# Substrate/Soil for Emersed Grow?



## Roman B (Sep 23, 2015)

Heya!

So I went for small emersed setup.... and a bit confused with soil?
I googled a lot but didn't find any of suggested ones in local shops.

I have some Tropica soil, JBL Manado, JBL AquaBasis+
Also have Tropica Nutrition Capsules
I were thinking to use Tropica soil and crush one capsule of nutrition into 4l container.

Will any of this work for emersed ? or should i buy some potting soil ?


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## Tihsho (Oct 10, 2007)

The soils for aquariums will work, but honestly unless you're testing how plants grow in certain aquarium substrates, I'd recommend going with MGOPS. The reason I say that is that if you replenish soil in your tank (guessing why you have the Tropica soil and everything else) why waste it on an emersed setup? Are you just growing stuff out? Or are you making a display? The last part would determine whether or not you want the aesthetic appeal of pelleted substrate over soil.


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## Roman B (Sep 23, 2015)

Tihsho said:


> The soils for aquariums will work, but honestly unless you're testing how plants grow in certain aquarium substrates, I'd recommend going with MGOPS. The reason I say that is that if you replenish soil in your tank (guessing why you have the Tropica soil and everything else) why waste it on an emersed setup? Are you just growing stuff out? Or are you making a display? The last part would determine whether or not you want the aesthetic appeal of pelleted substrate over soil.


Thanks for replying )

Well after some Downoi maintenance ( chopping of the tops and replanting ) I ended up with like 50 new sideshoots witch are really small. They free floating in a tank at the moment.

So I were thinking to grow them emersed until they are stronger and then put em in a tank.

Edit: as for MGOPS- no way I can find it. Ordering from States will take some time and extra money )


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## miataisalwaystheanswer (Jun 12, 2015)

I've been using cheap topsoil that was on clearance for $1 a bag. So far everything has been growing well.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

miataisalwaystheanswer said:


> I've been using cheap topsoil that was on clearance for $1 a bag. So far everything has been growing well.


I use the same thing whether in my emersed tanks or regular tanks. Never had any trouble. Open the bag and dump it in then plant.


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

Definitely use soil of some sort


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## nbr1rodeoclown (Feb 6, 2015)

I use potting Soil and Aquasoil just because i had the Aquasoil lying around. Honestly i think the regular soil works better. Blasphemy! I've also seen people crush a clove of garlic into the water to prevent mold build up. can anyone back up that experiment?


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## Tihsho (Oct 10, 2007)

Roman B said:


> Thanks for replying )
> 
> Well after some Downoi maintenance ( chopping of the tops and replanting ) I ended up with like 50 new sideshoots witch are really small. They free floating in a tank at the moment.
> 
> ...


You don't need to got MGOPS exactly, just any OPS will work. Just make sure it has no pesticides or fertilizers in it and you're 100% OK to go.



GraphicGr8s said:


> I use the same thing whether in my emersed tanks or regular tanks. Never had any trouble. Open the bag and dump it in then plant.



I use to do the same thing, and do depending on the plant, but I see it as a waste. Aquatic plant soil is expensive compared to organic potting soil. If I'm just growing things to grow them out/propagate/keep alive for a rainy day project I put it in OPS and save the aquarium substrate for a setup.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

Tihsho, I meant I use cheap top soil from the BBS. I don't have any tanks with any type of expensive soils/substrates.


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## Roman B (Sep 23, 2015)

Thank you everyone !
I really appreciate your help.
I went with two different setups to check what will work better


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## WickedOdie (Aug 15, 2015)

I have a question for this topic. Say I want to make an emersed setup in a terrarium, not so much for show but for growing plants. Do you need a cap? or can you just saturate the soil?


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## Tihsho (Oct 10, 2007)

@WickedOdie, caps have a different purpose in aquatic setups than emersed. Caps in the aquarium are not only aesthetics, but to prevent a majority of the soil coming up and messing up the tank. If you just had soil, some of it would just lift up and float around the tank. Fish and inverts would also kick a lot of it up, so it would not be pleasing to look at. If you're just growing plants out (not a terrarium since it's not a display) you can just use soil. Honestly, I wouldn't wast money on buying a new tank for grow outs, I've always used what I had OR purchased seed starter trays from a gardening store or on the web. They are fairly cheap (like $5 USD) for a base and a lid and generally are around 24"x12" and give you space to grow stuff out.


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## WickedOdie (Aug 15, 2015)

Okay thanks.


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