# Looking for a safe soil



## tanger (Dec 31, 2010)

Greetings,

I am starting up a NPT and I just want to get a second opinion before I purchase a bag of soil.

I was a Walmart and Home Depot today looking for Top Soil but all I could find was Potting Mix. Almost every bag contained all of the following - Canadian sphagnum peat moss, Composted softwood bark (or other types of bark), Perlite. From what I've read, potting mix and potting soil are two completely different things.

Obviosuly, soil with fertilizer already added to it is not good for the aquarium but none of the bags clearly state this. Are there any brands of soil you can recommend, that are proven to be safe with plants and fish or brands/ingredients that are avoided? I live in Canada - so our selection of soils at this time of year is rather limited.

Thanks!


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## penfold (Dec 7, 2010)

You want *top*soil, not potting soil. At my Home Depot the potting soil is sold indoors, while the topsoil is sold in the outdoor section. I had to pick up a bag of sand recently (which had to be dug out of the snow!), and saw many bags of topsoil for sale. I can't name any brands because I dig my own topsoil, but maybe you'll find what you're looking for in the outdoor section.


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## tanger (Dec 31, 2010)

penfold said:


> You want *top*soil, not potting soil. At my Home Depot the potting soil is sold indoors, while the topsoil is sold in the outdoor section. I had to pick up a bag of sand recently (which had to be dug out of the snow!), and saw many bags of topsoil for sale. I can't name any brands because I dig my own topsoil, but maybe you'll find what you're looking for in the outdoor section.


I was at HD tonight and peeked into the 'outdoor' section...it seemed like they had already packed everything away for the winter. The automatic doors were locked too so I couldnt go in and look for myself. You are probably right in that they keep the topsoil outside as it seemed strange to me that all they sold was potting mix.

However, I've read some forums where people have used Miracle Gro Organic Potting Mix as the soil base with good results. What is so 'bad' with potting mix?


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## penfold (Dec 7, 2010)

That's too bad about the outdoor section. Mine was open last time I checked and even had a cashier out there in a tiny, heated booth.

As for the potting soil, I have some concerns about it (floating perlite, added fertilizers, lack of a clay component, lots of decomposing organic material), but I think quite a few people have used it successfully, so maybe it works well with the right brand. I'll let someone else answer that. You should also try a search here for potting soil or miracle gro.


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## Lizzz (Nov 28, 2010)

I buy my top soil from southern states if you have one near you. I got a bag a few days ago, solid block of ice under a dusting of snow!


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I just find a patch of woods somewhere and scrape up some of the topsoil with a trowel . Seems to work fine for me. If you want less organic matter, go deeper and get some of the lighter colored subsoil.


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## tanger (Dec 31, 2010)

Thanks for the responses!

I did a search on this forum for Miracle Gro Organic Potting Mix and it seems many people have used it with success. I also read that its wise to rinse the soil several times to remove as much as you can of the perlite, bark debris, extra nutrients, tannins, etc. 

I think I'll try to gain access to the outdoor section of HD tomorrow and try some other stores to find topsoil. If my search fails, I might just give the potting soil a try.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

The exact full name of the product you want is "Miracle Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix". It does not contain any perlite (which floats like styrofoam) or synthetic fertilizers. I have used it straight from the bag, and after several soak and rinse cycles. Both were successful.


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## tanger (Dec 31, 2010)

I picked up a bag of the Miracle Gro OC Potting Mix for my tank today. I tried to rinse it but when I added water, the soil just suspended and became a soupy mush. I just added it to the tank straight from the bag and sifted through it by hand to remove as many large bark pieces as possible. I had about an inch of the soil then capped it with half an inch or so of gravel. Its a little cloudy now but not as bad as I expected. 

What do you do when you get new plants and want to plant them without disturbing all the soil? 
I plan on adding a few more plants and just realized that it wont be easy without making a mess lol...any tips?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Just plant them in the gravel layer, their roots will grow down into the soil. You might want to make your gravel a little deeper to make this easier, or hold the plants in place with small stones until they root into the substrate.


