Help!!

[tilli94]

Hey guys I've been posting for a while about starting my 36 gallon npt and today I bought my fertilizer ( miracle gro organic choice potting soil (I think, it's an orange bag.)) so I got home and I started to fill my tank, I put down my fertilizer (1.5 inches) and then covered that with an inch of gravel. After I put down my gravel I put a plate down on top of the gravel and poured the Water down on the plate so it didn't disturb the soil. So once I got a few inches of water in there I stopped to look at it and noticed the water is just black and I don't know what I did wrong. Please help!!!!

[MrRomero]

Take a look here for other peoples experience with miracle grow. Personally I would stick to substrate and nutrients designed for use in aquariums.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums...h-Miracle-Grow

[tilli94]

The only problem is I'm not sure if these posts are about the organic choice and I just can't get the dirt to settle. From what I've read people have used it and it worked for them. Wondering if I should just buy a different substrate.

[fish monger]

Originally Posted by tilli94

Hey guys I've been posting for a while about starting my 36 gallon npt and today I bought my fertilizer ( miracle gro organic choice potting soil (I think, it's an orange bag.)) so I got home and I started to fill my tank, I put down my fertilizer (1.5 inches) and then covered that with an inch of gravel. After I put down my gravel I put a plate down on top of the gravel and poured the Water down on the plate so it didn't disturb the soil. So once I got a few inches of water in there I stopped to look at it and noticed the water is just black and I don't know what I did wrong. Please help!!!!

Since I have never so much as touched this product, please excuse some stupid questions / comments. Is it possible to rinse the potting mix without it all dissolving away ? Naturally, you want to put the mix in the tank wet. A finer gravel or sand could help keep so much of the mix from floating up. We use the normal Miracle Gro potting mix in our outdoor planters and that appears to be able to withstand some rinsing. That would help get rid of the dust like particles that float up.

[tilli94]

I tried rinsing a few times, i rinsed until the water ran through clear. Maybe I'll just do it a few more times and see what happens.

[twolovers101]

what are you using as a cap?

How I set up my npt, dirt went in dry, cap went on top of that, slowly pour water in (VERY gently) fill, empty, fill, empty, a few times and it was just fine and dandy. Bit of a messy process but overall, it was worked out nicely for me.

[tilli94]

Just regular aquarium gravel is my cap. I'll just drain the water and refill, and repeat.

[twolovers101]

yep, that's what I did, it takes some time, but it's worth it :)

[tilli94]

Okie doke. I got myself all panicked about nothing probably. I have a tendency to overreact