# Aquarium Plant Soil?



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Miracle Gro Organic is one I've heard good results using and if I ever break down my 90gal I'll probably try, myself.


----------



## J.farrand (Jul 12, 2010)

Thats what I used before but just wanted to make sure. Although I added crawfish which ruined my organic potting soil experiment.(good bye 10 planted aquarium, enter crawfish desert) I am breaking down my 40gallon to a 29 gallon and a 20gallon long. I do not want a repeat of a free for all tank as I created over time, before I knew anything about aquaria and planted tanks. As you might know up rooting almost 2 years of plants has me a little nervous. I want to step properly and has a nice finished product. I am concerned about the whole process. Big job!!


----------



## Jane of Upton (Apr 2, 2006)

J.farrand said:


> So basically I am open for other alternatives and have considered using bottom layer of dolomite to help with the total depth. I am breaking down a fully planted 40 gallon into a 29 gallon and a 20 gallon long. I almost have everthing I need beside more soil of course.


Hey Jon,

well, I'd be careful with using Dolomite - its basically straight calcium magnesium carbonate. Using a significant amount of dolomite will send your water hardness off the charts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolomite

A _PINCH_ might be OK on the bottom of the tank before you cover it over with soil, but even then, I'd only do that if your (tap) water tends to be on the soft side. I've put a pinch of dolomite powder on the bottom of a tank, probably 1/8th teaspoon over the bottom of a 20H, and I spent the next several months trying to tweak the tank water parameters DOWN, in terms of pH and general hardness. I used long strand sphagnum peat, which then turned the water a tea color, tried doing water changes with distilled water, etc. *shaking head* unless you're using a VERY acidic soil, I'd be very tentative w/ the dolomite. Its always easier to ADD hardness to a system than remove it. 

You know, if you have a good yard, or wooded area nearby, not close to a highway (and the heavy metals found in car exhaust), you might just use your own yard soil. Find that layer underneath the top growth and "new" stuff (beneath the twigs, leaf mould and other stuff just beginning to break down)... it will feel a bit gritty, be far more consistent in grain size (not like the top recently-fallen layer) and have a nice earthy smell. When you squeeze a handful together in your palm, it will not be sticky, and when you open your palm, it will hold its shape a bit, or crack into a few "chunks". If you then push on the squeezed handful, it will be firm, but will yield, and fall back apart. Sorry to sound so "granola", but that's my description of how to tell if something has a good mix of silt, sand, and clay. The sand will give it texture and grit, the silt will give it smooth body, and the clay will hold it together. Yeah, this is a VERY simplified description, but it will give you a rough idea of what to look for.

Try testing whatever soil you are thinking about using. Set out two cups of water, one with a handful of the soil, one without (as the control). Then after 24 hours, do some water testing - pH, hardness, carbonate hardness, etc. This will get you familiar with how the soil is going to behave in your tank.

I've used the Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil, and had good results. The first one I did with that grew well, but I continually had bits of wood popping up to the surface of the gravel. Now I pick out all the larger wood fragments. I also recently set up a nano tank (4 gallon) using that mix, but put it through a sieve first, removing about 20% by volume, of bits that were too large for a tiny tank. My "sieve" was a cheap strainer with a fairly large pore mesh, bought at the dollar store. I did a handful at a time, which is fine for a nano tank, but might be too tedious for a larger tank.

If you do use a soil underlayer, remember that MODERATION is key. Per Walstad (Ecology of the Planted Tank) a soil depth of 1/2" is recommended, but no deeper than 3/4" for deeply rooted plants like Echinodorus, Aponogeton and Crinums. Why? Well, all that biological goodness is great and wonderful when its getting oxygen (as it can when not very deep) and helping to make nutrients available to the aquatic plants, but that same soil layer can turn very ugly if it goes anoxic, and anaerobic bacteria take over. 

For the same reason, its generally recommended to cover over the soil layer with at most, the same depth again of small gravel or coarse sand. If the sand is too fine (such as playground sand), it will not be as permeable to water flow, and this can limit oxygen available to the plant roots and soil bacteria. If the gravel is too large, it won't keep the soil layer stable underneath it (an example is the larger grain "aquarium gravel" often used in Fish Only tanks). 

For first-time soil setups, I would say the Keep It Simple rule is the one to stick with. 

Hope this helps!
-Jane

PS - Make sure whatever soil you use does NOT have perlite in it - the stuff floats, and is a general PITA.


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Search mineralized top soil threads. Its IMO the best substrate that you can use although I also add osmocote to it and top it with eco or flourite or both.


----------



## J.farrand (Jul 12, 2010)

Thanks for the help everyone. I got the mircale grow organic and will be removing the twigs and sticks. I am planning to start the process in the next two days. I will take photos and show everyone my progress. I have a 24" light total of 130 watts(thanks Jane!), 500 watt titanium heater(possible over kill, brand new and on hand), emporer or penguin filter. Not sure what is going to happen with rocks or wood. Thanks again fellow aqua gardeners!!


----------



## J.farrand (Jul 12, 2010)

I posted an album of my progress thus far. I'm trying to formulate a plan to start disecting my 40 gallon. Slightly nervous, because once I start pulling there is no turning back.


----------

