Cloudy 'dirt' water - I'm an idiot

[Howison]

Well. Hopefully I didn't screw up. (10–12-year hiatus...kids.) I watched several videos. I'm getting back into the hobby. although wanted to try planted aq. so, I put 1/2" layer of Fluval stratum, then 1" topsoil, then the rest of the Fluval stratum. I have 4" substrate in my 32-gal Biocube. but when I added the water yesterday...I made a mess of the dirt filling up the tank. so, I just did an 80% water change today and this time. did the bubble wrap and grocery bag idea to fill the tank and still cloudy. (Also, I didn't have filter media yesterday, so I got it today). To fix my mistake, I'm going to continue 50% water changes daily, hoping the water will clear up. or should I take it all out and not use topsoil at all? thoughts? I know, slow and steady.

[Zenzo]

On 12/18/2022 at 12:22 PM, Howison said:

Well. Hopefully I didn't screw up. (10–12-year hiatus...kids.) I watched several videos. I'm getting back into the hobby. although wanted to try planted aq. so, I put 1/2" layer of Fluval stratum, then 1" topsoil, then the rest of the Fluval stratum. I have 4" substrate in my 32-gal Biocube. but when I added the water yesterday...I made a mess of the dirt filling up the tank. so, I just did an 80% water change today and this time. did the bubble wrap and grocery bag idea to fill the tank and still cloudy. (Also, I didn't have filter media yesterday, so I got it today). To fix my mistake, I'm going to continue 50% water changes daily, hoping the water will clear up. or should I take it all out and not use topsoil at all? thoughts? I know, slow and steady.

My experience with dirted substrate tanks (and also Fluval stratum), is that they can be extremely messy and difficult to deal with. If you think it's bad now, wait until you transplant a plant down the road or decide on doing other maintenance.

Since you are at the very beginning, you may want to consider removing the soil/washing it out, and keeping the Fluval stratum underneath a cap layer of inert substrate. Or, if you are determined to stick it out using soil, you will want a cap layer of a substrate that won't let the soil escape.

To me, it seems like you have way too much organic substrate for a new 32 gallon tank. Beyond the cloudiness, you may experience other challenges due to the amount of nutrients. If your plan is to have an extremely densely-planted aquarium, it may workout...but you may be chasing balance for quite awhile.

That's just my two cents and advice for someone re-entering the hobby. The fun part is learning though...so enjoy!

[Howison]

Thank you @Zenzo, I'll take it all out and wash out the dirt.  then would you recommend a small later of stratum 1-2" top with 1" of gravel?

[Zenzo]

On 12/18/2022 at 1:11 PM, Howison said:

Thank you @Zenzo, I'll take it all out and wash out the dirt.  then would you recommend a small later of stratum 1-2" top with 1" of gravel?

I am not a substrate expert, so someone else may be able to give better advice on the stratum. What I can tell you is that out of all of my tanks, I have one with stratum, and I wished that I had gone with just Eco-Complete or a regular gravel with Root Tabs instead. I believe that a layer 1" of the stratum should be enough as far as nutrients, and have a cover of gravel or some other choice of substrate on top to maybe help keep the stratum down (because it can also cloud the water). 

However, maybe see what other people suggest.

[Patrick_G]

My trick is to fill the tank very slowly. I'll put a bowl in the tank and slowly pour the water into that. The trick is to not disturb the top layer. I haven't tried it with organic potting soil but in tanks with lots of mulm it works perfect. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I have 1 dirted tank that’s about a year old. Here’s what I did. 
 

I used organic miracle grow, and filtered out all the large particles, sticks, etc using a mesh screen over a bucket. Once I had enough to cover the bottom of the tank, I laid the dirt down, maybe a 1/2” thick at most. Then, 2” of gravel of that. I then filled and emptied the tank probably 5 times. Any particles that floated out got netted out, then I drained the water, filled back up, netted out particles, drained, filled, etc. 

Once I was happy with the amount of particles that were gone I put the tank in its home, filled again, planted, and I was off and running. 
 

Like @Zenzo said, planting can kick up more debris. I basically have a Pearl Weed jungle that covers 3/4 of the tank as it has grown in and put out runners over the year. I opted for fast growing plants and gave it time to grow out vs. try to plant new plants and kicking up more dirt/particles. Hope this helps!