Can i use garden soil as an undergravel plant fertilizer in my aquarium??

I tried using potting soil under one of my plants a while ago in my lightly planted tank. Not the entire tank, just one small area. My water levels weren't affected at all and my fish didn't seem to care. It didn't help plant growth too much, though. I think you just have to be careful of what potting soil you use, especially if you are planning of covering the entire bottom of the tank.
 
Do a search for mineralized soil substrate. Its more complicated than just putting dirt in your tank, but I've seen it done with wonderful success in high tech planted tanks, but its a lot of work to get it done right and if you're still new at this or aren't going high tech with CO2 addition and high intensity lighting its probably not worth the trouble. The benefit as I understand it is that your tank will require little if any fertilizer dosing (at least initially) to produce lush plant growth, and the fact that you won't be bombarding the water column with ferts means you can skip weekly water changes as a method of controlling algae by removing excess ferts- however, for the health of your fish, periodic water changes will still be necessary.

I think it is a step that will only benefit experienced tank keepers and more importantly aquascapers who know what they want the tank to look like long term. If you are going to be adding and removing plants, pulling out and replanting, you're gonna just make a big mess.
 
I have a 150 gal tank with soil as the base. It was messy to start. But I think I have pretty good growth with my rooters. I do however supplement the water column with ferts. I ocassionally, about once or twice, every other month still put root tabs in. It seems like I am forever trimming plants. My fish have no complaints. I have lots of MTS that help to keep turnover up and that might be one reason I don't have toxic spots. (?) I have had good success with this type of setup. I did buy Walstads book and tried to copy her methods. In addition, I use CO2, and a ph controller. Two canister filters and my water is clear. Lastly, my water parameters have not been a problem ever, and I do water changes weekly. Overkill maybe, but my fish and plants are worth it. I have never had a negative complaint and knowledgeable people have come to my house and complimented my set-up. Can't ask for more than that.
 
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I use ordinary topsoil in a few of my tanks... the key is to use a small amount of topsoil, like maybe 1/2" max, topped with 2.5" of sand/fine gravel, and get a bunch of gently digging critters (trumpet snails work well, and so do assassins, which help control the trumpet snail population). Using too much soil/not enough sand or gravel can result in excess nutrients in the water column, leading to an extremely messy algae bloom. :P

And the Walstad method may claim to not need water changes, but I'd do them at least every couple of weeks to be safe. Some new water is a good thing.
 
did youR tank appear a lot cloudy when u put the soil,and for how long it remained cloudy.
 
Master3z said:
did youR tank appear a lot cloudy when u put the soil,and for how long it remained cloudy.
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I did it awhile ago.It took daily water changes for a couple of weeks for the water to stay clear. I used a 1 1/2" of dirt,and probably the same amount of gravel on top of the soil.
 
Garden soil can work very well so long as you put a nice thick cap of gravel on top of it and avoid disturbing it later on. It will contribute more nutrients for the plants if it has a high clay content (sticky when wet) and lots of organic matter (dark coloration).

It is important to use just regular soil from outside. The potting mixes and "topsoil" sold for potting houseplants contain little if any actual soil. They are mostly just composted bark and similar materials and will just rot away with time underwater.

Water changes are probably necessary for long-term success. In addition to removing pollutants water changes with conditioned tap water will also replenish calcium and other important plant nutrients.
 
The plants use up nitrates that the fish waste produce, but they also use up micronutrients, and they don't remove total dissolved solids, as BettaFishMommy said.

I would do weekly water changes and dose fertilizers to make sure both your fish and your plants are healthy with clean, nutrient-rich water.
 
It is important to use just regular soil from outside. The potting mixes and "topsoil" sold for potting houseplants contain little if any actual soil. They are mostly just composted bark and similar materials and will just rot away with time underwater.
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Like just dig up soil from your yard and sift out all the debris? You don't have to clean it or anything?
 
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