making substrate

[maui]

heys,
Well im potting my aquarium plants and looking for a good soil mixture to use.
Currently i'm thinking of using Cactus soil and adding gravel on the top to keep it from floating away.

Product Description of Cactus soil
The ideal planting medium for cacti and succulents.
Specifically blended with sterile sand, peat and perlite to meet the unique soil requirements of these interesting plants.

the other soil options i'm considering are listed on this page http/www.cil.nu-gro.com/products/product_e.php?category=8

any help in figuring out what i should use would be terrific.

 

[RYO]

im no expert here but wont peat affect the ph of your water

 

[schizo_fish]

i wouldn't use anything that is designed for use outside of an aquarium. It might release chemicals into the water that may be harmful to fish.

 

[blue_ram]

Product Description of Cactus soil
The ideal planting medium for cacti and succulents.
Specifically blended with sterile sand, peat and perlite to meet the unique soil requirements of these interesting plants.

Pearlite and vermiculite will float to the surface. Peat moss is not recommended, unless you are willing to cover it up with at least 3"+ of gravel. Even then, it leaches nutrients in to the water column and algae will love you for it. Also it may cause the pH to drop depending on your current water parameter.

Keep it simple; stick with inorganic substrate such as Eco-complete, Flourite, or Onyx. If you really want to mess with different layers of substrate, use laterite on the bottom, and top it off with inorganic substrate.

You could also grow pretty darn good plants with plain old gravel, if you don't vacuum the gravel constantly, and stick a few root tabs every now and then.

Oh, you could also use Profile Aquatic 'Soil'. I've used it in a wet/dry/veggie filter setup, and it works well. I don't see why you can't use them as a substrate. Depending on where you get them, it may cost you $8 for 16 pound bag or $12 for 50 pound bag. They are much cheaper than Ec-complete, Flourite, or Onyx. Only down side is that it doesn't anchor the plant down too well because they are too light.

 

[gizmo56]

I've used about an inch to inch and a half of Miracle Grow potting soil on the bottom. Then I put an inch of fine gravel on top. This is the way Diane Walstadt recommends. She is a moderator on Aquabotanic. She has written books about the natural aquarium.