Soilmaster Select Substrate

[balasharkfreak]

Would I have a better chance of finding Soilmaster Select at a pet store or a home supply store? There are no Lesco's in the Pacific NW and I called Petco/Petsmart but no SS. Is Lesco a Home Depot/Lowe's type store?

Would mixture of peat moss & Eco-Complete be a good substrate for a 12g 'nano' tank with 48w of light for a planted tank? Would CO2 be necessary or would excel injections (which I dont know much about) get me by sufficiently?

[Rex Grigg]

I highly doubt you will find Soilmaster at a pet store or home supply store. It's marketed to people who maintain baseball diamonds and golf courses primarily.

Lesco is NOT a Home Depot or Lowe's type store. Did you even check out their web site?

Why would you think that Petco or PetSmart would carry something that is for maintaining grass? Just because it's the hot new item in aquariums?

Beyond that read my Guide.

[matpat]

Originally Posted by balasharkfreak

Would I have a better chance of finding Soilmaster Select at a pet store or a home supply store? There are no Lesco's in the Pacific NW and I called Petco/Petsmart but no SS. Is Lesco a Home Depot/Lowe's type store?

Lesco is the only distributor of Soilsmaster that I know of. I'm sure there are other places, but Lowe's and Home Depot do not carry it, at least in my area.

You may want to try looking for Turface Pro League (Pro League has a uniform grains size to it like SS) on the west coast. It is pretty much the same thing as Soilmaster and also comes in a gray color, or at least it used to. We had a horrible time finding Turface here in the midwest and Soilmaster wasn't much easier to find. It took a lot of phone calls and a few weeks of waiting but it was worth it for the price.

[balasharkfreak]

Thanks for the help, Matt!

[bastalker]

I inquired about the grain size difference of select to the regular soilmaster, and was told that the packets dont really show the difference very well. I was told that the grain size is about the same between the two, and the select has a few more nutrients in it is all. This is a statement from one individual though.

[matpat]

Originally Posted by bastalker

I inquired about the grain size difference of select to the regular soilmaster, and was told that the packets dont really show the difference very well. I was told that the grain size is about the same between the two, and the select has a few more nutrients in it is all. This is a statement from one individual though.

The Select is smaller and very consistent in grain size versus the regular Soilmaster. You can send an e-mail to Pros Choice and they will send you a few sample packets so you can see the difference for yourself. The ones I received were definately different! I just wish I would have taken some pics of them so I could post them for everyone to see!

As far as one containing more nutrients than the other, they are both the same thing, montmorillonite clay, the select is just smaller and more uniform in size.

[DiabloCanine]

If you call Pro's Choice, they will give you the nearest distributor that has Soilmaster, not carries it but has it. Lesco sometimes will give you the "gotta order a pallet" story. Find the nearest distributor, make a run, get plenty for your buddies. Me and a buddy just made a run, picked up 8 bags, they even wanted us to take the broken bags away for them, for need of a pickup. They were pretty amazed when we told them what we were going to do with it, was a supply store for sporting goods and athletic field maintenance. Make a couple of phone calls and get amazed!

From their website http://www.oildri.com/agri/turbase.htm

"For more information about our sports field products, please fill out the form below or contact us at:

Pro's Choice
410 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 400
Chicago, Illinois 60611

Toll Free: 888-424-7672
Phone: 312/321-1515
Fax: 312/321-9525
Email: proschoice@oildri.com"

I was told while we were checking out the different types, Soilmaster comes from the Mississippi and select is fired for a longer period of time.

Soilmaster is very light, about 1/3 the weight of the Onyx sand I mix it with....DC

[bastalker]

Originally Posted by matpat

The Select is smaller and very consistent in grain size versus the regular Soilmaster. You can send an e-mail to Pros Choice and they will send you a few sample packets so you can see the difference for yourself. The ones I received were definately different! I just wish I would have taken some pics of them so I could post them for everyone to see!

As far as one containing more nutrients than the other, they are both the same thing, montmorillonite clay, the select is just smaller and more uniform in size.

Had Lesco order a bag of select red. I am in no hurry, but when it does come in, man... I am gonna have my work cut out for me.

[tijat]

Wow, my luck must be changing...the local Lesco distributor is 3 miles away.

[whitepine]

I found a local distributor in the Seattle area... he wanted $15 per bag. He also wanted me to order a pallet (50 bags). He did say I might be able to buy a bag or two, but it would cost more and be on an availablity basis. His name is Mike 253.381.1909. Not the happiest guy to talk to... so call if you are only really serious about getting the soil.

Cheers, Whitepine

[noncentric]

Originally Posted by whitepine

I found a local distributor in the Seattle area... he wanted $15 per bag. He also wanted me to order a pallet (50 bags). He did say I might be able to buy a bag or two, but it would cost more and be on an availablity basis. His name is Mike 253.381.1909. Not the happiest guy to talk to... so call if you are only really serious about getting the soil.

Cheers, Whitepine

Hi whitepine, I'm interested in getting a bag (charcoal color)...but I guess we'd need another 40+ people interested to make Mike happy.
Did he say how much more it would be if ordering just a couple bags?

Thanks.

[guaiac_boy]

There is a Lesco distributor in Worcester, MA that has 50 bags or so of the charcoal soilmaster select. He's been trying to get rid of it for over a year. I recently picked up 500 lbs for about $16 a bag. They won't ship it, but it's within driving distance of quite a few people.

Fish Frenzy, an LFS in the Springfield, MA area also has a few bags in stock.

[Galactic Doug]

I was wondering if there are any online sources for comparisons of many if not all of the different brands of soil Alternatives? I have a couple tanks I would like to devote soon but LFS's charge atrocious prices for things like soils. So I will need links also. Has anyone here ever produced a good web page with comparisons?
Thanks
Doug

[a deadly fart]

Got this from another post
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...ates_chart.php

Soilmaster / turface are great deals .. aqual shults just doesnt look as pleasant... I'm starting to lean more and more towards ada soil after reading some folks testimony.. but if I was looking to save money I'd rather go el natural with a layer of soil and something else on top.

[whitepine]

Originally Posted by noncentric

Hi whitepine, I'm interested in getting a bag (charcoal color)...but I guess we'd need another 40+ people interested to make Mike happy.
Did he say how much more it would be if ordering just a couple bags?

Thanks.

He (mike) thought it would be a few extra dollars per bag... so like $18+ per bag. Call him and see if he has any available... you will probalbly have to drive to pick them up though.

Cheers, Whitepine