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Laterite/topsoil combination?



	I'm going to be redoing my 55 gallon tank and putting laterite in the
substrate, as the subsoil, soil/peat moss mix I had been using before has
turned out to be less than successfull (after a month and a half or so most of
the plants in the tank basically dropped dead and have not been able to
recover since). In a 55 gallon tank, I believe you would put about 1/2 a kg of
laterite in the bottom third of gravel (or sand). Would adding a "small"
amount (similar to the amount of laterite by volume)  of topsoil on top of,
below, or mixed in with the laterite be a bad idea? Would it defeat the
purpose of having the laterite in the substrate? Would that small an amount of
topsoil have more than a short term effect? The reason I was thinking of doing
it is that I would like to avoid adding nutrients into the water column (via
liquid fertilizer or a large amount of topsoil which would leach nutrients
into the water) but of course want to make sure the plants get everything they
need. It was my impression that with just laterite and and fish waste this
would not be accomplished. 


Thanks for any help,


Matt MacGregor