Soil Substrate Aquarium Guide - Get EXPLOSIVE Growth!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2024
- One of the best substrate to use for a planted tank is soil. This guide should help you set up your first soil aquarium AKA how to dirt a tank.
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A few tips from somebody with several years of dirt tank experience.
1) The process of wetting and drying the soil outside before using it is called "mineralization". The purpose of it is basically to refine the dirt, getting rid of all the floaty bits that he had to net out in the video. He did the same thing, just in his tank instead of in a bucket or kiddie pool in the driveway. Soak the dirt, use a net or cheesecloth to get the floating scum out of the water, let it dry, repeat if you feel the need.
2) You can mix the clay much more effectively into the soil than by using the ball method in the video. You're going to wet the soil anyhow, simply dissolve the clay into the water you're going to use to wet the soil. That gives you a fine film of iron-rich clay throughout the entire substrate rather than a few big clumps here and there. You can make it even easier by getting the clay in powder form from any number of art supply sites. Make sure it is iron-rich clay, kitty litter is not the same stuff. Although you can use more than one type of clay, they do have different properties.
3) Quit worrying about substrate depth! This myth needs to die. Ponds and lakes have massively deep substrates, they aren't toxic. Quite the opposite, it's known that a deep substrate is beneficial. The "anaerobic" bacteria boogeyman that everybody warns you about is the same aerobic bacteria everybody cultures in biofilters. It's just that in low-oxygen environments the bacteria switches its metabolism to suit the lack of oxygen. The end result is that it turns ammonia and nitrates into nitrogen gas. In other words, it ends the nitrogen cycle. Our 75g has almost 6" of substrate in it. No, it doesn't smell like a swamp or cause health issues inside or outside of the tank.
4) Don't use just the soil for the base layer. Potting soil is entirely biological stuff, very fine grains. It will compact when wet and form a dense mass that makes it hard for roots to grow through. Treat it like you would any other garden soil, add amendments to loosen the soil. A bit of sand, maybe even a little bit of small gravel. This opens channels for the water and roots to pass more easily.
5) You can make your own "dirt" and have complete control of the mix if you want. Worm castings provide the biological mass, rock dust (like Azomite) provides minerals for the plants, maybe a bit of bone meal for calcium and other trace elements. Sand, clay, voila! I'd probably only recommend this for larger tanks since some of the stuff seems to only be available in bulk form and would be a bit expensive if you only needed a little of it.
Overall, good video. There is no better substrate for a planted tank than dirt and I'm glad to see people giving it a try. I just wanted to pass along some things I've learned over the past several years.
Amazing response, thanks for your effort, John. I'm going to try yours this weekend :)
Does the plants roots have to touch the soil? I attempted a dirted tank with blasting sand, I some how got air pockets which made the soil lift on top of the sand.... I figured my cap wasn't enough but if I add more I fee like the plants would be too far away from the soil. Where did I go wrong?
İs this set up last for how many monts or years ? Or what we can do for it run alot of time
@@sirackaan609 it can last a decade acording to deep substrate enthusiasts. Try Father Fish videos on youtube, you will see how to do it. Deep substrate method let you do great things with minimal care and lasts forefer if done right.
Father Fish is a national treasure. Thank you for recommending him!
I'm planning on setting up a planted tank soon and I'm doing so much research. Your videos are to the point, informative, and entertaining! You've answered every single one of my questions with this series, thank you!!!
Awesome, thank you! Glad it helped!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I’ve been try to set up my first live plant aquarium with little success. You video was short , to the point and showed me exactly what I needed to know. So, thank you.
Very welcome! I'm glad it's helping you! Just ask if you have questions. Join our facebook group. Tons of people to help there. facebook.com/groups/thewaterbox
Thank you for sharing this great informative tutorial on substrates.
I always had gravel in my tanks, but then again I was limited to growing certain plants that would grow in gravel. Now I will be using dirt, gravel, and dosing CO2. A full Spectrum Light is in order too. I enjoyed watching!
Thanks!
Another great video, and you make using soil seem easy! Love your straightforward approach and concise, info-packed episodes. I'll be setting up a 10 gallon this month to test this out on my own before diving in with my bigger tanks. Wish me luck :D
Great way to start and try it out! Good luck!
Thank you for this simple clear explanation and demo.
