# Fluval shrimp stratum



## ddrfreak_tung

Mine did the same, it'll clear up


----------



## somewhatshocked

It's little pellets of dirt. Of course it's going to turn to mud if you work it up.

Don't mean to sound like a jerk but rinsing it doesn't solve any problems. Just placing it in your tank and then SLOWLY adding water will solve the problem. There's not a real need to rinse it over and over like some cheap gravel.

It's the same with any fragile planted substrate. (Fragile in that it's not going to hold up like Eco-Complete)


----------



## CrazyCatPeekin

I rinsed mine lightly when I first got it before adding it to my tank. Even adding water gently, it still kicked up quite a bit. But it settled and has gone through some moving of plants around without any further issues. I just treated it more gently than my other substrates and I don't have any problems.


----------



## Lesley

Ok, I understand. I read the bag before adding to my tank, it said to rinse it which I did & it's still very cloudy when I move it around planting plants ect..... I'll get used to it like you guys have. Thanks for the info.


----------



## Dave-H

I poked a bunch of tiny holes in the bag, and run it under the sink for a few minutes just to get rid of the really loose particulate. Then dropped it in very slowly, still in the bag, and gently laid it on the bottom. Then I let it settle for an hour, and used scissors to cut open the bag (already on the bottom) and gently spread it out. Still it bit of mucky water, but not too bad.


----------



## dmattbfan5

*fluval ebi stratum = mud*



Dave-H said:


> I poked a bunch of tiny holes in the bag, and run it under the sink for a few minutes just to get rid of the really loose particulate. Then dropped it in very slowly, still in the bag, and gently laid it on the bottom. Then I let it settle for an hour, and used scissors to cut open the bag (already on the bottom) and gently spread it out. Still it bit of mucky water, but not too bad.


 
This is a great idea. Thanks! I just logged in to see if anyone had this same problem because I just got my first two bags today to fill my 10 gal also. I too read the bag (crazy that I actually tried to follow directions!) and it just turned to mud when i rinsed it also. I have two bags though, so now I know what to do for the second one thanks to Dave! I bought two 4.4 lb bags to fill a standard 10 gal just so I could attempt an iwugami setup with alot of depth. We'll see how it turns out. I also de-rimmed a standard 10 gal tank for this project to see how it would turn out. Filled it with water yesterday to the brim and no leaks. Wish me luck! I'll add photos later.


----------



## mordalphus

DO NOT, and I have to say it again, DO NOT rinse fluval stratum. 

Cut open the bag, pour it into the bottom of your tank, the put the empty bag on top of the substrate. Then pour the water from your bucket or hose right onto the empty bag which is resting on the substrate. The bag takes the brunt of the stirring force, and the tank stays uncloudy.

When you rinse it first, it 'pre-stirs' the substrate, and things get messy.

I know the directions say to rinse it, but I'm still unsure of why, it only seems to exacerbate the cloudiness issues.


----------



## soc200

Yep...made the same mistake the "first" time. cloudy mess for 48 hours. Since then, I've just poured it in lightly. then I just put a plate in the middle of the tank and pour the water onto the plate...turned out much better that way.


----------



## umdterps96

i agree with mordalphus...ive never rinsed it and i have never had problems with it


----------



## Alaizabelle

I, for one, adore this substrate! I've done tests with identical tanks save for the substrate, and shrimp populations were wildly different very quickly (exploding with the fluval, slow to grow with regular gravel)

The first time I rinsed it gently... cloudy mess. Now I just place the substrate in dry, then gently fill the tank with water. Crystal clear every time


----------



## zdnet

mordalphus said:


> DO NOT, and I have to say it again, DO NOT rinse fluval stratum.


IME, by NOT rinsing the Fluval stratum, the water nitrate level remained very high, around 10 ppm.


----------



## zdnet

soc200 said:


> Yep...made the same mistake the "first" time. cloudy mess for 48 hours.


Right after setting up a tank with Fluval Stratum, I added the Hagen Quick Filter to deal with the cloudy water. Within hours, the water became crystal clear.


----------



## somewhatshocked

zdnet said:


> IME, by NOT rinsing the Fluval stratum, the water nitrate level remained very high, around 10 ppm.


That's not that high...?

Especially in a planted tank.


----------



## zdnet

somewhatshocked said:


> That's not that high...?
> 
> Especially in a planted tank.


The nitrate measurements of my planted tanks typically show zero.


----------



## mayanjungledog

umdterps96 said:


> i agree with mordalphus...ive never rinsed it and i have never had problems with it


Did the same with no issues, no cloudiness. Particles will get stirred up when you plants, rescape, etc., but it quickly settles and the water clears.


----------



## Danimals

mordalphus said:


> DO NOT, and I have to say it again, DO NOT rinse fluval stratum.
> 
> Cut open the bag, pour it into the bottom of your tank, the put the empty bag on top of the substrate. Then pour the water from your bucket or hose right onto the empty bag which is resting on the substrate. The bag takes the brunt of the stirring force, and the tank stays uncloudy.
> 
> When you rinse it first, it 'pre-stirs' the substrate, and things get messy.
> 
> I know the directions say to rinse it, but I'm still unsure of why, it only seems to exacerbate the cloudiness issues.


