[MitchD10]

I'm not sure this is the right forum, but here we go.

I've got a 65 gallon with a 20g sump. I've always used dirt in the past, but I got tired of having to change it out after a while and a few other various reasons, mainly aesthetically and convenience. A friend last night suggested I put bagged potting soil in my sump some how, has any one had any experience with this? TYIA


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[tangelo1106]

Would you be using it in your sump for a grow out area? I use Aquasoil in my sump/growout.

 

[MitchD10]

Would you be using it in your sump for a grow out area? I use Aquasoil in my sump/growout.

I was hoping to use the dirt in the sump simply to add nutirients to the water for the plants in the display to use!


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[Adrand]

I dont know about your sump but mine has a high turnover of water and is turbulent so any dirt in it wouldnt last a minute before being kicked up into a mess. Wouldnt work for me.

 

[MitchD10]

I dont know about your sump but mine has a high turnover of water and is turbulent so any dirt in it wouldnt last a minute before being kicked up into a mess. Wouldnt work for me.

I was thinking of using carbon bags or some thing of that sort, and putting it at the bottom of the sump. I'm moving around 1000GPH so not a huge amount


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[geisterwald]

Bad idea IMO. I think even using something like carbon bags, you would get particulates and it would be a muddy mess. Also, the only dirt you'd want to use would be mineralized topsoil, as MGOPS would leach ammonia and tannins. Still, I think it would be quite messy and not worth the trouble.

On the other hand, I once used a stocking full of Osmocote pellets (whichever kind is safe/ideal for planted tanks, I forget) in the HOB filter of a ten gallon. That worked out well, and every few months, I dumped out the empty shells and replaced them with fresh Osmocote. The plants really enjoyed that. If you want a long-term fertilizer in your sump, you could do that.