# Who sells mineralized topsoil?



## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Hello.

Making mineralized topsoil is not all that difficult but it's very messy. With that said, I would rather just pay more and have someone else make it....anybody know who carries MTS? Looks like bamaplants.com has it but they sell it in small 1liter bags. I plan on using it on a new 36x36 cube that I picked up recently (75 gallons).

Any suggestions?

thanks.


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## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

Why not just go for MGOPM?


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## dprais1 (Sep 12, 2012)

hedge_fund said:


> Hello.
> 
> Making mineralized topsoil is not all that difficult but it's very messy. With that said, I would rather just pay more and have someone else make it....anybody know who carries MTS? Looks like bamaplants.com has it but they sell it in small 1liter bags. I plan on using it on a new 36x36 cube that I picked up recently (75 gallons).
> 
> ...


 I used 4 bags of it in my 75, mixed it according to directions then on top used 1 bag mgopm for a very thin layer, maybe 1/4". has worked great for me. I don't know why you would need to use the full amount unless you plan to keep the tank set up for years.
I know I will tear meine down in 2 years so why spend all that money??


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

If you just regular black topsoil (not the bagged compost/peat potting soil) then you probably don't have to worry about mineralizing it. It will already be pretty well mineralized out in nature.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Ok thanks all. I'll check my local Home Depot for some topsoil...if no go then ill just do a few bags from bamaplants.com. 




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## Ben! (Nov 11, 2012)

I used the already mineralized topsoil from Bamaplants.com in my 29 gallon and it works great. I didn't want to go through the process of drying out soil myself and went with this and I have no regrets. It really isn't too expensive either.


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## kimboden (Feb 22, 2013)

I am by far not a dirt tank expert, but I've had my 46g bowfront set up for 8 months. I didn't mineralize anything. I got the cheapest top soil I could find. To make my Hills I used the cheap cheap cheap kitty litter that was nothing but clay. Top soil, then capped with fiberglass screen, and black diamond sand blasting grit. I am enjoying that tank so much I'm starting a 130g soon.

Kim


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

kimboden said:


> I am by far not a dirt tank expert, but I've had my 46g bowfront set up for 8 months. I didn't mineralize anything. I got the cheapest top soil I could find. To make my Hills I used the cheap cheap cheap kitty litter that was nothing but clay. Top soil, then capped with fiberglass screen, and black diamond sand blasting grit. I am enjoying that tank so much I'm starting a 130g soon.
> 
> Kim


Roots will grow through the screen to get to the nutrients in the topsoil. Then if you try to pull a plant out you really mess up the whole tank. I found that topping sandy MTS with black Fluorite sand worked very well, since the top soil all migrated to the bottom, and the Fluorite sand to the top. When I tore down the tank, it was very easy to scoop out the Fluorite without disturbing the MTS.

By contrast, when I used cheap "topsoil" from the store, and topped it with pool filter sand, the "topsoil" became muck at the bottom, and removing the substrate when I tore down the tank generated a mess. Also, I constantly had stinky bubbles floating up out of the substrate, for a couple of years.

There are advantages and disadvantages to every substrate material, so you need to be willing to live with the disadvantages of whatever you choose to use.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Cool, thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll be just purchasing about 8-10 bags of the stuff from bamaplants.


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