# potting soil with fertilizer



## arohead (May 3, 2009)

hi everyone
my name is rameez and this is my first post. 
i have been in this hobby since 10 years now but this is my first shot at planted tanks and i want to try the el natura way
now what i want to know is that what happens if the potting soil i use has some fertilizers added to it.how will it affect the fish and the plants and is there any way i can get rid of the fertilizers?
thank you


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## pkeeler (Apr 26, 2009)

Terrestrial fertilizers will probably have large amounts of nitrogen and phosphate and probably ammonia. I doubt there is any way to get rid of it in any significant way. If you want to use a potting soil, I would just get a bag of sphagnum moss and a bag of perlite and mix them 2:1 (you can mix in sand too if you want).


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

dont use that - its way too rich - will cause algae bloom


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## arohead (May 3, 2009)

can i use a normal potting soil which has no fertilizers. i live in the united arab emirates. we dont have so many varieties of soil out here. will a normal soil without fertilizers be ok


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

yes - 1 inch potting soil - 1 inch gravel - fill slowly with water - use a saucer to add water - plant heavily - use a lot of floaters initially such as hornwort and water sprite - it will take 2 months for the soil to stabilize - i run 4WPG , DIY co2 at high levels , and EI dosing - plants grow like crazy - a powerhead diffuser is recommended and eheim filter with sponges only - check KH - if 2 or three out the tap or higher - you are fine - run airstone at night - 12 hour photo period


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

arohead said:


> will a normal soil without fertilizers be ok


Yes. Aquatic plants don't need a lot of fertilizers if you feed your fish well (fishfood provides all the nutrients that plants need).


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## arohead (May 3, 2009)

ok so i went to lots of shops and could not find any potting soil without fertilizers. now my last hope is the small shops out of the city. if i dont getting potting soil without fertilizers will using sand be ok. and you said it will take 2 months for the soil to stabilize so in that period there should not be any fish in the tank or is it ok to add fish.i have a powerhead which had a sponger filter. also i have a 14watt CFL light.my tank is just 5gallons.i dont want to add CO2.can i avoid that. and what is EI dosing?


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

myself i would go with a larger tank - EI dosing is under fertilizer section - there are several approaches to a planted tank


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## arohead (May 3, 2009)

surpera1 said:


> myself i would go with a larger tank - EI dosing is under fertilizer section - there are several approaches to a planted tank


since this is my first shot at planted tank so i was planning to start with a small tank. i have a 180gallon and another 55gallon tank. this is my first planted 5gallon. once i get a hang of planted tanks i will go for a 55gallon setup


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

55 ? now youre talking what i know


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## arohead (May 3, 2009)

but that 55g is for later.right now i want to get done with my 5g. i think 55 will take another couple of months.i also need to get a new tank for that.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

arohead said:


> ok so i went to lots of shops and could not find any potting soil without fertilizers. now my last hope is the small shops out of the city. if i dont getting potting soil without fertilizers will using sand be ok. and you said it will take 2 months for the soil to stabilize so in that period there should not be any fish in the tank or is it ok to add fish.i have a powerhead which had a sponger filter. also i have a 14watt CFL light.my tank is just 5gallons.i dont want to add CO2.can i avoid that. and what is EI dosing?


If you can't find potting soil without fertilizers, use ordinary soil. Don't use sand. Sand has no nutrients, organic matter, or anything that plants need. You might as well set up your tank with gravel.

I would use potting soil with fertilizers rather than sand. If your potting soil is fertilized, my advice would be to just use less potting soil. The only problem I see is that you might have to do a few extra water changes.


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## Forgotten Path (Apr 3, 2009)

You could mineralize the fertilized soil. That should wash out and get rid of any fertilizers, I believe. If I'm wrong, then someone correct me. It's a little more involved than just using soil, but it would get rid of the problems cause by fertilizers, and would help the soil "settle in" faster since any organics are gone. If you use soil with perlite, you may be able to rinse out all the perlite as well.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

If the potting soil with fertilizer is the only material available I would go ahead and use it, but set it up as a plant-only tank for about a month. Let your test kit be your guide. 
In the first month this sort of soil will go through a pretty strong nitrogen cycle, spiking first ammonia, then nitrite. This is not a problem, as long as you do not have fish in there, yet. Some aquatic plants can handle a rather high level of ammonia, others seem not to be able to tolerate it. If a plant you like dies while the ammonia is high, wait for the cycle to finish and try the plant again. 
Do enough water changes to keep the nitrite under 5 ppm, though. Nitrifying bacteria tend to quit growing when the nitrite gets above 5 ppm. Plants will be the main nitrogen removing thing in this tank, but having some nitrifying bacteria is fine, and cannot be avoided, anyway. 

