That being said, you should know a couple of things when considering a substrate for your aquatic plants:

For the mess in your other 10-gallon tank I can suggest trying a HOB filter with some FILTER FLOSS media. Filter floss is the most efficient mechanical filtration media I’m aware of (plus it’s cheap). It will likely clear the water in days or hours depending on the flow rate of the HOB filter you get. On that note, a small HOB is not an overkill in a 10-gallon. P.S. – I’ve considered starting a YouTube channel, but I am still getting over the speaking on camera thing. 😀 The difference is that while a potting soil contains composted materials, it has been especially formulated to provide optimal conditions for plant growth. Often, potting soil will contain a blend of different ingredients. With carpeting aquarium plants, you may have a really annoying experience if you don’t cap with another substrate with a decent weight. A compacted substrate also applies pressure and can seriously damage plants with more fragile roots.These nutrients promote rapid growth, assist root health, encourage flowering, and even help develop strong stems. And that leaves us with our final ingredient, egg shells. Egg shells add vital nutrients like calcium and other trace minerals to the soil. The calcium is important because it can help prevent blossom end rot on tomato and pepper plants. But it can actually help energize the soil for all vegetables, and is another great by-product free additive! Mixing The Ingredients This will solve both the lightweight issue (easing your planting efforts) and the muddy water issue. While potting soil contains a proportion of decomposed materials, but usually has other materials mixed in. Many potting soils, for example, will contain mineral constituents like sand, for example. And may contain perlite, vermiculite, and perhaps additional synthetic or organic fertilizers. BD blasting sand is an overall great substrate for the aquarium – it’s easy to manage and it looks good.

Contrary to what some think, perlite is actually a naturally occurring, organic substance. It’s volcanic glass that has the ability when heated to puff out like popcorn. And you must have at least a basic understanding of plant needs if you plan on formulating your own. What Are Its Disadvantages? But it is important to note that environmentally speaking, it is often best to make your own potting soil to fill the pots and containers in your garden. What Are Its Benefits?Having sterile soil is actually a myth and isn’t all that important. It’s pretty much impossible to get an all-sterile soil because there’s so much exposure to microbes happening with soil at all times, even airborne. In fact, many microorganisms are beneficial to soil and plants, so you don't need to worry about getting rid of them. Instead, just focus on getting a good quality, and this should get you going in the right direction.

Espoma is a respected name in the gardening community with a special focus on organic gardening, which is why it's our top choice. The company offers more than a dozen different organic soil options. From seed starting to growing cacti, there's a range of mixtures to choose from. There's even have the option to buy specific compost like earthworm castings or mushroom compost. Cheaper potting soil does not always represent good value for money, and if you choose a cheap and inferior type then plant health may suffer and you just won’t get the results you hope for.

The grain size of this aquarium soil is just about perfect to let water flow and also has a decent weight that will allow easy planting.

This soil and all the Espoma products are a great way to garden more organically. We also like the company's overall commitment to sustainability, including installing solar, using a plant-based resin on many of its fertilizer bags, and zero waste manufacturing. Besides a decent substrate, to optimally grow these you also need decent lighting, with LED lights being the practice-proven top choice (visit the link to my help-guide on these if you’re still in the middle of your research). Choosing the right lights is the other half of the equation for explosive plant growth. Gravel. – Same as sand in composition, but with much larger grains (anything above 2.0 mm). The size of the grains has different advantages and disadvantages in the aquarium. You’ll find more on that below in this guide. On the other hand, large grain size can prevent dwarf plants and their smaller roots from successfully spreading and you may also find it difficult to anchor down your tinier plants stably. Some houseplant shops even have potting mix bars, where you can buy small mixes of things, which is really useful.”If in doubt, it’s best to consider aesthetics and the level of management before anything. If you’ll not be as diligent with dosing fertilizers to your planted tank go for a depleting soil substrate. If you’re okay with the schedule choose something inert that simply makes your freshwater aquarium look good. The first thing to remember is that choosing potting soil or container growing media should be a careful and thoughtful process. It is important to understand that when growing plants in containers, you will usually have to provide further nutrients to your plants with liquid feeds and other supplements over time. This creates the need for constant replanting and even surgeon precision won’t be of much help here.