Flourite question

[swalke2]

So I replanted my tank yesterday (pic to follow) removing the old blue gravel and replacing with Black seachem flourite. I rinsed the flourite the best I could without washing it all down the sink, added to tank, bit of water, then plants then filled the tank by adding water on a peice of driftwood to keep from stirring up the sand.

Water was real cloudy and I know that it will take 2 -12 hours to clear, but I am wondering a few things.

1) tank looks clear but still cloudywhite, I think there is still particles floating refracting the light, should this clear?

2)there is alot of "dust" on the plants, seems when I knock the dust off it stirs the tank back up again and falls right back on the plants...is this a neverending battle I am facing?

3)there is alot of black debris floating around the top edge of the tank, whats the best way to get rid of it or is this also a common on going problem with flourite.

Any advice about using flourite would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

 

[hn1]

Lots of filter floss and time seems to be the only thing that works for flourite. The dust can be vacuumed off the leaves. Extra water changes will be a good thing until all is settled.

 

[swalke2]

Filter floss is a new one to me (as most things in this hobby) The how-to looks like I just float some of this stuff in my tank??? How often do I replace? it just floats?

 

[hn1]

Just pack it into your filter. It will remove the fine suspended particles. Just rinse when dirty and reuse.

 

[swalke2]

Thanks, Ill give it a shot

 

[acroholic]

A cheap source of this is Wal Mart 100% polyester pillow filler material, in the crafts section at Wal Mart.

Just make sure is says 100% polyester. Same thing as what you buy for a higher price in the pet shops.

 

[dragoon]

Agreed Filter floss works wonders and yes at walmart you can get 20 times what you would at teh fish store by getting the pillow stuffing. Also you can drop all of the particles out of solution using a flocculant (not flatulant very different ) I've used Seachems Clarity and it works pretty well. There are a variety of organic polymers out there that coagulate small partical into clumps in which your mechanical filters can pull out more effectively.

 

[rasbora]

I've always just used the pillow stuffing from walmart, works great like the others mentioned for clearing out the water. With fluorite I've gotten it used from someone who had it in a tank for about 3 years, and still had the major dust clouds happening whenever I disturbed the substrate too much. Usually just takes a few hours to clear up, or maybe up to a day.

 

[jead85]

+1 on the Seachem Clarity, works wonders. I did not wash my flourite, and it cleared it up in hours.