Do not add perlite to an aquarium. It floats. 
If the only available potting soil comes with perlite, then let it float and keep netting it out. 

The ADA (Amano) soils are like soils with excess fertilizer, and need to go through this cycle before it is safe to add fish. Have a look at some posts about people using these soils (usually high tech tanks) for more info. 

When the ammonia and nitrite test 0 ppm for several days running do a big water change in case any other toxins were in there, and add fish.


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## arohead (May 3, 2009)

thank you for your very nice replies. it was well explained and i am going to use potting soil with fertilizers. there is no perlite in the soil but it does have peat. so during this period do i need to have a powerhead or a filter in the tank. i will remove all the fish and transfer them to another tank.


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## arohead (May 3, 2009)

@Brent 
i dont think i will be able to mineralize the soil. its a long procedure and i dont have the products needed for it. so using potting soil and making water changes is a better option for me. thank you for your reply though.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I would keep the water moving. Even if you simply use a power head this keeps circulating the nutrients so the plants can use them the best, and keeps up the gas exchange so the plants will not use up all the CO2. With no water movement gas exchange is pretty much limited to the surface, and does not diffuse into the water very well. There are other sources of CO2 in the tank, though. 
Some water movement at the surface also keeps the surface free of scum. 

Peat moss does not like to get wet, at first. I use hot water and hand mix it to get started. Sometimes it will float, and not want to sink. I net this material off the water surface.


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## arohead (May 3, 2009)

ok i put the soil in and put gravel on top.so there is no mess in the tank.i added water in the morning. its more than 14 hours now and i checked the nitrates and nitrites level. both are 0ppm. why arent they high. also i dont have a spare powerhead. is circulating the water important. there are no fishes in it atm


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Depends on what fertilizers are in the soil. 
Is the bag labeled with this info?

If the only nitrogen in the bag is from ammonia or ammonium then the water will show ammonia (usually the tests do not separate the two). 
After the nitrifying bacteria get going the tests will show nitrite (might take several days to a week) followed by nitrate (perhaps another week). 
Some nitrate tests are not accurate when there is nitrite in the water.


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## arohead (May 3, 2009)

ok so i will test my water after another a couple of weeks then. i think its written NPK fertilizers on the bag. but thats my guess because the bag has been thrown.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Here in the US there are rules about how fertilizer is labeled. 
It is presented in the same order: N, P, K. 
Other nutrients are not allowed to be called fertilizers. (all the minerals we refer to as micros). 

N = sources of nitrogen. May be ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, urea or other. The bag may be labeled with the source and may separate the various forms so it might say a certain % is from ammonia, and a certain % is from nitrate etc.
P = Phosphate. Usually of mineral origin, but can also be from bone meal and other sources. 
K = Potassium. Usually of mineral origin. 

If you threw away the bag, there is the simple answer of going back to the store and reading another bag to find out what ferts are added. 

Anyway, yes, let the soil and microorganisms do whatever they want, test the water now and then so you have some idea as to what is happening. IF this was an ADA product I would say the soil would have at least 3 weeks, and perhaps up to 5 weeks of maturing, and will show a lot of ammonia during this process. 

I would plant the tank, if you have not. Gets the plants well rooted before adding the fish.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Well,

I realize this reply is a little late (you're already set up) but why couldn't you just use some garden soil? Do you have a yard area? As long as its not near a highway or road (getting heavy metals and output from motor vehicles) it should be OK. Dig under the first 2", then take some of that nice rich layer underneath. You might have to sift it for bits of wood or larger pebbles.

And best of all - it doesn't involve shopping to obtain this!
-Jane


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