Mineralized Top Soil Substrate Kits *Price range on page 3*

[Torpedobarb]

I am going to be making kits for up to 75 gallon tanks. I am going to get all of the supplies needed.. clay, dolomite, and muriate of potash. Alot of you are trying to do this and not being able to find these items. also the mineralizing time can be a few weeks worth of work and most don't have time to do it. So I am going to start making kits and selling them here.

Every kit sold.. I will donate $5.00 to the forum. I don't know what I would charge yet.. any input would be great as to what you feel is fair for your size tank. After enough replies I will come up with a set scale for each size tank.

I am currently mineralizing 120 lbs of top soil. it is the proper kind too.

please reply and let me know what you think?

Ken

[lauraleellbp]

I think it's an awesome idea, and you may be beating GLA to the punch...

How much will shipping cost for the materials? I'd look into that, first. If shipping will be only $5 priority no matter what size tank, I'd think $15 - $50 (shipped) for packages ranging from supplies fora 5gal to a 125gal tank makes sense to me.

[Torpedobarb]

I think that shipping can be done reasonably in a large flat rate box.. I will look into it.

the raw materials will cost me about 60.00 shipped if I am right. the top soil is 1.00 per 40lb bag.

[lauraleellbp]

The raw materials for how many pounds worth of mineralized soil?

[lauraleellbp]

Wait, are you talking about kits for people to make their own soil, or are you talking about making it and shipping the soil already made?

[Torpedobarb]

making the soil ready to go.. mineralizing it myself.. so you open the box and put it into the tank. Just add water I will portion out the dolomite, potash, and clay according to size of the tank and bag them separately .. I will even print out instructions on how to do it and send them with.

[lauraleellbp]

oOOOoo I think the word "kit" threw me off...

I think you need to figure out your price per pound and then how much profit margin you think is reasonable. Personally, I'd try and find the balance between making it worth your while to make, yet try and keep it cheaper than the $1.50 per pound (shipped) average of most other commercial substrates (Eco, Flourite, etc).

[Hoppy]

My opinion is that it has to be substantially cheaper than ADA Aquasoil or most people will buy the Aquasoil. The whole point of mineralized top soil is to be a cheap DIY alternative to Aquasoil and some other substrates. As soon as you have to buy it, the advantages start to diminish. And, as I understand it, you need to cap the mineralized soil with something like SMS, pool filter sand, etc. So, you can't just add this to the tank then add the water.

[Torpedobarb]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

My opinion is that it has to be substantially cheaper than ADA Aquasoil or most people will buy the Aquasoil. The whole point of mineralized top soil is to be a cheap DIY alternative to Aquasoil and some other substrates. As soon as you have to buy it, the advantages start to diminish.

the amount of aquasoil needed would be 148.49 including 36.00 for ups ground shipping for a 75 gallon tank. this is only a underlayment for nutrients so you don't have to dose the tank anymore and have awesome results. I think that most people that want to do this already understand that they have to cap it off. The majority of the hobbiest that want to do this.. already know that. the just add water was a joke


The amount of people here wanting to do this and having a hard time with finding the right soil and other supplies might find it easier to just buy a kit instead of the hassle of doing it themselves. Do you have to still dose ferts when using ADA? you don't have to do that with this option. so the daily regiment isn't needed here.

[Torpedobarb]

Just looked up the shipping. I can do large flat rate boxes at 12.95 up to 70 lbs. If I had to I could send 2 boxes to get it all there for about 25.00. smaller tanks would only need 1 box.

[lauraleellbp]

I totally would have gone with mineralized soil for my 90gal if I'd known about it in time.

Hoppy- I forget the price it would have been, but shipping AquaSoil to the East Coast was incredibly expensive. Shipping for just 2 9L bags was $30... I don't think it would be difficult for Ken to beat the price of AquaSoil. Especially for ppl who live far from CA and TX.

[Torpedobarb]

I am also making up tons of the mineralized soil.. so I will have it in bulk. I am also going to make up a template so I know exactly how much soil is needed for each size tank. I will package it up accordingly.

[Homer_Simpson]

Originally Posted by Torpedobarb

the amount of aquasoil needed would be 148.49 including 36.00 for ups ground shipping for a 75 gallon tank. this is only a underlayment for nutrients so you don't have to dose the tank anymore and have awesome results. I think that most people that want to do this already understand that they have to cap it off. The majority of the hobbiest that want to do this.. already know that. the just add water was a joke


The amount of people here wanting to do this and having a hard time with finding the right soil and other supplies might find it easier to just buy a kit instead of the hassle of doing it themselves. Do you have to still dose ferts when using ADA? you don't have to do that with this option. so the daily regiment isn't needed here.

Awesome idea!!

You could always make the capping media an option and charge for that if you find one that works best. For some, this will take the guess work out of what to use. For instance, if you try Soil Master Select or Schultz Aquatic Soil as a cap and find that it works well for the mineralized topsoil, you could include it as an option and charge for it. Since many people may have difficulty getting SMS or even Schultz Aquatic Soil(especially in the winter months) and may want to use it as a cap, they may be willing to pay extra.

[Hoppy]

Another cap material would be black ColorQuartz sand by 3M, which is sold in fairly large bags because it is a building material. It might be possible to buy large quantities for peanuts per pound.

I'm not trying to say this is a bad idea. My only point was to evaluate the asking price vs the commercial alternatives, and make sure it is a real bargain, which it sounds like it would be.

I don't think SMS in the charcoal color is available anymore, but the same material is sold in plastic buckets by http://www.aquariumplants.com/product_p/ss.htm.

[Torpedobarb]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

Another cap material would be black ColorQuartz sand by 3M, which is sold in fairly large bags because it is a building material. It might be possible to buy large quantities for peanuts per pound.

I'm not trying to say this is a bad idea. My only point was to evaluate the asking price vs the commercial alternatives, and make sure it is a real bargain, which it sounds like it would be.

I don't think SMS in the charcoal color is available anymore, but the same material is sold in plastic buckets by http://www.aquariumplants.com/product_p/ss.htm.

I don't think I would want to get into the cap part of it. I think that if I were to ask 40.00 plus shipping would be fair for say a 75 gallon tank. shipping would be according to how much is needed for your size tank. I am not trying to turn a profit here.. I think that mineralized topsoil substrate is the way to go.. especially since you don't have to dose the tank. Makes it alot easier when you go on vacation. you don't have to have anyone come over and take care of the tank!