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AquaSoil Leeching

Think I may do the 'Tom Barr Dry start' but I'm thinking I may use Purigen when I first fill the tank just in case any ammonia is still present.
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Dry Start Method is the best known method so far for starting a tank with nutrient rich substrates like ADA AS or potting soils, etc... Soils need to settle down before totally flooding the tank.
Saturate the soil with dechlorinated water and keep it saturated at all times for minimum 8 weeks. Like this we avoid any algae blooms and make sure all the NH4 stays in the soils or gets transformed into NO3.
Once the tank is flooded (after min 8 weeks) flush out the water a few times to remove any possible NH4 which have escaped the substrate. Plant heavily and start dosing, keeping good CO2 (if injected), flow, even less light for the first few weeks (less wattage or less hours per day) can help.

Also not to forget; when saturating the soils, if possible, use some of the mulm for your established tanks to speed up the bacteria development.

I am preparing two new tanks and am already cycling the soils for 3 month now, will leave it for one more week or two. Will report what happens.

Good luck!

Regards, Dusko
 
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