Keith

What is your mix made of?

I do not have photo, it is mix of grit, perlite and some turface.

You can see some of it in the photo below, both aeoniums are potted in it - so are other succulents, but they have topdressing of larger grit:

I will add a topper (likely turface) to my pots once I water and the mix settles, but my newest mix is ~15% miraclegro c&s mix, 25% turface and 60% pumice. I add a tablespoon or 2 of azomite and mix well. Ive eliminated perlite since it always seems to float to the surface and spoil the topper.

Im not overly concerned with nutrient holding ability of the medium since I use fish tank water.

I have to use perlite since pumice is difficult to get around here. That is one of the reasons I use topdressing of gravel.

Turface holds quite a bit of water - what is the reason you want to use it as topdressing? IIRC, azomite contains lots of trace elements - is that the reason you are adding it? Is that 2tbsp/pot?

Pumice is really hit or miss here as well, but I finally found a local nursery that has 28 liter bags for $9 so I made the switch.

Turface topper - Yes, it can hold a lot but I believe when used as a topper in Zone 10 it helps to wick moisture from the mix when it is dry. Combined with terracotta pots I feel it helps dry the soil from multiple sides. Plus, I think it looks cooler compared to rocks:

Azomite - Lots of controversy with its effectiveness but its cheap. 2 tbsp/per mix that fills 2, 7.5" pots (pictured above). Also I will occasionally add a tsp/gl to my water. Completely different animal, but when I was growing wheat grass for juicing the azomite trays grew much better than the ones that didnt have it.

Although N-P-K is important as a fertilizer, I suspect trace elements are an often overlooked component of overall plant health. Especially with plants in pots.

Keith

I wasn't thinking...you are in warm climate, so turface should work. I read about azomite, wanted t hear your opinion from using it.

Crenda - Im in a desert environment hence the reason I include turface in the mix.

That makes sense, Keith. I thought the pots even looked like desert pots with the turface for top dressing. It looks nice, but I'm afraid that wouldn't work for me.

And don't you just hate those bricks of peat that most plants come in?

Fish tank water has ammonia in it. I wouldn't water my plants with it.

Here is a pic of a mix I made of 2/3 Turface and 1/3 pine bark. Proved too wet for Jades, but worked for Sans

Looks like a nice, gritty mix Manuel.

I guess I should be more clear. Using water out of a tank that has a goldfish and no filtration would result in ammonia in the water. In a properly established tank with biological filtration that has gone through the nitrificaton cycle and there is no ammonia in the water. Before I do my weekly water change I test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Ammonia levels consistently show 0 ppm.

Using the water from freshwater tanks as mentioned above is not only safe but very beneficial for plants.

I wasn't aware of that. Just learned something new

Keith, whether there was ammonia or nitrate /nitrite in the water it provides nitrogen to the plants when used for water. There is nothing wrong with using aquarium water for watering.