Glad it was helpful! And thanks for joining as a member! :)
Such a great point. It's really not as hard as people think. Just takes a little knowledge! I've thought about using organic potting soil with gravel cap in my next tank. Great video!
Put it on vid if you do! :) Thanks for the watch!
Awesome job explaining , never had a planted tank and you made that look like a breeze. Thanks !
It is easy once you get it down. Hope you give it a try! :)
Thanks for the upload- surprised it worked so well and looked so easy
It is easy! :) Once you do it one time, it's pretty down hill from there. ;)
Organic Soil really worked for me, and my soil didn't go murky as I've damp the soil first and then the substrate then after filling it up, the water was still clear, and I added my fish since the water was already cycled. It worked great for me, Thank you😊
Great tip! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you I needed a cheap solutions for planting my new tank up
Good luck!
Fantastic. Cheers. Will definitely try this on my 4ft tank
Go for it! Tell us how it goes! :)
I've been using soil for about a year now. Worked out well.
Perfect! Thanks for sharinging!
Keep up the great content always look forward to your videos
Thank bro! 👍
Thank you 🙏 very informative article 😊
good advice
on the soils used
Patricia Kloeppel thanks! :)
My tank looks amazing thanks for the info
Glad to hear it!!
Excellent!
Thank you!
Welcome!
Thank you for making this vid
It’s very helpful :)
I'm glad it helped! Thanks for watching!
Is soil your goto substrate for planted tanks? Let us know!
Soil Substrate Maintenance Guide: th-cam.com/video/WwjOMmxXO0Q/w-d-xo.html
The Water Box I use soil in all my tanks. love the planted look
I'm redoing my tank with soil.
YAY! Welcome convert! You will be well served! 😌
It does look great! :) Thanks for the comment. Stay awesome!
What city do you live in SoCal?
Great job, straight to the point
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed.
Thank you for this tutorial.
Anytime! Thanks for watching
Great video, with lots of useful info!
Thanks! Glad it helped!
I used miracle Gro Potting mix and it worked fine. Better than expected. Of course was skeptical but plants were stocked and snails were present
Yeh, great stuff!
Literally finished setting up my walstad type 5 gallon tank minutes ago...I was fumbling with the substrate selection mainly...surprised to see you coincidentally posted this one few hours earlier! I used a mix of normal compost and a small amount of garden soil.
Sudipto Chakraborty didn't you know? I was reading your mind!
Thanks. So much simple
You bet!
Great video. Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Really wish you were still create content. This is excellent.
Awesome video thank you sir!
You're welcome!
Always a good video man!
Thanks man!
Enjoyed this. Thanks.
I'm glad you did! Thanks for watching!
Great information. Thanks
You bet!
Very helpful, thank you. One other thing I've often read helps with keeping the soil healthy are digging snails, like melanoides tuberculata.
Good tip!
So helpful thank you so much
And thank you for watching! :)
YES!! Soil substrate is the best!
We soil people are too cool for school! 🕶
I saw this video about a month ago and it inspired me to use organic soil. Then when I actually got the soil i forgot parts of this video. For example I was alarmed to see wood chips on the soil. Then I thought of having a thick layer. I watched it again and realize that i should have sifted the soil and that the layer should be an inch or less. Another words this video is excellent but dont watch it just once. So far this is the best video I have seen here for using soil
I'm glad it helped! BOOKMARK IT THIS TIME! ;)
Excellent!! I needed this video so badly! Straight to the point.
Much appreciated 🐠 🐌
Glad it helps!
@@TheWaterBox You’re great! Really appreciate your knowledge 👊🏼
@@AkChiVibes np!
thanks
No, thank you for watching! :)
Thank you!
Welcome!
awesome vid bro
Thanks bro!
“Pretty fairly really simple”
Yup
Basically Jacob.
Thank you! Very clear and straight to the point, got my tank today and all the substrate info out there was a bit overwhelming. I am planning to fill my tank with plants alone, no fish or anything like that. Would everything be okay if I didnt use a filter?
Hi, I live in New Zealand and I bought *Yates Natures Way Organic Seed Raising Mix* should I bake first ?
You shouldn't need to do that anymore. Assuming it doesn't have too much dead organic in the soil.
Just watched the vid. Great info and great pace of explanation. Also, thanks for not being a product overlord and making it seem like you have to have a whole lot to do this.
