# MGOPS - Is this the right stuff?



## Bunfoo (Jan 14, 2012)

To be honest I used their organic choice garden soil (I personally found it to be more workable) but yes I believe the orange bag of MGOCPS is the one most people use.


----------



## Patriot (Dec 22, 2010)

I do believe although I haven't tried it yet that organic choice garden soil would be a bit better since it doesn't have perlite in it.


----------



## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I've used all kinds of dirt, backyard topsoil, cheap generic Home Depot brand, Miracle Grow moisture control, and MGOPS, good thing about MGOPS is that there are less matter that will float to the top, mostly the dirt will settle by itself even if upset. Others you'll have lots of perilite, wood chips, etc that can be a pain during initial setup. With any soil you need to wait for plants to get established and water to clear (and cycle of course), also suggest to plant densely as much as you can.


----------



## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

Organic choice is the only one I will use


----------



## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

Yes that is the right stuff. I have it in two tanks, no issues at all. I sifted the crap out of it though, so there were only very, very fine twigs/organic matter left in it.

The garden soil contains cow manure. I think that's why it's not recommended.


----------



## KrazyFish (Dec 23, 2010)

Thanks everyone. I was confused because I actually came across the Organic Garden soil at the same place.


----------



## Patriot (Dec 22, 2010)

Sute why not as long as it doesnt have manure that can be nasty and cook your plants. if you arent sure if that bag has it or not go with potting soil to be safe

Sent from my Galaxy Note using Tapatalk


----------



## vvDO (Oct 18, 2010)

Potting mix is the one you want so you picked up the right bag. Ingredient list pasteurized poultry litter aka pasteurized poultry pee.


----------



## dougiek (Feb 20, 2012)

I have mine set up with MGOPS and capped with Eco-Complete and its awful so far. I didn't really do anything to the soil (which I'm sure is the problem) but my water stays brown from tannins being leached even after a week of daily 50% water changes and purigen.

How do I fix this?? I'm close to taking it all out and just buying more Eco-Complete...


----------



## Soujirou (Jun 16, 2008)

*I've never used Eco-Complete but here goes*

How thick is the layer of Eco-Complete sitting on top of the soil? And when you add water back to your tank, does it disturb the Eco-Complete? These may be simple questions but they are the only ones I can think of.


----------



## aquatic serenity (May 24, 2011)

I use this instead of mgocpm :
http://www.scotts.com/smg/catalog/productTemplate.jsp?proId=prod70252&itemId=cat50152&tabs=general

about 1.5-2" capped with SAF T SORB....underneath the peat is a layer of laterite,leonardite,& crushed coral....
I did a side by side comparison of 2 tanks.. one with straight mgocpm on the bottom capped with saftsorb...the other as stated above...
they both grew plants well, but the one with the peat grew plants like they were on steroids...rapid luxurious growth....
The tank with the peat/laterite/leonardite has been my best tank ever...very stable-no nuisance algae whatsoever...


----------



## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

aquatic serenity said:


> I use this instead of mgocpm :
> http://www.scotts.com/smg/catalog/productTemplate.jsp?proId=prod70252&itemId=cat50152&tabs=general
> 
> about 1.5-2" capped with SAF T SORB....underneath the peat is a layer of laterite,leonardite,& crushed coral....
> ...


Is it around the same price as regular MGOCPM? I just got a new 29g tank and I am thinking about substrate options since AS, Stratum, etc. is so expensive. Was thinking of doing 2" of MGOCPM and 1" of Stratum.


----------



## aquatic serenity (May 24, 2011)

It's cheap and you can get it at walmart...

forgot to add : I also used a sprinkling of osmocote on the surface of the peat before adding the STS as a cap....don't go heavy on the osmocote....I made that mistake before-leads to massive algae outbreaks...this time I got it perfect...
another hint: all those on here saying to plant HEAVILY on the initial setup are spot on !!
I did that and ran low light (less than 1wpg )for the 1st 8 weeks until everything started to take off...no nuisance algae whatsoever...my front glass gets a dusting of green algae every few weeks or so -and thats it....getting the balance right in the beginning is key...


----------



## Borikuan (Jun 4, 2012)

dougiek said:


> I have mine set up with MGOPS and capped with Eco-Complete and its awful so far. I didn't really do anything to the soil (which I'm sure is the problem) but my water stays brown from tannins being leached even after a week of daily 50% water changes and purigen.
> 
> How do I fix this?? I'm close to taking it all out and just buying more Eco-Complete...


The Eco complete granule is too large, you need to cap with sand.


----------



## Gafi (Aug 5, 2011)

if one likes to rescape a lot....is this method of Miracle Grow with a sand cap not recommended?


----------



## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

Does anyone do the sphagnum peat moss or mgocpm base with ada AS, fluval plant or shrimp stratum?


----------



## aquatic serenity (May 24, 2011)

gus6464 said:


> Does anyone do the sphagnum peat moss or mgocpm base with ada AS, fluval plant or shrimp stratum?


 
DONT waste your money on name brand substrates......saf t sorb is all u need


----------

