if you are just doing a potted plant and don't want fertilizers it seems your answer is simple and would be just any ol organic potting mixture. is this going into a tank at all? will it be potted in the tank or rooted into the substrate itself? if it is the substrate itself, the bioactive ones are built that way for a reason. if it is potted but in a tank just don't use an organic potting soil that contains "forest products" or any kind of conifer based mulch. brands containing municipal mulch are also a no-no. but most of those substrate packages also aren't as cheap as sourcing the ingredients yourself, but they do keep you from having an over abundance of it. you need to buy in decent quantities to save money. for example I filled two 48x18" tanks with about 5-6" of substrate and since I sourced it myself I still have a 30 gal tote full to the brim of substrate. also most of these kind of products vary by location so they can be locally sourced so they don't have to pay exorbitant shipping charges.


not to be a di** but I think a trip over to the ol googler is in order. you are asking a seemingly simple question that has very complex answers depending on your needs. but at the same time with a couple of searches you can probably find the answer you are looking for. as for brands, you aren't gonna find like a miracle-gro mix that you can just run down to Home Depot and get. the abg and V2 from neherp are pretty widely used, I dislike the bio dude since he won't disclose what is in his "proprietary blend" . that is whack in my opinion. also those bioactive packages are probably the simplest thing you can put your plants into and not have to fertilize all the time.