Well, there's really not much to it honestly. :)
No not at all. I've had been doing it since i made this comment or perhaps a bit before. The gassing made me a bit curious at first but ive had great success with soil substrates
@@hotbox1266 That's good to hear for sure! :)
Good info thx dude
NP. Hope it helps
Now I kinda want to demolish my beatiful aquascape and get into soil. Damn you wise man.
Doh! Sorry!
@@TheWaterBox No worries, just another excuse to go for another aquarium I guess! Great content, great information and lots of humor. Keep on going!
LOL! That's a good excuse as any :)
You won't regret it. We first got dirty a few years back and have no intention of ever going back to "regular" substrates.
Beautiful
Thanks!
Thanks man
Np
Thanks great 👍
Thanks for watching!
Just set
The wetting and drying out part he was talking about is called mineralization. It's a process that converts organic compounds to inorganic ones using microbes. Less organics is better for algae control and I believe inorganic compounds are easier for plant uptake. I think mineralization might happen in this type of tank as well, just more slowly
Thanks for clarifying! I complete forgot what it was called when I was filming the video. You rock! 👍
You're so right about the mix info's on the internet... gezzz... nowadays hard to separate facts from trolls. I am going to follow your method here and go all out on my 150gal tank... hopefully I won't screw it up so bad... :D
It's not hard at all :) You'll get it! Thanks for watching!
Hello, quick question please, just about to do a dirt tank next week. I'm in the UK so I will be using miracle gro potato and veg which is 100% chemical free and organic mix with plant gro. With a white aquatic sand cap on top. What's your opinion on running a Co2 kit with a dirt tank please? I've got a 190 ltr tank and I just bought a new Co2 kit but I'm thinking of not using it. Many thanks
It works incredibly well with a dieted tank.
Man you made everything looks so simple , i was afraid to use a soil that's not made specifically for aquariums but i don't think I'm afraid of that anymore i just need to make sure it's 100% organic right?
Your video should have 500k views at least
And the fact that you're answering all the comments is great
Like and subscribed and i hope to learn more and more from you thank you
Thanks buddy!
I'm so glad it was easy to find you on YT.
Best overall tank info for beginners that want correct things that I can find.
New sub :D
Also going to be a dirt guy for my first tank!
Love from Canada
Dirt is definitely a great setup! Good luck! :)
@@TheWaterBox it's working out well I'm going to make a small video just to share with you next week :D
I thought I'd never get the water clear hhahahaha
Haha it will clear. If you have tannins it'll go away after a while but you can make it go away fast by running pruigren in your filter for a week.
I’m from Canada too!
I like your videos in special your SPONSORS. I am looking to get soil for my new 75g setup, but even the organic has some stuff and i am no sure if will be it safe for my fishes. It will be my first dirt tank. Thanks for your videos!!!
Good luck!
Thanks!
You bet!
great video. I wish I would have known about this before I set up my tank with just gravel. I almost want to set up tank number two this way and transfer my live stock over after it cycles and redo tank number one the same way.
Then save it for your next tank or build :)
Excellent video dude ! Simple and basic I totally dig it lol ... you think this concept would work well for a patio pond as well ?
Yes. It'll work great on a patio pond
You just earned a sub
thanks!
Thanks for sharing 🌎❤️🎁
Thanks for watching!
This was super useful 😭 I thought I was doing something wrong cause the soil was so messsssy
👍
Would it be ok to go straight volcanic soil only (fluval stratum)?
Or do i need to buy sand on top of that as well?
You can do just stratum.
Really good howtos between you and Aquapros. Really appreciate it. Having an odd problem with snails dieing in this setup. 3/4" soil under 1" of Rio Cafe XF. Water parameters are good. The snails just don't seem to be handling something well in it.
Well that's interesting. There's no weird metals in the soil is there?
Ah, no wonder some of the footage looked familiar, I was having deja vu! haha Aw man, hit a bit of a rough patch, my wife and I separated, had to take down all my tanks and sell everything. I am completely out of the hobby right now, I dont even have a suction cup. I can't see me getting back into the hobby anytime soon. For now I have to enjoy the hobby through other peoples videos, like yours! :)
Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that man! Well, keep watching and stay in touch until your ready to get back into it again :)
If just seperated from the wife...id recommend suction cups...only joking...life goes on..get busy living or dying me friend...aye, shawshank...crawl through 300mtres of shit and come out clean...all best...Joe
Can't fathom pain of not doing what you love most world. Hopefully you'll get back on ur feet restart what makes you happy
Get back to it. Start slowly and start small. Do not give up.
