New substrate for a 10 gallon planted tank

[galen]

hi- i got a 10 gallon tank running right now with the following:
1 snakeskin gourami 9 wild caught i think) 4"
1 hoplo catfish 2"
1 red tail shark 3"

2 small amazon sword cuttings( from my main tank)
1 small rangeri sword

anyway, i got a sand bottom now that i want to get rid of. the only reason why is cause i got a whisper filter running and evevry so often a sand particle gets churned up and lodges itself in the energizer, causing it to wear down till i correct it.

so im thinking about making it with a new substrate from seachem, called fluorite. ? is what's a good set-up for it? put gravel on top of it or just leave it as is as the base material for the tank. plus, would it discolor the water or anything?
i know thats alot of info, but i thought id give some background scenery first before playing the main ?s...thanks

 

[Purrbox]

Just keep in mind that Flourite will cloud up your tank really badly even if you rinse it really, really well. Do make sure to rinse it well, or it'll be even worse and take longer to clear. It's perfectly fine to use by itself and won't discolor the water once it clears.

If the only reason you want to get rid of the sand is that the filter occationally pics up some of it, why not just put a sponge prefilter on the intake? This should keep the sand out and allow you to keep the current substrate.