The Hunt for good top soil ?

Ultum4Spiderz

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Is this top soil any good?? Your opinions..
imo it looks bad to me am I just being too picky ?
And we’re are places I can find better stuff , got it at a local hardware it’s not much better then Home Depot’s stuff.. which I also hate .
Perhaps I should mix it with other substrates? Which I already plan to do.

It didn’t feel abrasive or anything, just not what I expected.. I used a basic filter to get the bigger stuff out but don’t have any good screens for the small stuff nor an idea what to use .
I’ve gotten worse bags before , just it doesn’t look like plain dirt to me or the usual bag of top soil.
 

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SupremeBananus

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Looks fine to me if we're going off appearance. My personal favorite is Miracle Gro Performance Organics All Purpose Mix. I mix it with cocofiber. Looks nice imo, absorbs well, and holds burrows. Sold at walmart, amazon, home depot, etc. Used it for years and never had problems nor do I filter anything out of it.
 

campj

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Looks like dirt. Should work fine. You'll identify any downsides through experience I think, it's tough to tell whether or not it's optimal just by looking at a picture.

I use peat moss typically, don't really see many downsides to it and have used it for years. I'll also do a mix of peat, sand, and sphagnum moss that retains burrow form and moisture pretty well, but honestly I don't think it's totally necessary.
 

vancwa

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Looks fine to me if we're going off appearance. My personal favorite is Miracle Gro Performance Organics All Purpose Mix. I mix it with cocofiber. Looks nice imo, absorbs well, and holds burrows. Sold at walmart, amazon, home depot, etc. Used it for years and never had problems nor do I filter anything out of it.
It is best to avoid substrate with fertilizer.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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I prefer creature soil, and it's super easy to find too.
Looks pretty good pre mixed substrate although I bet it can get pricey to fill larger tanks ?
Looks like dirt. Should work fine. You'll identify any downsides through experience I think, it's tough to tell whether or not it's optimal just by looking at a picture.

I use peat moss typically, don't really see many downsides to it and have used it for years. I'll also do a mix of peat, sand, and sphagnum moss that retains burrow form and moisture pretty well, but honestly I don't think it's totally necessary.
Yeah if it was abrasive I’d just use it for something else . But since it feels soft enough to use mixed with something else it may not be a bad buy $2.50 a bag . Now to find peat/ or vermiculite, maybe sand (I’m unsure which sand is safe ?)?
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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Why does it look bad???
Decent amount of tiny little wood chips in it but I took out anything big or hazardous , didn’t feel abrasive but I can just mix it with coco fiber or peat maybe? Seems fine otherwise.
 

Rigor Mortis

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Come to Oklahoma, man. Just bought a bag of the smoothest top soil I've ever dealt with at a local nursery. It had a couple sticks in it but overall it was such an easy mixing process with coco fiber. Cost 4 bucks. I hate buying top soil that has a bunch of sticks and rocks in it, obviously it's not going to hurt the spiders it's just not what I like to look at. So this was perfect.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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Come to Oklahoma, man. Just bought a bag of the smoothest top soil I've ever dealt with at a local nursery. It had a couple sticks in it but overall it was such an easy mixing process with coco fiber. Cost 4 bucks. I hate buying top soil that has a bunch of sticks and rocks in it, obviously it's not going to hurt the spiders it's just not what I like to look at. So this was perfect.
Is this coco fiber good ? I want to see if it’s better than eco earth 🌍… didn’t see a reason for a new thread 🧵. They had a $25 pack too but it looked to harsh.
IMG_2475.jpeg
 

Rigor Mortis

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Is this coco fiber good ? I want to see if it’s better than eco earth 🌍… didn’t see a reason for a new thread 🧵. They had a $25 pack too but it looked to harsh.
View attachment 448641
I haven't personally used that brand, but I've never had a bad experience with the bricks that you have to rehydrate. They're kind of annoying since you have to dry it out afterwards, but it works fine!
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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I haven't personally used that brand, but I've never had a bad experience with the bricks that you have to rehydrate. They're kind of annoying since you have to dry it out afterwards, but it works fine!
Is coarse vermiculite too harsh for Ts ? That’s all my local store had .. and for $60 I figured I’d look elsewhere. Or just not bother with vermiculite? Right now I’m mixing 50/50 top soil /coco fiber.
 
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WhiteMoss

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They're kind of annoying since you have to dry it out afterwards
I always skip that process and just give it a good squeeze to get excess water out. Never had any issues doing it that way.... Unless it's used for a something that requires dry sub, then I obviously let it dry out first.

I mix all my topsoil with coco fiber and crushed leaf litter. I find it gives it a more natural look.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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I always skip that process and just give it a good squeeze to get excess water out. Never had any issues doing it that way.... Unless it's used for a something that requires dry sub, then I obviously let it dry out first.

I mix all my topsoil with coco fiber and crushed leaf litter. I find it gives it a more natural look.
Yeah I’ve got no idea 🤷 we’re to get safe leaf litter so I been doing it without that . coco fiber works better than peat moss for me .
 

mack1855

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This used to be available at Home Depot.Both myself and @cold blood used this years ago.

However,i checked recently and could not find it any longer. DSCN1964.JPG
 

campj

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Yeah I’ve got no idea 🤷 we’re to get safe leaf litter so I been doing it without that . coco fiber works better than peat moss for me .
The woods. As long as there's no agriculture nearby, ought to be safe. I've collected tons of stuff from nature (woods and desert) and have never lost a spider because of it. Guessing lots of folks would disagree, but I'm not going to stop doing it just because they're worried lol.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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The woods. As long as there's no agriculture nearby, ought to be safe. I've collected tons of stuff from nature (woods and desert) and have never lost a spider because of it. Guessing lots of folks would disagree, but I'm not going to stop doing it just because they're worried lol.
Perhaps to hunt for tree bark is feasible and I’m planning it eventually but I’m too far away the woods to carry dirt no way I could carry much , bad ankle tendinitis. That’s would mean your wild sourced soil is better then what I got at Home Depot in the past because I’ve had atleast a few bag bags .
now it’s $3 a bag !! Went up a $1 in a few years… Scott’s topsoil I considered trying but it was $3.75 or more .
 
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