoid the soaking phase on all but the first three cycles. Gonna lose a lot of material that way and fertilizers are usually gone after one or two rinses anyway.


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## tylerG

So you suggest soaking the soil only 3 times instead of the 4-5?


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