Soil Question

[niels]

Hello !
I am setting up a new tank and i do not know what kind of soil to get. It should be for both plants and newts to live in ! what to look out for ?
Niels

 

[ira]

i use a 50/50 mix of coco fiber and pesticide free potting mix. it seems to do pretty well with the live plants and the newts.

 

[shaun]

You use potting soil? I'm a bit iffy about the fertiliser so I use 100% coconut fibre (forest bed) and keep plants potted in potting soil.

 

[niels]

Thanks -
should`nt one be careful that the water level does not reach the soil and contaminate the water ?
Niels

 

[kaysie]

Water level? Are you planning a 50/50 terrarium/aquarium?

I use plain dirt.

 

[ira]

i meant to say fertilzer free potting soil. i get it at whole foods, an all organic grocery store. Its a little more pricey than the stuff you get at home depot but i think it is worth it.

 

[dot]

For my tiger sal, I use the coconut fiber substrate. It's easy to set up and it doesn't cloud water. I'm not sure if you're able to get it in Denmark, but ZooMed makes an awesome one and it's pretty inexpensive.

 

[mark]

I usually just use fertilizer-free, chemical-free topsoil. Then at the very top I mix some Jungle Mix so that the color is not jet black. The black dirt tends to make a mess and cause the salamanders to always have black all over them, but when I mix it with Jungle Mix, it gives it a nice color, and doesn't "stain" the salamanders.

My problem with organic potting soil is that even the fertilizer free kind has those little white bits in there (I forget the name off the top of my head)

 

[kaysie]

Mark, you can get it without vermiculite/perlite in it. Just gotta know where to look! Home improvement stores usually sell organic dirt. Thats where I get mine. 40 lb bag for $1.99. cant beat it!

 

[niels]

Thanks

 

[mark]

Thanks Kasie. I think I will start looking for that. Sometimes I do get a little nervous about what organic material might be present in topsoil anyway. I always debate on what kind of dirt to use. I should have brought up this question myself a week ago, as I just changed the soil in 2 of my tanks!

 

[niels]

well,-there you go