GET BACK IN THE GAME
Hi, very useful video I just did my set up on a 10 gallon. I am currently cycling the tank but I have a question regarding air stones and if it will be useful to incorporate as I plan to stock my tank. Any tips on cleaning the sand cap I noticed while planting some of the particles of dirt came to the surface I used my net to pick up the majority but I still see particles on the bottom and I am afraid to disturb the plants or agitate the sand.
For the stuff on the substrate, just vacuum them. Here's a video on tips for maintaining a soil tank: th-cam.com/video/WwjOMmxXO0Q/w-d-xo.html You can use an airstone, but it's a planted tank and if you're not using co2, there's no reason too (unless you need to). If you want it for decoration purposes, a low power airstone will work. You just want something that doesn't make too much water movement at the surface of your tank when it bubbles up.
Wow it's pretty fairly really simple
It really is that simple. :)
@@TheWaterBox I just needed to know how to use backyard dirt with no substrate over it
I wish I had seen this videos sooner. I *just* set up a 5 gal nano tank with half and inch of sifted organic dirt (all I had but it's good quality) and about 1.5 inches of substrate. Is that going to make any difference?
Should be just fine. :)
Wow! Amazing results at the 5th week! I think the magic recipe is Miracle Gro dirt, Mexican iron supplement discs, sand, HIGH light, and CO2!
Yeh, but you kinda describe the recipe for most planted tanks. ;)
I have a really thick biofilm building up from the substrate. Would beneficial bacteria like dr Tim’s one and only help?
I'm not sure what you mean about bio film. Can you share a pic of it on our facebook group and ask there?
Hey! Thanks so much for this video. I am setting up a planted 5.5 gal, with just neocardinia and looking to use this method. Do I need to use clay, etc... or will just mineralizing/wetting and drying the miracle grow and then capping with sand be sufficient? Am not able to find clay around within my budge at the moment :(
did you already set it up? how’s it going?
You don't AHVE to use clay but it helps bring iron to the plant roots.
I started a dirt tank (organic choice) about........mmmmm........6 or 7 years ago in a 20g. I forgot what I capped it with. Never changed the soil. It's still kicking and I grow swords, which I understand really suck up the nutrients. I'd say my water is a bit cloudier than other tanks after all this time but it doesn't bother me too much. Been thinking about setting up a 40g breeder. At first I wasn't going to do dirt this time around but I think you convinced me to do it again. I guess my current tank is doing so well, that I have my own proof as it is. So thanks for re-confirming what I found works. I like the clay ball idea. I never did that. My existing tank is high light and pressurized CO2.
Nice! glad to hear it :) And good to know it's lasting years for you. Like to hear how long soil last for people who let their tank set ups last more than a couple of year unlike me who can't keep still. lol
@@TheWaterBox Perhaps I spoke too soon. Currently going through a bloom. But I changed from a canister to sump...And I started dosing micro-nutients cause stuff was getting yellow and dying.
Sounds like a plan!
It looks great. Can you talk a bit about how you maintain it over the long term? What will you do when the nutrients and minerals from the soil are depleted? Thank you.
It's just like any other tank. Nothing from that changes. When the nutrients are depleted, you can just switch out or start using root tabs.
I liked your tank. Simple yet nicely arranged.
Can you share list of the plants used in this video?
Thank you! All the plants are listed in this tank build video here: th-cam.com/video/QQji5LypDN0/w-d-xo.html
One huge question I have. I love bottom feeders like Cory's. Maybe a trumpet snail. Will these be an issue with a planted tank?
So much respect! So far ive been using potting soil as a bottom layer and put a nice thick layer or eco complete with a a third one of fluval stratum. One of the main pros would be the elimination of a c02 source because the organic soil will release is it.
Sure. Not much Co2 though but if it works for you.
@Kelli Burns yeah make sure its at least twice as thick as the layer of soil.
