# Soil recommendations for NPT



## lake_tuna (Mar 18, 2010)

I think it would be useful to have a list of soils that have been proven to work in an NPT by forum users here. I've personally tried two different soils, and neither of them worked. The first I tried was Scotts Premium Potting Soil. This had way too many nutrients, and algae was completely out of control and the fish tank glass walls accumulated a lot of slimy stuff in addition to the algae. The water was clear other than the yellow slimy coat on the glass walls. The second I tried was Earthgro Top Soil. This didn't work because the water was constantly dark-yellow (tannin) probably. However, there was no algae issue. I had used the same light for both tries.

So, what has worked for you? Can you list the name of the brand and type of soil you used? Thanks!


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## haulmark400 (Feb 21, 2009)

I picked up a 40 pound bag of top soil on sale at Ace Hardware for $1.49 For that cheap of a price I know nothing extra was in it. It was called "Michigan Topsoil". One 4 gallon tank has been going for a month with no water changes and no filter. No problems in that tank. The second tank a 29 gallon has been going for almost three weeks with no problems. Only one 5 gallon water change on that tank. Both tanks have plants in them that were well established submerged. Using plants that were grown emersed and then placed into a new setup can cause problems. No discoloring of water in either tank and no algae problems.


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

I use the following soil:

1. Top soil produced by a Malaysian university of science called U.S.M. The nursery's salesperson told me it's their best selling soil but the production had stopped. Encountered BBA issue when I had slow growing ferns. The situation improved after slow growing plants were removed. Still have a bit of algae every now and then but it's not out of control.

2. Clay loam produced by the same university. It's meant for pond usage. I am still in the midst of testing it. I notice tannin but I doubt it's from the soil though. I believe the tannin is from my driftwoods. Water was clear since day one. Seems better than the first item. 

I don't think these soil are exported. Probably they're available in Malaysia only.


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## lake_tuna (Mar 18, 2010)

haulmark400 said:


> I picked up a 40 pound bag of top soil on sale at Ace Hardware for $1.49 For that cheap of a price I know nothing extra was in it. It was called "Michigan Topsoil".


Hm, I did not realize that Ace Hardware had soil! I just called them, and they do have their store brand. I should try this one out next time I'm there!


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## haulmark400 (Feb 21, 2009)

I must admit I goofed. I bought my soil at Aco Hardware. Not Ace Hardware. Sorry about the confusion. I would bet that any super cheap store brand soil is the same as I used.


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## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/26458-what-el-natural-step-step.html

 you could read the sticky and hear it firsthand from Ms Walstad

"Just wanted to show you all today's photo of my 50 gal tank. I reset this tank up in July with Home Depot's generic TopSoil. I'm happy with results from this "soil", floating wood chips and all.

Because it worked so well, I'm planning to set up another tank with this soil and a shallow sand cover.

Don't worry about the initial starting bacterial composition; the bacteria that establish themselves will be those that do well in your tank's environment.

I would just follow Data Guru's excellent step-by-step instructions."
End Quote.

From DataGuru's guide:
"The first step was to add about an inch of topsoil. I used a cheap topsoil from Home Depot called EarthGro. Sticks were removed and clods were broken up."


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## lake_tuna (Mar 18, 2010)

Big_Fish said:


> From DataGuru's guide:
> "The first step was to add about an inch of topsoil. I used a cheap topsoil from Home Depot called EarthGro. Sticks were removed and clods were broken up."


Oh man, I've used this EarthGro, too, from Home Depot!! It made the water yellow than brown, no matter how much I changed the water without disturbing the gravel; I must have done a 80% WC's at least a dozen times over a little over a week. I hadn't removed anything from the soil, though..


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## frank_claessen (Feb 4, 2008)

I use regular natural clay. If you look at detailed maps, you often find names that contain the word red or iron; these names often refer to iron containing soils.
My tank is rock solid for more than 1,5 years now. Plants keep growing fast and beautiful.

Cheers

Frank


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## goldier (Feb 13, 2010)

+1
What percentage of clay did you use?

Algae would probably be less of a problem in the beginning due to the very low nitrogen content in clay. I've used 100% clay in my outdoor pond with no problem. For aquarium, some source (see link below) recommends 50% mixed with other medium and peat moss for carbon source. I also read about recommendation to use only a fraction of clay (~12-10%), but this seems too little for any strong impact.

http://www.aquariumplants.co.za/media.htm


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