# cloudy water and flourite



## dschmeh (Feb 5, 2006)

Ive just setup a new tank with flourite washed it put it in tank filled tank had a little muddy water for a bit but that cleard right up . the problem im having is even when freshly filled after mud cleared, is milkey water. Its been up and running now for about 2 weeks but water is still milkey but getting clearer every day . The tank is now heavily planted its a 12 gallon with ah 36w retro and diy co2 with plants doing well and has a light fish load of 6 very small platties. but as of yet tank is not crystal clear. I dont belive its bacteria or due to cycle since its done it from day one. 
I belive its the flourite and our water is very hard . can this be iron precipitation due to hard water or phosphate . anyone else see this. Ive always done reef tanks with no problem but this is first tank using flourite and im thinking that may be cause of the problem.


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## krazykidd86 (Jul 27, 2005)

Could be. Do a water change and slowly fill the water in, and see what you get. If you get more cloudy water, then I would say it's a minor contributor.

Best of Luck! proud:

the KK


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

If the tank has only been set up two weeks and it's not green in color when placed into a white bowl or bucket (the water) then it's most likely a bacterial bloom.


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## dschmeh (Feb 5, 2006)

*day one*

its been that way since first filled doubt bacteria would bloom in a few hours.
its 12 gallon tank i just did a one gallon water change using distilled water and it immediatly cleared i suspect my city water is very hard and may have high phosphate causing iron to precipitate. 
more testing needs to be done.

anyone else have any ideas.


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## Guillermo (Dec 19, 2005)

Hey dschmeh I set up a 7 gal. -low tech-nano cube on Jan. 28th., and having the same issue with milky water (as a side note I rinsed the fluorite like mad before putting it in the tank, because it's my first time with this substrate) I've seen one snail growing in there already, and when I make small WC's the water is green-ish, and there's some green algae on the glass, so I don't think it's a bacterial bloom. I have never experienced this with regular gravel in other tanks.

I was thinking about making some WC's with RO bottled water to clear the tank, maybe this weekend I'll do it.

Cheers :thumbsup:


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## John S (Feb 27, 2004)

i would say its the flourite is it the red clay stuff??


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## dschmeh (Feb 5, 2006)

mines been up about 3-4 weeks now its a 12 gallon its been milkey from day one i dont belive its bacteria since its done it as soon as i filled it . it is getting clearer every day but still not crystal clear. i think its the flourlite . and or my water is very hard out of the tap and this may be causing precipitation. Ive started doing water changes with bottled water to see what happens. I also have never had this problem but im a reef guy and this is my first planted tank and also first time using flourite. let me know how you make out ill do the same.
Dave


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## Keck (Jan 18, 2006)

Our tanks our about the same age and I am using Flourite as well.

Did you wash it till it was clear? It took me forever to get the stuff to run clear and it still throws up dust. After tank maintance, it will get cloudy again until I run the diatom filter.

Do you have strong water flow over the substrate? I ask because I tried runing a bubble wand at night at the back corner of the tank and it kicked up the dust so bad that the diatom filter couldnt clean it until I turned it off.


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## dschmeh (Feb 5, 2006)

it never runs clear , its clay , the more you wash it the more dirt it makes but yes i rinsed it as well as i could i was gonna try a diatom filter to clear it then see what happens


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## fishwhisperer (Jan 8, 2006)

I have set up several tanks w/flourite and they always clear up within a day. The dusting lessens after several water changes if you cram the vac tube all the way to the bottom of the tank...obviously tuff if you plant grass or stem plants at the start. Also I wash mine is a cullinder very, very well, makes the wife happy and that stuff will plug up a garbage disposal in a hurry .


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

dschmeh said:


> it never runs clear , its clay , the more you wash it the more dirt it makes but yes i rinsed it as well as i could i was gonna try a diatom filter to clear it then see what happens



It's FIRED clay. So it doesn't make dirt when you wash it unless you are using a mixer to wash it.


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## dschmeh (Feb 5, 2006)

let me rephrase that then . when washing it the granuals rub together and produce more fired clay dust . I could not get it to rinse completly clear no matter how long i rinsed it.


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## Keck (Jan 18, 2006)

I thought it was like fired clay, but didn’t know it actually was. The stuff scratched the heck out of my bathtub so I know it’s not too soft or chalky.

Anyway, it’s a chore and I think Id rather wash…umm…anything else. However, I found the trick was to wash a little bit at a time (like 1/6 of a bag) in a 5 gal bucket. Rex had mentioned a paint strainer, but I couldn’t get my hands on one and had to adapt. It takes a while, but it will run pretty clear.

In any case, I know a sure-fired way to test if it is the Fluorite or not clouding your tank. Stick a magnet cleaner on the same side of the tank as the filter intake (or close to it). If its Flourite floating in the water, you will soon have a red/brown Fluorite film all over the magnet because the stuff is magnetic.


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## Ryzilla (Oct 29, 2005)

I washed 3 bags the other day. It took a long time but my goal wasnt to wash it clear. The goal was to rinse away the dust and thats it. I believe that washing it clear is a waste of time and possibly nutrients. I even put a bag of unwashed flourite mixed with laterite over peat moss as the first 2 layers. If you have a good filter there is no point (IMO) to wash it clear, just rinse it until the water is a light brown.


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## fishwhisperer (Jan 8, 2006)

Rex said:


> It's FIRED clay. So it doesn't make dirt when you wash it unless you are using a mixer to wash it.


Is this a man created process? I was thinking that it was natural.


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

http://seachem.com/support/FAQs/Flourite_faq.html


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## fishwhisperer (Jan 8, 2006)

Thanks Rex, I've looked at the Seachem sight for their bottle products but I didn't think about looking up flourite. Duh... .


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## Guillermo (Dec 19, 2005)

On Feb 15th. I made this shot of my nano.










Yesteday took this one (Sunday, Feb. 19) I changed the Java Ferns on Feb. 16th. (The other ones were very small)










It's been running since January 28th, and after some WC's, the water doesn't look crystal clear yet.

I don't worry about it, I'm sure it will clear up sooner or later, when it happens I will put some shrimp in the tank.

Cheers.


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## kristenferguson (Jan 14, 2019)

*super cloudy water! White fungus growing everywhere! *

Hey there
We just changed out our tank with the flourite substrate. We ended up keeping some of the gravel on the bottom and then layering the flourite substrate on top. We rinsed it 3-4 times and it was fine that night. Now it's SO cloudy I can barely see our fish  The tank is absolutely covered in this white fuzzy stuff. It's starting to grow on the fish and it's making me super worried. Does anybody know what to do?!


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## micheljq (Oct 24, 2012)

Flourite red is messy/dusty the first weeks. First time i did use it without rinsing but ended removing it, rinsing it to remove the most dust possible, then putting it again. It was quite fine thereafter, some dust that slowly disappeared with many water changes.

It is hardened clay and last forever. I still have it after 7 years. Many say it is costly but looking at the time it can last. I say it is not that costly.

Michel.


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## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

Hi @kristenferguson ! Welcome to the forums.

This thread is very old, you may have better luck getting a response posting your question as a new thread in the Fish subforum 

Cloudy water like that sounds like a bacterial bloom, which could have been caused by replacing a lot of your substrate.


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