Messed up dirt tank

[IHaveAquariums]

So I decided to do a dirted tank that is a 20 long. It was completely emptied so I added my dirt, and added some water, let that sit for a week or so and I have a decent amount maybe 1.5 inches on the bottom. Then I completely filled it and started an old worn filter (Just in case the dirt were to clog and kill it) and ran it for a bit to try to help settle it. I scooped most of the remaining dirt off the top but its still very dark water and I'm not sure I have enough to successfully plant. I have a 25lb bag of black gravel I was going to cap it with, however now I feel like I need to switch that to a black sand instead because the dirt might come up. Any advice on this and/or dirted tanks in general? Really struggling here with it, I have everything ill be using once its setup but getting the substrate right is a real challenge here. thanks!

 

[Fresh2o]

You should drain it and then cap it with gravel or sand. Otherwise you will be battling cloudiness and debris in the water column.
I tried it once on a small tank. Did not use enough substrate to cap it. Big mess. Not a particular fan due to the fact that It can be a pain when you are moving plants. I’ve done fine with growing plants in non-dirted tanks.

 

[IHaveAquariums]

Alright yeah that was my plan for tommorow, drain and cap. I have just a 25lb bag of Estes black gravel, standard bag. I had done some research and asked some guys at a LFS (turns out I have a lfs that's owned and operated by hobbyists it's a pretty amazing store w awesome staff) and they recommended just a basic gravel/sand as a cap as well as online because I don't need more nutrients from something like eco complete. Think this will be ok to keep the dirt down or should I go for sand?

 

[Fresh2o]

Gravel is heavy enough; it should be fine. Plus, there might be less need of “burping the soil” as compared to using sand. Gases may build up in the soil and get trapped under the sand. Most folks make a habit of poking the substrate with something like shish kabob skewers to alleviate the gas.
EcoComplete does not really provide more nutrients on its own if I understand it correctly. Rather, it has a way to bond with certain substances/elements that are vital for Plant growth.

 

[IHaveAquariums]

Ok cool thanks! Yeah I have to "burp" my sand that's mixed with gravel and creates some small pockets every once in a while. Oh ok, are there any substrates that you know of that actually do have nutrients in them? I've looked but I can't find any that actually do

 

[Fresh2o]

A few that come to mind are ADA Amazonia, Brightwell Aquatics FlorinVolcanit, Marfield ControSoil, Fluval Stratum.
Not knocking EcoComplete; it is capable of growing plants. I feel that it’s “okay” when compared to the ones listed above.

 

[IHaveAquariums]

Oh ok, I had thought stratum was like flourite where it was just a porous clay but that's cool, thanks!

 

[Caliban07]

Really it should have been capped before the fill, you would have had much less issues. Probably non in fact.

As with all substrates soil takes time to mature but you get the added benefit of already having beneficial microorganisms contained within the soil.

As Fresh mentions, you can grow plants fine in other substrates but with soil you can achieve stability much faster in my opinion.

You really don’t want to mess with the substrate once it’s down and stabilising. Moving plants is fine just don’t do too much all at once.

I know a guy who just tips a cup full of soil in his tank every so often with no issues but the soil choice is also important. If it is too rich in organic matter you will have problems.

In my opinion the substrate is the most important aspect of a planted tank so choose wisely and don’t mess with it too much whilst it’s down. I’ve been bitten too many times to count disturbing my substrate but it’s the fish that always pay the price [emoji853]

 

[IHaveAquariums]

Really it should have been capped before the fill, you would have had much less issues. Probably non in fact.

As with all substrates soil takes time to mature but you get the added benefit of already having beneficial microorganisms contained within the soil.

As Fresh mentions, you can grow plants fine in other substrates but with soil you can achieve stability much faster in my opinion.

You really don’t want to mess with the substrate once it’s down and stabilising. Moving plants is fine just don’t do too much all at once.

I know a guy who just tips a cup full of soil in his tank every so often with no issues but the soil choice is also important. If it is too rich in organic matter you will have problems.

In my opinion the substrate is the most important aspect of a planted tank so choose wisely and don’t mess with it too much whilst it’s down. I’ve been bitten too many times to count disturbing my substrate but it’s the fish that always pay the price [emoji853]

Well my thought had been since I messed that up by not capping first I would drain it as low as I can, spread the dirt to an even layer then cap it off with the gravel. I had used water first just to make sure I had enough for it to become compact. I don't have all the plants I want so thats still a work in progress (as is the tank haha) so I'll try not to disturb it too much until I have everything ready

 

[IHaveAquariums]

Well it's a bit unorthodox, but since I need to drain it and don't want all that dirt going down the drain, I'm siphoning it right out my window

 

[IHaveAquariums]

So, it all settled and i topped it off. Unfortunately it's about 3 inches off substrate in a 20long so I really only have 8~ inches left of swim space, is this ok? My c2 filter intake doesn't touch the bottom like this aqueon one but I feel like I took too much off of it.

 

[flitabout]

I think you may have your dirt and cap to thick. You really only need about an inch of dirt with a about an inch of cap.

 

[ZxC]

Yep, too thick of both dirt and cap

 

[Prolific]

Dont worry your plants will grow just worry about over filtering and a good light

 

[IHaveAquariums]

Alright thanks guys, unfortunately I can't do much except restart all of this regarding the substrate depth, as for filtering and light Prolific, I have a Nicrew planted light and a Fluval c2. Won't be running the carbon with it though

 

[King Fisher]

Anyway you can suck that dirt out with a water siphon? Or to heavy?

 

[IHaveAquariums]

No it's too heavy and it clogs up the siphon really bad, I'd have to scoop it out and tear down all the progressive I've made with it

 

[King Fisher]

Do you have a wet/dry vac? Lol. I know that would work.

 

[IHaveAquariums]

Haha yeah I wish I did, I think I'll leave it for now and see how it goes and make any changes I need to in the future

 

[Caliban07]

I would leave it and see how it goes. I would purchase a seachem ammonia alert and put it in the tank then wait till it reads in the safe range before adding fish.