It is Fluval plant and shrimp stratum. The filter is a huge top 10 with insertable activated charcoal in the mesh bags for filter medium. It's what came with the fish tank. You don't rinse it because that gets rid of all the good stuff?
I will give it a try. I have read that you can use polyfill from the craft section, I may try that like you suggested also. Maybe it will get better?
Can you tell me, after it has settled for a while, will it get cloudy again every time I plant a new plant in it?
I'm not familiar with the product you mentioned but filter floss is not expensive and you wont need much its usually a few £ for a meter from a roll. 
I'm saving up for a really nice, really good piece of decorative wood. It's definitely on my list. The variegated white and green one actually came from one of those tubes in the aquarium section at PetSmart. That said, it doesn't surprise me that PetSmart would have houseplants in the aquatic section.No problem
A black background would help your tank and hide all the wires etc too. Some of those plants you have in there are actually house plants so in a few weeks/months they will die off and they wont grow so will just pollute the water. Its the white and green one on the far right and on the left. I'm not sure what the tall one on the middle right is either?
It would be worth getting some hardscape into the tank too, something tall like wood would be a good start.
Wills
Maybe a little bit but nothing long term. Also, invest in some basic planted tank tools. A set of long tongs makes planting much neater and less invasive, so less likely to kick up particulate or mulm.
My goal is to be able to replace it weekly! Right now I'm rinsing the filters that are in it 2 to 3 times a day and it rinses straight mud. Definitely a big learning curve with this stuff. Thanks for the Hobby Lobby tip
