Bedside 4ft

I have been running a 4ft fresh water system for about 2 years now, and have recently decided to turn it into a planted tank. I previously went the route of acquiring a commercial brand of planted tank mud and CO2 system. Yet due to some mishaps, currently there are no plants in my tank. I recently gathered river sand and pieces of 'drift wood' which I boiled twice. I put the drift wood skeleton into my tank already to try find a shape I like, but the point of this post is to look for any information on DIY planted tank substrate. At the moment I've mixed the boiled river sand with potters clay and top soil that has soaked for 2 days and air dried for 2 days. I'm worried about never having crystal clear water again after incorporating the mix into my tank system

 

my suggestion would be to forget about the diy substrates especially if you want crystal clear water. the most popular diy substrate is the PFP. i went that route and was not happy at all. algae problems and leeching were a constant problem. for a planted tank, i would deffo go and buy the commercially available substrates.. although they are very expensive. the other route that you should investigate is to use an inert substrate and go the ei fertilisation route, all the info is available if you google it. good luck.