# Top Soil vs. Potting Soil



## Aqua nut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIXMeysnBv8
This will help you..


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## ZooKeepersMenagerie

I personally used some of that cheap top soil you buy for a buck something at the hardware store. My tank did great. I didn't get any issues with spikes, or die offs. My cycling process was easy. I left it running when I went to nyc and came back to start a fish-cycle. 

However, I am not sure I recommend it because I don't know what kind of difference you get with potting soil. I just know I had success for my tank.

Oh, and mine wasn't fully stocked of plants.


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## Qwe

I've used Miracle Grow Organic Choice Potting Mix (organic is the key, don't want chemical additives or perlite, nor manure) a bunch of times as well as some dirt I just dug up from my yard, both with great success. I just do throw it in and cap it, and haven't had a problem. Just have to watch out for some ammonia spikes during the first couple weeks.


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## dirbrit

I have a tank thats Miracle Gro organic potting soil. bin up and running over a month. no issues so far. no issues at all. put fish in 2nd day. neons. now has shrimp and everything is fine. BUT, that is the limit of my experience to date


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## lochaber

I've also done a couple tanks with MGOCPM, and haven't had any problems. Had one tank running for about a year before I tore it down, and current tank has been running for almost a year, except I sifted the MGOCPM this time. again, no problems/complaints.


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## klibs

+1 success story with MGOCPM. Make sure you sift and rinse it real good.


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## eme012

I set up a 10gal almost 2 years ago with mgops, fishless cycle, ended up potting the plants in jelly jars of potting mix with peagravel on top. I now have another 20gal planted and put the soil in the bottom of tank. Plants and fish are all doing well. I potted the plants so I could remove them to clean the tank and when I get algae blooms I can wash with h2o2 outside of tank and then replace. Amano shrimp and nerite snails have solved the algae. I think the fish like it when I redecorate every now and then, its like moving into a new home.


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## cg49me

Awesome, thanks all! Plan at this point is to use MGOCPM capped with AquariumPlants.com's substrate.


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## HybridHerp

I think its for making MTS that you don't want to use MGOCPM and want to use topsoil. Either method should work perfectly fine (but making MTS takes some work)


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## skanderson

I used mts as the base layer in my 300 gallon build. I added azomite to the red clay that I put down as a base additive. no idea if it is helping anything but I don't see any obvious signs of toxicity or other deleterious effects.


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## AquaAurora

I've used MGOPM like several others here, used to keep shrimp and snails then converted tank for betta (shrimp removed). No issues, though i did have ammonia leech for few few weeks when first set up, and when re-done for betta pulling plants up made a nightmare-ish mess so had to re-do all over again.. that time filter was cycled so just got high nitrates for a few weeks. Waited for the levels to stop going up (did regular scheduled water changes) before putting fauna in both times (first time was a free-cycle boost after having singe filter in a cycled community tank for a few weeks).
I've not use top soil so I can't offer comparisons.


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## Bob B

Does Joe Gecko have a email address.


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