# Is this potting soil ok to use? HELP FAST



## will5 (Oct 26, 2005)

It's called

HYPONEX
Potting Soil

Product of Scotts

Scotts: Product Guide: Hyponex® Potting Soil

It says

Organaic Materials ( Primarly derived from one or more of the following: hypnum peat forest products or compost), sand and perlite.

So is it safe to use in my planted tank for a High tech El Natural setup?


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## will5 (Oct 26, 2005)

*More info.*

This is what it says about the perlite which is one of the things that is in this soil.

Siliceous rock

Chemically inert and has a pH of about 7

http://www.perlite.net/

Mineral Information Institute - PERLITE

Perlite and Hydroponics: Possible Substitute for MeBr?


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## Mud Pie Mama (Jul 30, 2006)

STOP! Don't do it!

I would NOT use this product in an aquarium. The forest products are generally shreaded wood this can cause *a lot * of bubbling from the substrate and tannin discolored water. If there is compost used as an ingredient you often have the same problems with lots of bubbling. The perlite will constantly float up out of the soil whenever you uproot plants.

If purchasing a soil product for El Natural tank the general concensus seems to be that most often generic "TOPSOIL" is best.

See this thread:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/35696-topsoil-vs-potting-soil-vs-peat.html

It is always much better to not rush when choosing your components for aquaria projects, please!


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## will5 (Oct 26, 2005)

*Hi*



> If purchasing a soil product for El Natural tank the general concensus seems to be that most often generic "TOPSOIL" is best.


This is a generic potting soil and it was also used by a couple of people in the link you gave me.

Now with that said i live in chicago so could people give me some names of top soils that they used and it worked out great for them?

The set up is a 29 gallon with diy Co2 EI dosing 2.2 watts @ 8 hours a day. For now when i get a Co2 system i will bump it up too 3 wpg.

Oh and on top of the Top soil will be flourite so i will have the best of both worlds.


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

will5 said:


> The set up is a 29 gallon with diy Co2 EI dosing 2.2 watts @ 8 hours a day. For now when i get a Co2 system i will bump it up too 3 wpg.
> 
> Oh and on top of the Top soil will be flourite so i will have the best of both worlds.


Will,
I have used potting soils with ferts and pearlite. you can do it but expect algae problems at start up and a constant supply of little white floating stuff.

Also with your setup you don't need the EI dosing the soil will take care of the plant needs. I'm running soil with 2.5 - 3 WPG, with pressure CO2 and have never dosed anything.

Good luck,

Brian


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## bristles (Mar 7, 2006)

Will~
I would not use potting soil, the brand of topsoil I use in my soil mix tanks is "ACE Hardware" topsoil, is there a ACE hardware store near you ?


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## Mud Pie Mama (Jul 30, 2006)

will5 said:


> This is a generic potting soil and it was also used by a couple of people in the link you gave me.


Hyponex is NOT a generic potting soil - Hyponex is a major named brand. It is one of the labels owned by Scotts: one of the biggest players in lawn and garden products!

Both Lowe's and Home Depo carry generic topsoil. For a 40lbs bag you will pay less that $2.00.

I now have four tanks set up with varying soil mix underlayers, I wanted to try them out and see for myself. Especially on the 5 gallon, and 10 gallon tanks I was more willing to experiment; much easier to handle dismanteling a small size if it went badly.

In the 5 gallon I used a mix that had more bark in it. Three months later and it is still a bubbling cauldron. I think the constant bubbles rising thru the capping is throwing a lot of extra detrius into the water, I need to replace the filter floss twice a week. I've also needed to run carbon in the filter to try to tame the tannin stained water. The three cory catfish in the tank did not settledown until I started running the carbon, something in the water with this soil mix was bothering them.

Now in my 35 gallon hex tank, (the 24" depth makes working more difficult- so I don't want to do any teardown) I used Lowe's 'GardenPlus' topsoil - cost: $1.49. I capped this with Flourite because it was the color I wanted. It's worked exceptionally well. There has been some occasional bubbles but nothing like the other blend.


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

Cheaper is generally better for an au naturale tank... but then you're not planning an au naturale tank, are you?

You're planning to boost growth with CO2, flourite instead of gravel... perhaps you need a more traditional substrate for that.


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## will5 (Oct 26, 2005)

*Hi*

Hmmm i was really looking forward to using soil too. I guess it will have wait till a later tank.


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

Why not go au naturelle now? It's cheaper.


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## will5 (Oct 26, 2005)

*Hi*



Tentacles said:


> Why not go au naturelle now? It's cheaper.


Because i just learned how to properly care for my tank as it is. I really like that fast growth of a high tech tank i just want my rooted plants to have the soil so they will grow faster and look better. At least this is how i feel.

I have only two remaining things to do which is change out my CO2 from yest to pressurized, and then change my substrate. Because what i have now is not doing anything for it at all. So the idea as i stated was to give my rooted plants the best of both worlds.

Now although El Natural would be cheaper for me and a little easier on my wallet with money being tight right now. I just don't to make the switch to El Natural and it not be something I like. At least with adding the flourite and CO2 I know what i am getting into.


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