# Soil question



## Sheff (Aug 27, 2013)

Hello
I'm about to set up a 125 gal SA tank and I'd like to know if I can use Miracle Grow soil (and which one) covered with pea gravel to successfully grow low tech plants. I'd like to hear any advise as well as pro's and con's please. I'm new to South American Cichlids as well as plants so any help would be appreciated.

Thank you for your help


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## PPulcher (Nov 17, 2006)

I have a tank with Miracle Grow organic choice potting mix that's been set up for a number of years. Here's my experience with it.

I needed to sieve the soil in order to remove a lot of large pieces of bark and other junk. It took hours. 

I capped it with some small gravel. I think the pea gravel you are proposing would be too coarse to cover it.

It turned the water pretty brown/yellow at first. Some water changes took care of that.

I had some big algae problems while the tank was running in. I still have some algae problems, but I don't care about them as much.

It grew plants fairly well for a year or two, then things slowed down. Heavy root feeders like swords and crypts like it.

Uprooting plants makes a big mess. Pulling up a stand of Jungle val was particularly nasty. Lots of soil particles were released and were very messy, but I didn't have any issues with ammonia. Now after several years (5?) the soil doesn't make as much of a mess when I uproot plants, but I try not to uproot plants unless absolutely necessary. If you have fish that like to dig, I wouldn't recommend soil substrates.

Hope that helps a bit!


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## default (May 28, 2011)

I would stick to using top-soil for dirted tanks, most organic potting mixes would also be alright, but most are peat based and still have time released fertilizers that aren't really needed the first few weeks of planting. Just avoid mixes with perlite as it's pointless submerged and it floats.

However, with that said, if you're going to do a SA tank with SA Cichlids, you should really reconsider using soil at all. A lot of SA Cichlids digs through substrates or enjoys terraforming (some don't), so I would research the desired species carefully and choose which plants you may want to keep - then see what parameters you will need. Personally I would recommend using a sand or small-stoned substrate, most lower light plants are able to thrive in these substrates - Potamageton sp., Vallisneria sp., Microsorum sp., etc.


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