# Planting in Flourite



## aanderson09 (Aug 7, 2005)

hi, I was wondering how to plant in flourite without agitating it too much. I recently put in 15lb flourite/20lb fine gravel, the dust has just recently settled down (4 days ago), I am planning to add plants in a few days and I am wondering how to plant them without agitating the flourite so the dust comes back out


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## bigstick120 (May 23, 2005)

if you are planting stem plants, tweezers would help. Did you rinse the florite before you put it in the tank?


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## aanderson09 (Aug 7, 2005)

yes I did use tweezers


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## azn_fishy55 (Dec 17, 2005)

Well I read an article on substrates in the Aquarium Fish Magazine and this technique is used by some famous planted tank enthusiast.According to the article plants are easier to plant when little or no water is present but the substrate is damp.It also allows the hobbyst to design the tank more artfully and rearrange decor without disturbing the substrate too much.I used this technique once and I really like the outcome of my tank.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

you are going to stur up some dust no matter what if u just added the flourite... but after a while ur filter will get it all out and it will settle to the bottom so maybe a week after you do your initial planting you could go back and move things around without so much fear of dust...

fn


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Again what I see as wrong or bad advice.

If you properly wash the Flourite you have no dust problems. I never have. If you just dump it in you will have problems for a very long time.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Rex Grigg said:


> Again what I see as wrong or bad advice.
> 
> If you properly wash the Flourite you have no dust problems. I never have. If you just dump it in you will have problems for a very long time.


maybe some bags have more dust than others? i thougholy washed mine and still had dust.. i took an 40 mins with a garden hose and the water was clear

then somehow when i put it in my tank there was dust? :icon_roll 

i dont understand how there was but lone and behold there was.. so some bags must be worse than others...

fish newb


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

Fish Newb said:


> maybe some bags have more dust than others? i thougholy washed mine and still had dust.. i took an 40 mins with a garden hose and the water was clear
> 
> then somehow when i put it in my tank there was dust? :icon_roll
> 
> ...


Fish Newb, were you just running the hose into the flourite? 

I dumped 1/2 a bag into a plastic tub, ran the water, and churned it by hand until the water ran clear (about 15 minutes), and no dust here.


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Sure some bags are have more dust than others. And I can wash at least 4 bags in 40 minutes.

In my Guide I have a method for washing Flourite. It works. I can't believe that no one seems to have tried it.

Maybe we need a sticky in this forum on HOW TO WASH FLOURITE


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

Sorry Rex, rinsed mine out before I read your site, but you can be [email protected] sure, I'm getting that paint strainer when I rinse more.


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## Don135 (Dec 6, 2005)

Hey Rex never fear I just finished rinsing and spreading 11 bags of Fluorite using your method. Thanks for the tip! Can't say I averaged 10 min/bag (OK 15-20 min. ) , but I'm sold and will use it from here on.

After seeing the thick sludge on the bottom from the first strainer I started dumping it into a bigger tub and just pumped it out into the yard with a garden hose. I didn't want that muck in my septic or drywell...lol

Don


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## Don135 (Dec 6, 2005)

You'd think after 11 bags I'd know how how to spell it!!!


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## hOAGART (May 13, 2004)

Rex Grigg said:


> If you just dump it in you will have problems for a very long time.



Sounds like an ancient Chinese Proverb


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## pretzelb (Nov 22, 2005)

Rex Grigg said:


> Maybe we need a sticky in this forum on HOW TO WASH FLOURITE


Not a bad idea. I was just looking for that exact information.


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## PHalas (Oct 27, 2005)

Have a 25 gal setup with about 3" of flourite, rinsed mine with the paint filter no probs with clouding, just find it difficult to plant!...even with tweezers, tends to pull the stem when extracting the tweezers.
Do other people have this prob or is it just me with lack of technique??


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## hOAGART (May 13, 2004)

nah, its just you lol

I think you are trying to be extremely careful with the plants and planting them. Dont worry, theyre tough. You can manhandle them a little.


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## shuks (Jul 10, 2005)

I fined that the real problem with fluorite is the muml getting stired up when you plant; not the fluorite dust. I've never used anyother substrate besides fluorite, but I'm guessing that the same thing applies to any substrate.


