"Michael" wrote:

If you follow their advice, you're going to have an unholy mess on
your hands.

Why is that? My neighbor has potting soil covered with sand and it
works very well for him. He helped me set up my 15 gallon the same way.


It'll work fine except when you have to either remove an established
plant or put in a new one with a large root system. In those cases,
which involve digging or disrupting the substrate, the sand won't
suffice to keep the potting soil from entering the water column -
hence the mess.

I'm not saying it can't be done - potting soil would probably be great
for the plants - but substrate intended for aquarium use will be a lot
easier and cleaner to work with.

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