# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk >  Why aquarium soil so expensive ? Can i use normal soil instead?

## takaco

Why aquarium soil so expensive ? Can i use normal soil instead?

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## Urban Aquaria

> Why aquarium soil so expensive ? Can i use normal soil instead?


You can use normal soil from outdoor plant nurseries or gardening centers, its definitely cheaper but just that you'll need to check that its safe for aquarium usage (no chemicals, pesticides or critters in it) and its nutrient content is suitable for plants and livestock, if too much of the wrong nutrients are released then it might cause persistent algae issues and/or affect livestock (especially invertebrates like shrimps), of there are too little nutrients (or the wrong types) then you'll need to add base ferts and dose more water column ferts to supplement it. Generally you'll just have to do abit more work in terms of how you manage DIY soil substrates.

The main reason why aquarium soil are expensive is because its designed to be safe for aquariums and in the case of active soil substrates like ADA Amazonia aquasoil, you'll get alot of beneficial nutrients already packed in it (that are specifically designed for growing aquatic plants), along with predictable control over water parameters, so it removes most of the guesswork and produces consistent results in plant growth.

I guess it just depends on your budget... and whether you like to experiment or go for predictability.  :Smile:

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## Dscheng

No point save $$, go buy amazonia soil ~!! Very good. I think Y618 got sell per kg type.

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## zonkkie

old school gardeners either use "normal soil" or inert substrate and add root tabs. Nowadays, so many different soil types available suited for different budgets. As UA mentioned, depends on your budget - options are available!

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## kurty

> Why aquarium soil so expensive ? Can i use normal soil instead?


ANS, 5kg going for like $15 if i not wrong..
ADA, i got mine around $40+ for 9kg if i recall correctly..

if you ask me, nothing special in ADA  :Very Happy: 
haha, i also struggling at times with ADA while ANS, seems to be doing much better 

well, it's individual i guess.

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## takaco

> ANS, 5kg going for like $15 if i not wrong..
> ADA, i got mine around $40+ for 9kg if i recall correctly..
> 
> if you ask me, nothing special in ADA 
> haha, i also struggling at times with ADA while ANS, seems to be doing much better 
> 
> well, it's individual i guess.


ANS? meaning? i google-ed i can't find any result.

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## barmby

ANS is a brand

Aqua Nature Systems

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## Urban Aquaria

> ANS? meaning? i google-ed i can't find any result.


East Ocean seems to the distributor for it locally... sort of like an in-house brand for them. Here are some links:

http://www.eastoceansg.com/ans-plant...9l-p-1177.html
http://www.eastoceansg.com/ans-plant...3l-p-1178.html

Pricing-wise, its similar to ADA Amazonia aquasoil, so i guess it depends on your preference.

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## barmby

Think is a local brand

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## Shadow

just an ODM, probably from China.

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## chefiction

Personally, tried organic soil without any fertilizer from flourist at kovan at $2 per bag(should be around 2kg) and topsoil($3.80 per bag) from cold storage in two separate tank. In the tanks I used hardy fish to test water(betta, danios, white cloud mountain, cardinal tetra, cherry barbs and otocinclus), no death issue so far.

PS:I never test the water before, so cannot provide any information on the water parameter part.


Chris

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## octopus

Garden soil will become muddy and you will face a messy problem when rescaping or replanting. Thats my experience. If budget constraint can buy used soil from hobbyist and dose with dry fertilisers.

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## hongweijie

aquarium soil has fertilizer included in them. also garden soil may caused ammonia spike

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## cool

Do it once,do it right.
just my personal encountered before.

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## takaco

I just purchase "organic" soil i will test in my mini aquarium first

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## jiajuen900

To avoid the risks involved with commercial soils (chemicals, etc)

You could try using JAB Pond Compost.

Definitely aquarium safe and much cheaper than aqua soil.
It should be used as a base substrate though.

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## sfk7

If you are using garden soil you have lay that as the bottom layer and then top up with lapis sand or some other inert substrate suitable for planting

Google 'diana walstad'

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## choen

i have done it before. lowtech tank, using only shaded sunlight. plants like echinodorus and baby pearl grew like crazy. minimal algae. unfiltered water. bettas helped themselves to worms etc.

very satisfying.

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## happydanio123

You can try Seachem flouride! I've heard many good reviews about it but right now I'm using Dennerlle nutrient-medium for my 20 litre aquarium which causes a yellowish tinge for a few days.

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## thanantosis

> To avoid the risks involved with commercial soils (chemicals, etc)
> 
> You could try using JAB Pond Compost.
> 
> Definitely aquarium safe and much cheaper than aqua soil.
> It should be used as a base substrate though.


I wonder any brother here try that before. Very interesting  :Smile:

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## Xiaozhuang

I use garden soil in all my tanks - great growth at a low cost. Just buy the plain $2 bags from garden shops, not the ones with fancy logos/added fertilizers. I've tried 3 different brands/types, they all work quite well



Probably the best value for money substrate out there

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## Jimmy

How much soil you get with $2?

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## Xiaozhuang

> How much soil you get with $2?


The bag you see above, about 5 -7 bags for a 3ft with 5 inch slope at the back

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## Jimmy

> The bag you see above, about 5 -7 bags for a 3ft with 5 inch slope at the back


The bag picture is not showing up on my phone but the pricing is attractive. Thanks for the info. Will keep this in mind for my next tank setup.

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## siambrothesvn

Very interesting, i really like this

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## Switchs

i got mine around $40+ for 9kg if i recall correctly..

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## Jimmy

> i got mine around $40+ for 9kg if i recall correctly..


At this pricing, it is more expensive than ADA soil

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