# Flourite



## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

So on probably sunday I will be emptying my 75 gallon to add flourite. I wanted to check with the p-fury community on what I will be doing.
The first layer is going to be some gravel, I want to build some hills and such to give the ground some personality. Next layer will be flourite, I ordered 75 pounds from BigAls. Some site said that will give me between 2-2.5 inches of flourite. The last layer is going to be some of the old gravel, how deep should this layer be? Also I have to have a layer of something over the flourite, right?

I can't wait to do this, my plants are going to love me. I am going to carpet the tank with dwarf sag, line the back with contortion vals, have a few hygros, a java fern or two, and some java moss on my cork bark that I just got. I got a full cork tube and a half cork tube. I expect my tank to look amazing when it is all done.

Thanks for the help!


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

You don't need a layer over the fluorite, that's purely asthetic. What you should do with the fluorite though is have it on the bottom, underneath your gravel instead of the other way around. Fluorite is for the roots of your plants, and those roots grown down, not at the surface.

Sounds exciting man, can't wait to see what you produce







How much lighting are you looking at?


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

At the moment I have 2 wpg because I dont have co2. When I change the gravel I am going to take off my emp4 to get rid of all surface agitation so any co2 that I do have in the tank stays, at night I will run an airstone so there is not lack of o2. When I have the money for the co2 system, perhaps next month, I will up it to about 3.5 wpg.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

If you don't have CO2 injection, you don't need to worry about surface agitation since the levels in your tank are going to be more or less at equilibrium with the levels in the air. I wouldn't bother taking the emperor off, it will do more harm than good.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Ya, what he said..









No need to stop surface agitation at all until you are pumping in CO2.

I thought I would add regular gravel to my Flourite too, when I first went planted. For me it was a bad idea because I put the flourite on top.. It ended up on the bottom, all the bigger gravel worked it's way to the top..
Then I wanted to grow a thick carpet of hairgrass, and I spent weeks picking the bigger stuff out.
Then I just bought more flourite.. LOL


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

Just curious how you rinsed your flourite before you added it?
Thanks.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

I rinsed it a lot the first time, but you are really not supposed to. It is really cloudy and messy when you uproot plants, or shift it around, but that is how it is supposed to be. 
rinsing 4 or 5 X is plenty. then just put a bowl or a big plate in the tank and pour the water gently on that so it doesn't cloud up the water too bad. 
If it does, just leave it a few days, it will settle. Best thing to do is get your scaping right the first time


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