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## potatoes (Jun 25, 2010)

Since you did not soak it, be prepared for a lot of nutrients and tannins in the water. I soaked mine twice and sifted it with screen and still had tannins and high ammonia. Just a heads up that you will probably need some water changes and fast growing plants. Floaters helped me get things under control the fastest


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## tanger (Dec 31, 2010)

potatoes said:


> Since you did not soak it, be prepared for a lot of nutrients and tannins in the water. I soaked mine twice and sifted it with screen and still had tannins and high ammonia. Just a heads up that you will probably need some water changes and fast growing plants. Floaters helped me get things under control the fastest


Yep, this is where I'm at currently. Tank is a light-yellow colour but I'm doing w/c 2 times a week so hopefully, things will get under control quickly. I have a couple fast growers (Hygro. Coymbosa and Hygro. Polysperma...I think they're fast growers??) and 6 other species of plants so hopefully they can neutralize any ammonia outbreaks. I also have an HOB filter running atm just in case too.

If I do this again in the future, I will definetly soak and sift with a screen. I was thinking exactly this when I did this couple days ago but couldnt find a screen or sieve large enough. Lesson learned lol


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## potatoes (Jun 25, 2010)

You can add some carbon to help with the tannins and i am sure a waterchange/fast growing plant combo will sort it out quickly


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## farrk (Nov 25, 2009)

Sorry to intrude guys, just a quick question.. 

The Miracle Gro Organic Choice topsoil in the orange bag is like 50-55% composted bark, sphagnum peat moss, and pasteurize poultry litter. Am i supposed to be removing about 50% of the soil (all of the composted bark seems to float) when i rinse and remove the floating pieces?


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## pnuttyg (Jan 1, 2011)

I am so new I probably shouldn't even post, but to reply to Farrk - I just used an inch spread along the bottom of the tank, right from the bag, covered it with gravel and planted. It's only been a week but the plants are growing so fast - literally 5 inches on some of them! It is crazy.


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## potatoes (Jun 25, 2010)

I would remove anything that floats and sift it through a window screen to remove any larger pieces or bark as to avoid tannins. I would also soak it as well to get rid of some of the extra nutients. I did this and still had ammonia levels at 4ppm for a month. I have also seen people add it straight from the bag with good success, but still lots of tannins


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

If you soak the MGOC, you do not need to shift it. Let it soak for 24 hours, then pour or skim off any floating bits of wood. These will be the larger pieces, so you are removing floaters and large pieces in one step.

I have used it straight from the bag, and after soaking and skimming. Both worked well for me.


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## PPulcher (Feb 4, 2004)

I just set up a 50 gallon tank with the MGOC and sifted it before I put it in the tank. The setup has been planted for a week and I haven't measured any ammonia to date. I did get quite a lot of tannins, but some activated carbon removed the stain. It's still early days, so I haven't added any fish yet as I was concerned about the reported ammonia release.


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## ThoHell (Jan 9, 2011)

I'm trying miracle grow too, hope this goes well!


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## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

I am a straight from the bag person, though i have sifted & used MTS. They all lead to the same place, just different ways of getting there.

I had yellow water for over 6 months in my 125. bi-weekly carbon & water changes only cleared it for a few days at a time.

Wisteria works well for removing excess nutrients, and is readily available.


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## voxmeus (Jan 14, 2011)

I used scott premium top soil. i didn't have to sift or anything. there were a couple big sticks that were easily removed. it hasn't turned my water yellow either. i am pretty sure that the ammonia is not an issue. i read when i was at Home depot that the miracle grow organic soil had a fertilizer in it (ammonia based) so i decided against it. 

from the previous posts, this stuff sounds way better. no floating anything and .75 cufeet was more than enough for my 40 gallon. i might post pictures soon.


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