Flourite questions

[SaM dA MaN]

For my future 67g im planning on having flourite as substrate. But since im not made of money i can only afford 14 kg of flourite so i will have to mix is with some regular gravel. Maybe a 50/50 mix or somthing. Any who since it will be mixed with gravel, should I add some laterite to the bottom layer to beef it up?
thanks

[m.lemay]

Theres no need to add laterite when using flourite since they are similar products. I have flourite mixed 50/50 with gravel in my 75 gal. I don't think one bag of flourite will be enough to get 50% flourite in your tank, you'll probably need 2 bags.

Marcel

[SaM dA MaN]

ok thanks,
So its pretty much one or the other right?
isnt 14 kg of flourite 2 bags?

[m.lemay]

Yes 14kgs is 2 bags. We Americans think in pounds, it was early in the morning when I responded and that first cup of coffee hadn't kicked in yet. :lol: 2 bags oughta do it.

Marcel

[Rex Grigg]

I used three bags in a 55 gallon tank to get a 50/50 mix. So my guess is you will need a minimum of three bags. You have to remember that the 50/50 ratio is based on depth and not weight.

[Velvet AciD]

Here's a question, does it matter if the Flourite is a sand or gravel composition?

And also,

I like the looks of gravely sand, will Swords thrive in a substrate like that?

[m.lemay]

As far as I know Flourite only comes in a gravel like composition. Sword will do great in flourite.

[Daemonfly]

I have a somewhat related question.

I'm doing full flourite topped off with sand for a heavily planted 20g long. Flourite does a great job on it's own, but is there anything I could add as a seperate layer, or mix in, that would make it even better?

[GulfCoastAquarian]

Root Tabs with Iron or Tetra Initial Sticks. Basically, anything enriched with iron, potassium and small amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus. Flourite has the capacity to store nutrients for the plants to use, but it takes time to seed it with those nutrients. You can speed that along with Root tabs.

[Daemonfly]

Well, that works - I already got a box of Flourish tabs for the tank in progress.

[smnbsslr]

How much should fluorite and/or pagoda stone raise GH? (Understanding that it is two separate issues).

I have heavily planted 37g with 75/25-fluorite/gravel base. 20 lbs. of pagoda stone (sandstone?)

It appears that I am getting about 1-2 DH bump in GH. My tap H20 runs about 7.2 pH, 4.0 kH & 6 GH. After treating the H20 with D. buffer to a pH of 6.4, and adding to the tank, the GH is in 7 range increasing to 8-9 after about 72 hours.

1. I understand that pagoda may be sandstone, with a Fe base. Does pagoda have a Fe base, which may contribute to ion exchange? The Fe base would explain the nice reds and the weight of the stone and increase in GH Are my thoughts correct?

2. Is the fluorite or the pagoda stone the contributor to the increase? My guess is the pagoda stone.

Am I pointing in the right direction? If the fluorite raises GH the 1-2 GDH it will save me a bit of work tearing up my tank to remove the pagoda stone.

slb

[Rex Grigg]

If the pagoda stone is sandstone based it should have no effect on the hardness of the water. Flourite has no effect on hardness either. The iron in the pagoda stone should not be causing any hardness problems either. gH is based on calcium and magnesium.

Now my question is if your tap water runs Ph/kH/gH of 7.2/4/6 why are you using Discus buffer to lower the pH to 6.4? Attempting to lower the pH of water with chemicals is a chancy proposition at best. When you have a kH in the 4 degree range it gets hard to do because of the buffering ability of the water.

As far as I know neither the Flourite or the pagoda stone is raising the hardness of your water.

[hipchack]

Just to jump in, sandstone can cause a hardness increase. Sandstone is a conglomerate from its environment. For instance, sandstone formed at the mouth of a river might have freshwater clam shells before cementing to form a stone. These shells would also leach CaCO3 into the water later on. Depending on the energy of the area (high or low) will the particulate matter of the sandstone become fine or coarse. For example the waves on a beach create a high energy zone so most of the sediment becomes fine sand, but a rock that sits at the bottom of a pond is in a low energy zone so remains quite the same before cementation. One would need to directly test the sandstone to see if it will harden the water since many times one cannot tell from just looking at the stone.

This is not a direct comment towards the pagonda but just towards sandstone in general.

[Rex Grigg]

Hipchack,

You might be correct there. I have dealt with a lot of sandstone and never seen any shell bits in it but I guess it could happen. Seems to me that most sandstone is going to have had any carbonates washed out in the rain long ago though.

[hipchack]

hey rex,
In actuality, CaCO3 also acts as a conglomeration agent, and will bind many particles together. CaCO3 in the presence of water will dissolve as all ionic compounds will, but when water is not present any longer then it will just resolidify. I forgot the exact processes to making sandstone since it has been awhile since my geology courses, but I do remember CaCO3 to be a nice factor in making many types of sandstone. I believe it is called chemical precipitation for sedimentary rocks.

David