Miracle gro safe for snails and fish?

[KatTV]

I have sand substrate. Mostly I buy plants that can float or be glued to something. I do have some that need planting. I want to use the small terracotta pots. Is miracle gro safe to use? I have that for plants outside. 

[Mmiller2001]

I'm going to take a guess and say that's a bad idea. I would look at the label and verify the source of the nutrients. 

[Guppysnail]

The nutrient content of terrestrial use  miracle grow is way higher than things like aquarium soil. I agree possibly not a great idea. 

[Brandon p]

I assume you asking about the soil. And I would only use soil and not the fertilizer. The reason not to use miracle grow is you should only use organic soil. That said I would not use that because it has those little white balls in it mostly called perlite. Perlite won’t hurt the fish unless they eat it. It very possible they will have a chance because perlite floats. You will be trying to get them out for a long time. If you talking about the fertilizer it’s a no, due to the fact that that it has urea. It has two types of urea. The 1st is poly-coated urea, which means that has urea white is instantly available to plants. Poly-Coated Urea needs microbes to to break down the poly-coat ado there are different thickness mean the microbes eat through the poly. The plan urea would scare me. If you want to use a product other than fertilizer than are stable use osmocote inside a gel cap. This allows you get the fertilizer under or near the plant. The gel cap will dissolve pretty fast so work quickly. And the fertilizer will be under the substrate. I have some osmocote gel caps that I was give as a gift and I also use co-op root taps. I normally I do osmocote 2x then co-op 1x then back to osmocote. . I hope that answers your question and maybe some you didn’t ask. 

[KatTV]

Thanks everyone. I was trying to avoid buying a bag of soil when I only need it for 2 pots. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet. 

[ange]

On 3/26/2022 at 3:25 PM, KatTV said:

Thanks everyone. I was trying to avoid buying a bag of soil when I only need it for 2 pots. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet. 

Consider using an inert substrate or LECA supplemented with root tabs? It's a potential solution that's less bulky. Soil, especially when uncapped, is very likely to stain the water. I have dirted blackwater tanks but if you like the current color of your setup I'd recommend an alternative that doesn't introduce as much tannin to your system.

[Streetwise]

My favorite organic soil has come from local organic composters, but I choose the topsoil without food waste.

[KatTV]

@angeI like my sand substrate. It's just not good for planting. I don't plan to swap it out. Thanks for the input. Maybe a future tank.

[ange]

I'm sorry I don't think I expressed my suggestion well.

Sand is definitely an option for planted tanks and I have it in one of my own. The inert/LECA suggestion was for your terracotta that you mentioned rather than as the main substrate. 

[KatTV]

@angeI am not familiar with LECA I'll try a search online. Thanks.

[Expectorating_Aubergine]

The soil and the dry fert is fine to use. I use them both. With fish and inverts in the tanks. No deaths, ever. The worst that's happened to me was green water. I tend to run my tanks with lots of terrestrials growing out the top and lots of submerged growth. This is my experience. Your mileage my vary.