Substrate Combo?

[cpeterson9]

I have a 20lb bag of flora max, Miracle Gro Organic Potting Soil, and some Laterite; what yould be the best way to combine all of these to get the best out come. I was thinking of using the laterite in the back when my big growers will be and then mixing some of the flora max and soil and then capping in with a mix of flora max and gravel. BTW it is a 50g tank.

[lochaber]

Originally Posted by cpeterson9

I have a 20lb bag of flora max, Miracle Gro Organic Potting Soil, and some Laterite; what yould be the best way to combine all of these to get the best out come. I was thinking of using the laterite in the back when my big growers will be and then mixing some of the flora max and soil and then capping in with a mix of flora max and gravel. BTW it is a 50g tank.

I'm not sure where I had seen it, but I thought I had read something about someone having really bad results using laterite in a dirted tank. I don't want to outright say it's bad, and without reading some more info, I can't really see why it would be harmful.

Anyways, I don't think you would really need the laterite, usually it's put in for Fe, if I remember correctly, and according to Walstad's book, pretty much any soil should have enough Fe for months, if not years of plant growth.

But, yeah, I'd just dirt the bottom, Flora max as a cap, and if you do use the laterite, maybe put it on the very bottom.

[Hoppy]

You could treat the laterite as the clay to be added when you make MTS. I can't see any problem doing that.