Seachem Flourite Gravel

[cee219]

I only feel slightly stupid asking this question, but I want to make sure I ask it before I do something stupid

I'm setting up my first tank with live plants in a 10 gallon. I usually buy cheap gravel for my other tanks, but bought Seachem's flourite fracted porous clay gravel. While I'm rinsing it off, it turns my water absolutely black. It says on the package wash it off for dust residue and I always had with my other gravels. Am I washing off some sort of nutrience in this gravel or is this just dirt? Thanks!

 

[cee219]

well it certainly helps when you read the stickies before you go posting about the forum! Sorry!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If the package says to rinse it, then you are fine. Rince it til the water becomes clear. It's just dust residue, which you don't want to make the water in your tank that black.

 

[CGGorman]

Since it's clay, every time you rub one stone against another, it makes a clay powder. Rinse it as well as you can, but don't sweat it. It will clear once it's had some time in the tank.. Give it a week.

 

[Quake2player]

Rinsing Fluorite for just my 29 gal took an entire afternoon.... just constant rinsing with 5 gal buckets... it was quite a work out!

One other tip.... the residue "dust" clogged my filter for about a week or so. So after you think the fluorite is settled in and you have plants in, I would check the filter almost on a daily basis as it filters out more residue. I had to keep rinsing out my filters and bio-wheel (Magnum) nearly every day for over a week.

I think people's experiences w/fluorite may vary as some don't go thru as much rinsing as others... but I think the majority would say it takes a lot of rinsing.

 

[gheitman]

Flourite can be a hassle and no matter how many times you rinse it there will always be some more dust. Do what you can and then plan on letting it settle in your tank for several days. I've used Flourite in three of my tanks and it is one of the best substrates for live plants. It has a very high iron content which helps your plants with heavy root structures like Amazon swords.