I've always rinsed my FSS through a kitchen strainer and found that it helps reduce the amount and duration of murkiness significantly. You just can't shake it up or disturb it too much while it's rinsing, just tilt the strainer from side to side to make sure all the dirty water properly drains.


----------



## Lesley

How does Fluval Shrimp Stratum measure up to Flourite by Seachem as far as for Live Plants? Is there the same nutritional values in Fluval? I have FSS in my 10 gallon soon to be shrimp tank with plants....... The plants don't look any better than when I put them in there two weeks ago...... They are not dying but they aren't looking to be growing either. Do I need to does with Excel? Thanks for any help.


----------



## jkan0228

Plants not growing isn't gonna be the FSS's fault. Start by looking into your lighting co2 and ferts.


----------



## jkan0228

zdnet said:


> The nitrate measurements of my planted tanks typically show zero.


How do dose your tank? Since if it just like fish load or flourish. It's not gonna raise it by much.


----------



## zdnet

I do not dose my tanks. Since I was setting up the tank trying to house some shrimps from another tank whose nitrate was zero, I tried to have the new tank's nitrate be zero to reduce any shock to the shrimps. I even temporary moved some plants from other tanks to the new tank trying to reduce the nitrate. But it stayed at 10 ppm for more than a week - suggesting that Fluval Shrimp Stratum continued to release more nitrate than was being used up by the plants. Eventually I re-did the tank by rinsing the substrate. Of course, the nitrate went down to zero.


----------



## Alyssa

The directions TELL you to rinse - so that was what I did. But the water cleared up really fast and I'm used to having to wait for the water to settle when setting up a new tank, I'm never expecting the water to be crystal clear from the get go even when the tank is completely empty lol.


----------



## zdnet

Alyssa said:


> The directions TELL you to rinse - so that was what I did.


I KNEW that. If you read other postings here, you will see that others used it without rinsing. And I was trying to avoid having to deal with the cloudy water by skipping the rinse. By not rinsing, the water did not get cloudy at all.




Alyssa said:


> But the water cleared up really fast and I'm used to having to wait for the water to settle when setting up a new tank, I'm never expecting the water to be crystal clear from the get go even when the tank is completely empty lol.


Quick Filter gives you crystal clear water.


----------



## Alyssa

zdnet said:


> I KNEW that. If you read other postings here, you will see that others used it without rinsing. And I was trying to avoid having to deal with the cloudy water by skipping the rinse. By not rinsing, the water did not get cloudy at all.
> Quick Filter gives you crystal clear water.


Um I wasn't replying to _your_ last post zdnet - or I would have quoted yours specifically (as I did here). My post merely landed after yours and my comments were a general statement referred solely as to why *I* chose to rinse. Nothing more than that.

And with my local water - it's NEVER going to be clear straight out the gate without doing *something* to it. Thus I never expect it.


----------



## zdnet

Alyssa said:


> Um I wasn't replying to _your_ last post zdnet


Thank you for the clarification.


----------



## jkan0228

Let's take it down a knock. :biggrin:
I'm sure like many others that used it, didn't rinse it at all and my water was barely cloudy and clear within 30 mins. But that probably due to the amount of flow I have in my tank.


----------



## Orion

My $.02 worth of experience...

Got an Ebi tank back in the summer, rinsed it and the water was cloudy for a few days. Just added an 8 lbs bag to my Mr Aqua 7.5 gallon, I didn't rinse it at all and with in a day it was back crystal clear, and replanting doesn't disturb the cloud of doom any more than in the Ebi tank that I did rinse. 

The Mr Aqua tank was already an established tank and in moving out the old substrate it got impossibly cloudy just from that before I added the FS. I took a cup full right out of the bag, then slowly allowed tank water to pour into the cup, then gently poured it out on the bottom of the tank. 

I am pretty fond of the FS.


----------



## bsmith

Orion said:


> My $.02 worth of experience...
> 
> Got an Ebi tank back in the summer, rinsed it and the water was cloudy for a few days. Just added an 8 lbs bag to my Mr Aqua 7.5 gallon, I didn't rinse it at all and with in a day it was back crystal clear, and replanting doesn't disturb the cloud of doom any more than in the Ebi tank that I did rinse.
> 
> The Mr Aqua tank was already an established tank and in moving out the old substrate it got impossibly cloudy just from that before I added the FS. I took a cup full right out of the bag, then slowly allowed tank water to pour into the cup, then gently poured it out on the bottom of the tank.
> 
> I am pretty fond of the FS.


Cant think of any other way to get a hold of you since I have sent multiple pm's about he tpn+, maybe your notifications aren't turned on. 

Please pm me about it so I can get the ball rolling and get the tpn+ paid for and on its way here. 

My apologies to the OP. :thumbsup:


----------

