# Trying to make mineralized topsoil-have a few questions.



## wagz (Aug 6, 2012)

Hey out there,

I'm setting up my 75 gallon to be a planted community tank. Was going to try to use gravel and fert but have decided to go with mts as I am not paying over $100 for eco or aquasoil.

couldn't find any bag soil that wasn't mostly peat and other misc. organics. Even the cheap stuff.

Went to a nursery and bought a load of their bulk topsoil they use for lawn seeding etc. It has no "known" additives.

did the soak and spread out on tarp but it is very clumpy and won't spread easy.
the guy said it would have clay in it. It appears to have a good amount of grey clay already. So, question is should I skip adding the clay part of the process? Or is it normal to have heavy, thick clumpy stuff. would appear to be more than 10% clay.

also, have heard rexolin APN is a good micro, and have found it only at a singapore website: 
LUSHGro - Rexolin APN | Eco City Hydroponics Singapore Online Store

I hope its real and it only comes from a liquid from them. Was thinking of adding to the dirt when I make the goo to put in tank. Anybody know where I can get this in US?

Also, where can I find potash and dolomite? Is it best to use muriate of potash or one of the sulfates or phosphates ok. also found mono potassium. is dolomite lime ok.
Please give me any comments on this.


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## JeffyFunk (Apr 6, 2006)

wagz said:


> .... the guy said it would have clay in it. It appears to have a good amount of grey clay already. So, question is should I skip adding the clay part of the process? Or is it normal to have heavy, thick clumpy stuff. would appear to be more than 10% clay.


The "clay" the nursery person is referring to is different than the "clay" used in mineralized top soil (MTS). When you are talking about soils and particle size, "clay" has a specific definition as defining soil particles that are smaller than x size (i can't remember the exact size off the top of my head). Larger soil particles are classified as either silt/loam or sand.

In this case, "clay" refers to an Iron rich pottery clay. The Clay is used to increase the amount of micro nutrients in the MTS.



wagz said:


> also, have heard rexolin APN is a good micro, and have found it only at a singapore website:
> LUSHGro - Rexolin APN | Eco City Hydroponics Singapore Online Store
> 
> I hope its real and it only comes from a liquid from them. Was thinking of adding to the dirt when I make the goo to put in tank. Anybody know where I can get this in US?


Never heard of that product. In any case, i don't think it's necessary to add more trace elements as soil based substrates (like MTS) are usually loaded with micro-nutrients.



wagz said:


> Also, where can I find potash and dolomite? Is it best to use muriate of potash or one of the sulfates or phosphates ok. also found mono potassium. is dolomite lime ok.
> Please give me any comments on this.


These two products can be found in any good garden center (esp ones that carry a lot of products for organic gardening). Muriate of Potash (KCl) is preferred over K2SO4 because the MTS substrate will have a low redox potential when it is set up in the aquarium (as all good substrates should). This means that sulfates will reduce to sulfides in these conditions and sulfides are not good for growing plants; Stick with KCl. If you can't find the potash in your garden center, you can also try the supermarket as it is sometimes sold as a sodium salt substitute. Dolomitic lime should also be found in the garden center (and is fine to use).

I have no comment on the phosphates other than to say that K is often times the macro element available in the least amount (of N, P, K). This is why you add KCl to the MTS during the setup. (It does eventually run out, however, and there's really nothing you can do about it other than start dosing it when you start to notice K deficiencies.)


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## wagz (Aug 6, 2012)

Hi JeffyFunk

Thanks for your reply it helps. I have found kcl on ebay
HI Yield brand only 10% available potash-is that too low?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110932444963?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619#ht_500wt_1156

So your saying the high clay content is not the clay I need and still need to add more. Do you think the high clay soil will be ok, or should I try to find topsoil with less and start over?


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## JeffyFunk (Apr 6, 2006)

The KCl looks fine. (The NPK analysis is 0-0-60, which is what it should be for "pure" KCl)

The clay in your soil is fine to use. My point, however, was that it may or may not be high in Fe. As such, it is important to still add a pottery clay to the MTS as that will definitely provide the Fe and other trace elements needed by the plants.


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