# can i use this?



## yanzco (May 29, 2013)

hello.

in my place, it's a bit hard to get good substrate for a planted tank.

flourite, ada etc.. are hard to find here, and no miraclo gro / eco complete..

best i could find is this...

Gro Quik..
it says its organic compost..

wondering if i could use this..

im new to planted tanks, and is trying my first ever.
so. help is very much appreciated :smile:


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## AguaTropical (Apr 3, 2013)

Definitely don't use compost! After a while your tank will smell very bad, and eventually your fish/invertebrates will be trying to escape! This happens because of the decaying material from the compost in your tank. You might be better off with a dirted tank with a sand cap, or something similar. You can also use root tabs to make a substrate more fertile


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## yanzco (May 29, 2013)

oh i see.. i guess this one goes to the garden.. :O

root tabs.. that will be hard to find, ill check out the hardware stores if they have some..

dirt?.. do you mean ground soil?.. so, i can just dig some off from the garden?..
there are some brownish soil, blackish soil.. which ones safer / better?..

a week ago, we dug 7 ft below the ground.. (post foundation construction)
some of the earth is still here lying around, maybe thats safer since its below the ground for a longer time..


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## Bubba Shrimp (May 7, 2012)

Flourish Root tabs you can get them at a fish store.


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## yanzco (May 29, 2013)

fish stores at my place probably doesnt have those..
they just sell, fishes, aquariums, plastic plants, filters, fish foods.. 

just simple fish stores.. thats why its hard to get what you really need.
online is much harder and more expensive..


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## specks (Dec 25, 2010)

Here is an option:

www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/library/52554-how-mineralized-soil-substrate-aaron-talbot.html


I have personally tried making MTS. I had good results but it was a tedious process.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Use your garden soil if it has not been exposed to pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. 

The soil from deep down might be OK, but here is some background that might help you decide. 

Some chemicals do not cling to the soil very well, and with every rain they get washed lower and lower into the soil. 
If there is bedrock under the soil these chemicals might stop there. Sometimes these chemicals include toxic levels of heavy minerals. 
Many garden chemicals used to not break down in the soil and similarly, might end up on top of bedrock. 

So, if digging you piers you hit bedrock, I think I would take the soil that was higher up, perhaps about the middle depths of the piers. 

Here are a couple of things you could try:
Make a slurry of soil and water. Test the water for all the aquarium tests you have. If anything seems bad, then you might be able to lock it up when you mineralize (especially ammonia, nitrite or nitrate), or maybe you do not want to use that soil. 
Put some of that soil in a pot or box and grow some radish seeds. Radish plants seem to show soil chemical problems easier than many other plants. If the radish plants grow well, then the soil is probably safe. Especially if you mineralize it.


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## yanzco (May 29, 2013)

thats great!.. id be trying those..
i might try to MTS.. but yeah, need to look for dolomite seller in my place.. if i cant find one, i guess im stuck with garden soil...

@Diana, what if i take those bottom soil since they kinda look better than the ones on top.. and wash them a few times..
could washing take off some of the nutrients it already has?..


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