You don't HAVE to but it'll create a mess if you don't. Capping helps keep it clearner AND to help anchor your plants in (specifically stem plants)
Great video! Just one question, if I’m using a carpet plant like dwarf hairgrass, do I need to cover the dirt with gravel or sand?
either will work. sand will work better or at least very fine gravel. This is mainly to help anchor your plants down better in the beginning of planting.
is it good for carpet plant....can I go with dry technique
It works for carpet plants just fine and yes, you can use soil for the DSM technique. Make sure you cap it with something.
Firstly, thanks for providing an alternative method to build own substrate. My questions:
1. Can i grow Monte Carlo carpet with this substrate? or should restrict only to amazon plants?
2. Can i use river sand for my top cap?
3. using a bigger gravel be better than soil, considering the fact that soil can get into sand cap faster than slightly bigger gravel?
4. What carpet plant have you used? is it dwarf sag or dwarf sword?
Please reply. -Thanks a lot.
Hi Sanju,
1) Yes you can. You can grow any plants in soil as you would with commercial aquarium soil.
2) Depends on the river sand. As long as the grain size is larger then typical play sand you should be ok.
3) This one, I'm not sure what you mean. If you mean getting soil on top of sand. Just vacuum it off.
4) I have used tons of carpet plants including dwarf sag or swords.
Thanks for watching.
Question, the first time you fill up the tank to syphon out the dirty floating stuff/brown water do you use regular tap water?
You can. I'd condition it with prime or some kind of chlorine neutralizer to be safe.
How did I miss this episode?! Thanks bro, I was thinking of doing this soon. I’m gonna use flower soil instead. Maybe I’ll place a UG too :-)
Good deal! Do it! UG as in Undergravel Filter? That might now work too well. Dunno. Let me know how it works out.
+The Water Box yes, I'll try going the undergravel route. Been hearing a lot lately about this underrated filtration system. I'm not gonna set up the tubes, so it'll be a plenum.
Nice! Go for it!
I love how he changes spot in each lmao 🤣🤣🤣
Can't catch me!
Hi thanks for the upload. Can you trim and replant using this method? If you plant in the substrate does it make a mess?
Thank you for watching! Of course you can trim and re-plant. It'll make a little mess but all I do it just siphon out the soil that got on top during the water change
The Water Box Great! I understand. :)
Question: Did you rinse the pool sand until it was clear or did you add it to tank straight from the bag?
Rinse it.
Question: would it be bad to leave the pieces of wood/bark in if you wanted a blackwater tank? It doesn't hurt the water quality right?
It's not bad but it will cause more ammonia spikes as the decay in the tank.
Fantastic video! I’m about to start a new planted tank and want to use the Mexican Pottery clay. Do you have to dry it before inserting it in to the soil or can you just roll it in to balls/discs and insert before capping? Thanks!
You don't have to. It'll just be pretty gooey and hard to work with. You harden it just to make it easy to handle. It gets gooey after being in water for a bit anyways.
The Water Box thanks man! Thank you for the quick response. Love your videos! Love how your helping so many people!!!
Thanks. Glad to help.
hey thanks for all inf on all you videos, i having a problem i use dirt cap with sand the tanks is 3 months, this is the issue the plants i notice getting a dark green in edge of the leaf and star melting, from the beginning my nitrate is a 30 to 40ppm i think is for my stock and the slow grow of my plants i do 30% to 50% of water change every week i was dosing pps pro but after that i stop dosing kno3, and after i see the plants was getting holes so raise the k2so4 and the hole stop, but i still getting the dark green at the edge of the leaf, 3 week ago i buy a phosphate test i see my po4 is 0.25 and dosing 1ppm weekly so doable the kh2po4 and still my po4 0.25 when i dose more kh2po4 daily i see a better grow should i raise the dose of kh2po4?
What's your ammonia levels at?
@@TheWaterBox the amonia level is 0 I found the problem was the kit not reading property, I bring the water to a local fish store and the po4 was like 8 so now I have to stop dosing po4 untill get to 1 ppm, I got a new po4 test kit that was driving me crazy, my nitrite is now like 10 tomorrow is water change day I will try to balance the tank I trying to keep my values on 10 nitrate and 1 po4
So would doing a soil tank, with flourite dark on top, be an ok way to go fo ra dry start method to grow carpet?
