[dovla]

New 20 long, 2x65W, pressurized Co2, Eheim classic.
Added 8 gallons of water to the 1.25 bags of Eco-complete and 1 bag of the red Flourite, mixed (don’t ask) but without rinsing the Flourite first. What a mess!

I guess I can now forget about Eco-complete “live-water purifying bacteria” and start rinsing now before adding plants and creating more mess or is there an easier remedy?

Long time lurker but this being my first post, so please …

Thanks

 

[unirdna]

Ugh. Sorry your first post isn't more positive. FWIW, I always rinse Eco-complete, too. I never found that water stuff to be "all that", and it frequently hikes KH. Start rinsing and use a dinner plate on the substrate to disperse the water gently.

Welcome!

 

[Wasserpest]

Possible two solutions -

1) Get a diatom filter. I hear they can be rented from your LFS, or you can buy a HOT Magnum 250 (relatively inexpensive) or go all the way out and get a real one.

2) If you have nothing but substrate in the tank yet, there is an easy solution. Siphon out all the water. Make a hole in the substrate, and make sure water is out all the way to the bottom. Then refill the tank slowly. I mean almost dripping. The dust will stay in the substrate, and move further down during the next couple of days. Make sure when you start the filter the outflow isn't pointed towards the substrate.
When you plant, there will be little dust devils, but nothing major, and with normal filtration things clear up in no time.

I don't rinse my substrates anymore (incl. Flourite), the trick is to fill the tank so slow that there is absolutely no water movement within the substrate. I use a little sponge when dripping in the first gallon, once there is some water in it you can get creative, but slow is the key.

 

[jebarj90]

Im sorry to here about that. I dont know much about the topic but I just wanted to welcome you to The Planted Tank!!!

 

[retoid]

you'll probably want to run your tank a couple weeks before adding anything cause you wont be able to see much until then hehe.

Flourite is super messy. Always rinse it then rinse it again and when you think you got it all, dont trust yourself and rinse it one more time.
I found the best method was putting the flourite into a metal strainer and rinsing very good, stirring it up to make sure it all gets rinsed. Like for a good solid 5-10min.

If you need to add more flourite to a tank that has water in it you can scoop your rinsed flourite with a cup and then slowly submerge it into the water so the cup is always verticle, then tip it slightly so the water starts to fill the cup but very little at a time, this way it will fill the cup with water without spreading the flourite all over and causing more cloudiness, then you can pretty much move the cup underwater freely and dump it into the desired location.

 

[dovla]

Thanks for the replies guys. You are brewing excellent site here, the best.

unirdna, learning now that that water stuff isn’t so good, I feel better.

Wasserpest, I like your second solution, but is that Flourite dust good for plants? And even after it settles down at the bottom of the tank, will it always cloud the water during siphoning or (re)planting? If so, since I haven’t planted anything yet, it might be better if I just scoop-out everything and rinse it really well.

My only substrate experience was with Eco-complete inside Eclipse-6 (four-five years now, fitted with 28W light, Eheim Ecco, Hydor 200, IceProbe, pressurized CO2, EI, …).
Btw, this new Eco-complete is almost like a sand compared to the old one that I had since 2003.
I’ll check LFS for diatom filter tonight, as I need python asp, because this 20 g. isn’t going to work with buckets, but how does one condition the water without bucket?

Guys, sorry for my poor English.

 

[dufus]

You can buy clarifiers that will clump the dust together and sink it, then siphon it, that's what i did.

 

[Wasserpest]

Wasserpest, I like your second solution, but is that Flourite dust good for plants? And even after it settles down at the bottom of the tank, will it always cloud the water during siphoning or (re)planting? If so, since I haven’t planted anything yet, it might be better if I just scoop-out everything and rinse it really well.

I think the Flourite dust is excellent for plants. Don't like flushing that goodness away. I don't siphon much, but if you do that during water changes it will not affect water clarity. Replanting isn't much of an issue either unless you pull out rootbound giant swords and such - yep, that will cloud the water. If you do that slowly, bit by bit, root by root, it will be very manageable.

But hey, if you want to rinse really well, go for it... peace of mind. roud:

 

[Gatekeeper]

another good trick for intial pour, pour your substrate in, then cover the substrate with the bag. Pour slowly right on the bag. thi also keeps the "dust" down.

 

[klintman]

i did not rinse the Flourite in my 46gal very well. 2 months later it still gets cloudy after every feeding. the 6 corys and in part 6 rosy barbs turn over the substrate quite a bit searching for tid-bits of fallen food after all the floating food and sinking pellets have been ravaged.

for my 20gal long i washed a bag at a time in a 5gal bucket. filling the bucket 3/4 of the way with water the flourite in i mixed it around considerably with my hand . clockwise, counter clockwise, and lifting up scoops toward the bottom letting them sift through my fingers. giving about 30 seconds or so for sandy an larger particles to settle i then dumped the murky water in the toilet. 5 or six times of this the water became noticeably clearer, but still cloudy.
took hours not days like the 46gal to clear up in the tank.

the guy at my LFS said this stuff would cloud up the tank like crazy at first...crazy cloudy is an understatement!