# Soil for dirted tank



## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

Hey guys, will Miracle Gro Organic Choice Garden Soil work for a dirt tank? I could not find the Miracle Gro Organic Choice potting mix that Diana Walstad recommends. It should be OK right? Maybe better because it is garden soil vice potting mix?




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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

I use regular top soil from the BBS. Why wouldn't it work?


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

GraphicGr8s said:


> I use regular top soil from the BBS. Why wouldn't it work?


I just wanted to be sure. Diana Walstad recommends the potting mix and lowes has the garden soil. I already bought it. I have plenty of potted plants around the house that need repotting.


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## chris_ranger (Mar 17, 2014)

Garden soil usually contains little to no peat moss and more mulch products.
Also contains things like worm castings, poultry meal, and other debris.

Try an Ace hardware, usually have small bags of whitney farms organic or other brands.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

If you bought it use it.


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## PhysicsDude55 (Oct 24, 2011)

I bought a bag of "Vigoro Organic Gardening Soil" and the stuff was awful. It was mostly wood chips/peat moss. Most of it floated, and I fished it out with a net, and the stuff that did sink looks kinda weird. I replaced it with black Eco Complete substrate.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

PhysicsDude55 said:


> I bought a bag of "Vigoro Organic Gardening Soil" and the stuff was awful. It was mostly wood chips/peat moss. Most of it floated, and I fished it out with a net, and the stuff that did sink looks kinda weird. I replaced it with black Eco Complete substrate.



OK. I might just use it for the houseplants then. Thanks.


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## zerodameaon (Dec 2, 2014)

The soil contains cow manure which supposedly means you will be dealing with epic ammonia spikes for a while. The mix contains chicken manure which supposedly means its much less of a issue ammonia wise. I used the mix and it does not seem to have been much of a issue, at least that I can tell because I had issues in another part of my cycle with my nitrite eating bacteria seeming to have died off. The bigger 16qt bags of mix were only 50c more then the 8qt bags(apparently normal prices on both at OSH) so look into buying more even if you are not sure you will need it.


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## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

PhysicsDude55 said:


> I bought a bag of "Vigoro Organic Gardening Soil" and the stuff was awful. It was mostly wood chips/peat moss. Most of it floated, and I fished it out with a net, and the stuff that did sink looks kinda weird. I replaced it with black Eco Complete substrate.


I did a comparison thread on here awhile back between Vigoro and MG. Vigoro is cheaper but inferior to MG. It did okay for the first month and then dropped off. Locally, I can only find MGOPM at Home Depot. Lowes does not carry it. The MG soil contains chicken poop which can spike your ammonia from what I hear. Not saying it doesn't work, its just different than the potting mix. A dry start with the soil will help for sure. It helps leech the ammonia prior to flooding the tank.


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## Jnad (Aug 17, 2012)

zerodameaon said:


> The soil contains cow manure which supposedly means you will be dealing with epic ammonia spikes for a while. The mix contains chicken manure which supposedly means its much less of a issue ammonia wise. I used the mix and it does not seem to have been much of a issue, at least that I can tell because I had issues in another part of my cycle with my nitrite eating bacteria seeming to have died off. The bigger 16qt bags of mix were only 50c more then the 8qt bags(apparently normal prices on both at OSH) so look into buying more even if you are not sure you will need it.


Hello!

I keep reading aquarist not reccomend cow manure, but all my dirt tanks i have been using dirt containing 30% cow manure, i have no ammonia or algae problems in these tanks. Is it only me?

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=598418&highlight=
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=456562&highlight=
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=266170&highlight=
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=251914&highlight=
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=290090&highlight=

Just my experience 

Jnad


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

MGOCPM baby

Amazon:
Amazon.com : Miracle-Gro 72983510 Organic Choice Potting Mix, 32-Quart (currently ships to select Northeastern & Midwestern states) : Soil And Soil Amendments : Patio, Lawn & Garden


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

Jnad> Like the internet in general, there is a lot of conflicting info on these boards... 

I suspect that the ammonia spikes probably relate more to how much manure is present in a mix, and how well composted it is. If it's relatively fresh, it's going to be more prone to leeching ammonia. However, if it's been composted, it's been sitting around with microbes breaking it down for a bit, so whatever would lead to an ammonia spike already happened before it was made into potting mix.

And I have no idea how to tell which brands/products/batches/etc. would be likely to cause an ammonia spike...


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## Jnad (Aug 17, 2012)

lochaber said:


> Jnad> Like the internet in general, there is a lot of conflicting info on these boards...
> 
> I suspect that the ammonia spikes probably relate more to how much manure is present in a mix, and how well composted it is. If it's relatively fresh, it's going to be more prone to leeching ammonia. However, if it's been composted, it's been sitting around with microbes breaking it down for a bit, so whatever would lead to an ammonia spike already happened before it was made into potting mix.
> 
> And I have no idea how to tell which brands/products/batches/etc. would be likely to cause an ammonia spike...


Yes, how well it is composted might be a factor. The brand i am using have been composted for 3 years.

Jnad


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