Yes, absolutely
Many thanks for those down-to-earth (!) videos :)
I had a dirted tank 20 years ago which was very low tech but lush. Recently got back into the hobby and now thinking of putting a small bottom layer of organic soil under my eco complete which is a combination you seem to validate.
The question is, can I get away with doing this re-shuffle and put the fish straight back in, or is the potential ammonia spike too big a risk?
The guys are silver tip tetra, pearl gourami, kribensi, apistogramma and dwarf neon rainbow, all kind enough to survive some mistakes so far. Filter is a decent size (fluval 306 for 55gal) running 6 months, has a large intake sponge and is full of media.
You can but yeh, ammonia spike it a problem. I've done a soil switch out on my 20 long here and I talk about it: th-cam.com/video/2ZR7wb3OS1A/w-d-xo.html
@@TheWaterBox thanks for the reply and wow so many aspects already covered i your videos. I would definitely need to keep a close eye on water parameters.
Do you recall how long it took for the tank to return to normal? I would probably not use the exact same soil here in the UK, so just to have an idea.
For me a week before it stabilized but I checked the water params twice a day and did water changes when needed. Leaving the ammonia levels low and letting the "filter bio" catch up.
@@TheWaterBox many thanks, Chung!
Will soil and pool filter sand work with an undergravel filter? I'm fairly certain that using an undergravel will help with plant growth, I'm just uncertain if it will get clogged by the soil... love to hear your thoughts. Cheers!
No, the soil and sand will just clog the UGF and the use of it will be moot (not really work).
hi newbie here - thanks for the great tips - do you have a list of the plants you use would love to replicate your idea - thanks Pauli from England
The plants are named in this video: th-cam.com/video/QQji5LypDN0/w-d-xo.html
Nice video! Just wondering if I can add some fauna in a dirt substrate tank, specifically neo caridinia shrimps. Would the soil harm them or would they be alright?
You'll have to let the tank settle and the soil run it's ammonia spikes in the beginning otherwise it would harm your shrimp.
@@TheWaterBox ohhh thanks for answering!
@@DataStick123 np
nice, here in panama organic substrate is very expensive and heavy to import, buymt I can get that miracle gro here and natural sand and gravel. if get a bit of mud it will bring bacteria?
You can. As long as you know there's no weird stuff in it, you should be ok. Like no pesticides is the most important. I'll kill your fish. But there are a lot of people that uses soil from their backyards.
I got a bag of Substrate would it be okay if i add a little of miracle gro with it in my tank to it to help my plants grow?
Sure, you can. Depends on the substrate though but yeh, you can do that. Better to use the substrate as a cap.
Thank you! Can the soil be pulled away from the gkass and inch or two and then capped so that the soil/roots are not visible ? Seems like this should work.
Yup. That's fine
3:53 was me one time ago I had tall plants and was hoping to get them to stand up on its on in the water. the small plants are easier but the tall ones just layed there lol.
Heh, it depends on the plants you're trying to grow out of the water.
Who says this
The water box! Hello again!
last question (for now: D), size of cap ?? sand or gravel? what's the best? I found the sand for the pool filter, but in Italy the size is not specified, how many mm must be? 0.45 / 0.85? quartz or silica? Thank you so much you are the best
Quartz or silica will work. Around 0.75mm or more is good
I'm a noob at planted tanks but I've been watching a lot of your videos; would having high light without co2 negatively affect plants other than slowing down growth of some medium/low light plants if I do a dirted method?
That's such thing as too much light. Without co2 and lots of lighting the plants will cap at a certain point. Watch my balance video. I explain it there.
Does the Mexican clay work as a good source of iron in all planted tanks? The substrate I typically use is flourite black sand, though I'm considering a soil tank. I'm wondering if this may be a more economical choice than dosing with liquid iron supplements.... Thanks, great video!
Both will work but only liquid dose IF you need it.
Wow! 😍
❤
HI. i just started my planted aquarium on organic soil and topped it with gravel. It has been a second week and I still have horrible algea bloom. i do 70% water change every other day and the light runs 5h a day. Now i'm trying to turn off the lights for couple of days. I'm wandering if the fact that the organic mix that I used have some organic fertilizers in it may cause this bloom? Do you think it'll clear out or do i need to restart? i used Green Mountain Compost premium organic potting mix.
It's suppose to have ferts in it. What's your ammonia and nitrates readings?