Proper way to dark start AquaSoil?

[BranchScape]

@gnatster — I thought you were using APT Start? I would think that should be a sufficiently large nutrient charge to fully saturate the substrate. When I used it in my AIO 20g, my test kit easily read ~8 ppm ammonia during the dark start, so the initial nutrient spike was larger than anything I’d previously experienced.

Things settled out after about four weeks, although I did perform two water changes during the dark start to bring ammonia down closer to ~4 ppm.

I will say that once the plants acclimated and the brown diatoms/algae began to fade, everything really started to take off. The substrate nutrient levels felt excellent, which I’d attribute—at least in part—to root development. Some of the root growth was very impressive, especially considering the plants had only been established for a few weeks before I ultimately broke the tank down. I didn't use Start again as I wanted the tank running asap and had a mature filter.

Have your experiences been the same to my anecdotal observation with using Start in a smaller tank?

 

[gnatster]

@gnatster — I thought you were using APT Start?

I am using APT Start. As a belt-and-suspenders advocate, the substrate has been APT Start with a layer of UNS ControBase, then ControSoil. Supplemented with PO4 during the dark start. Stir in a lot of patience to complete.

Disclaimer: This method has worked for me. YMMV.