New Flourite Black Sand Substrate review

[msawdey]

Originally Posted by Monster Fish

For those dealing with the initial cloudiness, what I did was rinse the sand thoroughly in small batches until it rinsed clear. It takes a bit more work but it's a lot more manageable than rinsing a whole bag or two at once. Also when I filled the tank, I dispersed the flow over a piece of wood or hardscape and with a watering can. Of course this is not realistic in a larger tank so diffusing the flow with a plastic bag or saucer helps. Be sure to fill it up slowly. Any remaining soot should be gone after a few hours with either a polishing pad or some filter floss. Hopefully that helps.

exactly what i did

[kevmo911]

Originally Posted by DaTrueDave

This.

Rinsing any of the flavors of Flourite is just throwing money away by getting rid of the most valuable part of the substrate. Plant roots love those fine particles.

The "secret" is to add the Flourite to an empty tank and then to fill the tank without disturbing the substrate. I don't care how dusty your bag of Flourite is, you're not going to have cloudy water the next day after letting your filter run and letting things settle...

I have yet to read a review - previous to this one - that recommends anything other than a thorough rinse of Flourite substrate before using it in a tank, including recommendations from those who did not do so.

I'm not sure how the fine particles of Flourite are any more functional than the larger ones (the CEC rating applies to any sized particles) when it comes to utilization by plant roots.

While Dave's experience is certainly respectable, I suggest you do some searches on others' experiences with Flourite as well.

As for me, I've used original Flourite in one tank, which I didn't rinse, and had to clean my filter daily for two weeks to clear, to another tank with original Flourite, which i did rinse, and had a clear tank in 3 days without cleaning media, to two tanks with Black Sand Flourite, both of which I rinsed thoroughly, and had clear tanks within days without cleaning media. In any case, good luck!

[DaTrueDave]

Originally Posted by kevmo911

As for me, I've used original Flourite in one tank, which I didn't rinse, and had to clean my filter daily for two weeks to clear, to another tank with original Flourite, which i did rinse, and had a clear tank in 3 days without cleaning media, to two tanks with Black Sand Flourite, both of which I rinsed thoroughly, and had clear tanks within days without cleaning media. In any case, good luck!

This makes me think that Flourite is less consistent than we might hope...

[Schneeball]

Kind of strange, I mixed black sand and regular black rinsing one bag at a time in a five gallon bucket outside with a hose. Three rinses and there was not too much dust left but I poured out the bucket each rinse while the particles were still suspended. The black seemed to me to be the easiest to rinse. I've used two other colors, the regular and one other. I would never subject my drains to that dust though! All of my tanks cleared to near perfect within about 12 hours running canister filters and sponges.

[DrakenZ]

datruedave, i stumbled upon this forum thread looking for reviews on the fluorite sand, i had to register just so i could reply to you. You're a smart guy and you know exactly whats good. the "dust" as you all like to call it, is extremely fine sand particles, which the natural seperation of large and small particles would result in the extremely fine "dust" at the bottom of the tank, the medium particles in the middle and largest at the top (takes a while to settle of course). this natural seperation is beneficial to the break down of food and waste from ammonia > nitrites > nitrates. combined with a heating cable in the sand, the constant cycling of water around the breaking down waste and nutrients would result in amazing fertilizer and potential frequent water changes. i can't wait to get this sand set up with the heating cable in my 90 gallon.

[gene4christ]

OK let me say that I have not used this yet. Now that being said it is my understanding that what we are looking for is the stuff that will be best for the plants and still look good . With that is mind it seems to me that washing it down the drain defeats the purpose of buying it in the first place . So my thoughts is get it as wet as you can, put it in the tank, cover it with something to keep it from getting stirred up and fill slow! Remember why you bought your substrate and try to keep it as beneficial as you can . >Disclaimer just my thoughts <

[Edub]

I mixed a bag of the black sand with Eco complete and did not rinse. It made a HUGE mess, but eventually settled out. I still hate messing with the gravel because every time I do it stirs up the cloudy crap. If I ever buy the sand again, I will definitely rinse it first.

[jonathan]

I've done it both ways. Rinse and no rinse. Both settled without any problems, but I still prefer to rinse because the cloud you can kick up without rinse is notable. Everything settles faster with a rinse.

I was more perplexed by strathums directions to rinse. I'll NEVER do that again.