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## PHalas (Oct 27, 2005)

hOAGART said:


> nah, its just you lol
> 
> I think you are trying to be extremely careful with the plants and planting them. Dont worry, theyre tough. You can manhandle them a little.


Done okay with it but the technique I've adopted is kind of like a cat covering a turd, push the stem in with your finger & cover it up whilst holding it there. Which is alright but you tends to disrupt other plants in close proximity :icon_cry: 
I am going to be planting a large area W/ Glosso & I don't think my usual approach will get it....But I guess time will tell!!!

Apologies for Jacking the thread!!


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## Accident (Dec 12, 2005)

Rex Grigg said:


> If you just dump it in you will have problems for a very long time.


Not true. You will have problems for a long, long, long time! 
haha.
I didnt wash mine. (Flououourite). Cant remember the number of bags, like 8 or so into a 125 tank. I was so busy researching what to buy and having such a hard time aquiring it that I just dumped when I finally got it. I guess there is an up side. That sludge is in the bottom of the tank like a layer of red clay for the roots to get into. If thats a bad thing please dont tell me about it!!:redface: 
After planting a few plants or moving stuff it's cloudy for about a day. The powder seems to be getting mixed w/protiens and bacteria more now and the clouds are less severe when disturbed. I have about 600-800 gph filter system on it and it does a decent job. I wont add anymore to any tank w/out washing next time. Lesson learnt! (sp).
Fluorite Dumped by ME (Accident).


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

*5 gallon Paint Strainer*

Well I finally found it. I had to go to 3 different big orange places, but I finally got one. It wasn't what I expected. For those looking, It'a a giant nylon sock with elastic on the top that will fit a 5 gallon bucket. I'm almost looking forward to rinsing fluorite now.:icon_roll 

As far as planting, I use the technique that PHalas described for stems. Root feeders are a different story.


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Try a paint store. They always have them in stock. The BORG is highly over rated.


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## eds (Feb 12, 2003)

Instead of buying yet another aquarium-related product - a paint strainer, I just use a plastic colander/food strainer from my kitchen. 
Place the strainer over the top of a bucket, fill strainer with flourite, run the hose over it, stir the flourite with your hand and the hose while the bucket fills with water and sludge.
When the bucket is full, that strainer full is clean. Dump the flourite into another bucket, dump out the water, and start again.

I'm sure the paint strainer method works great. Just an observation on how i did it relatively painlessly with stuff I already had at home.


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

That will work. But the paint strainer is a pretty fine mesh. Much finer than you will find on the average colander. The advantage there is that you lose the dust but keep the fine particles.

Besides, if you ever do any painting around the house you do strain the paint don't you?


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## eds (Feb 12, 2003)

Rex Grigg said:


> Besides, if you ever do any painting around the house you do strain the paint don't you?


Gonna do the youngest's bedroom this weekend.
With new paint, is there a need to strain?
Never have before, and never noticed any problems.
And I've painted a number of rooms in my day.

Usually the only older paint I have cause to use is ceiling white, and if there is any question, it is pretty cheap to just buy new.
Lived in the previous house 10 years, and after painting the rooms, didn't have a need to repaint or touch-up.
Same with the present house going on 11 years.

What are the issues requiring straining?

Also, how easy is the strainer to clean and store?
Other than a few very old nice bristle brushes, I find it is often easiest to treat roller pads and some brushes as disposable. 
I would be hesitant to use something I had previously used for painting to clean substrate for my tank.
The colander, at least, goes in the dishwasher.

Not interested in a big debate - just curious.


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## cbennett (Oct 20, 2005)

Gah, I HATE HATE HATE planting stuff in flourite, everything seems to come right out again. I use some long curved SS tweezers which helps a lot but it's still not easy. Also, it helps to plunge the plant in with the tweezers, then when it's all the way down to open and shut the tweezers as you slooooowly remove the tweezers. YMMV. It's still a pain in the bootay.


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Mostly you should strain the paint if you are going to use a spatter gun. If you are using brushes or rollers you really don't need to.

The strainer(s) are easy to store. They are basically a large fine mesh bag. There are two sizes. One for 1 gallon cans and the other for 5 gallon cans.


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## edacsac (Nov 13, 2006)

tazcrash69 said:


> I'm almost looking forward to rinsing fluorite now.:icon_roll


I had fun rinsing it with the paint strainer.


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