# Eco Complete Planted and Flourite Black



## fisherina (Jan 24, 2012)

I have some new bags of Eco Complete Planted and Flourite Black going into a new setup. Do they need to be pre-rinsed to get rid of dust etc. before going into the tank?


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Is the Eco the one that's packed wet? Seems to me there's one that's wet and one that's dry. Or there was. Oh well, anyway, if a substrate is wet packed, don't rinse. Usually, wet packed substrates have beneficial bacteria and perhaps other goodies in the water to aid cycling, so you would defeat the purpose of a wet pack if you rinse

If it's dry, like Flourite is, then yes, rinsing is necessary. They'll be much too dirty to use without rinsing first. I've used the sand type Flourite and it surprised me just how much muddy foam and fines were washing out, but eventually, the water ran more or less clear. The bit of clouding that remained cleared fast with floss in the filter. 

I think the new Flourite packages have some kind of mesh on the bottom so you can rinse right through the bag. Handy.

Btw, when you add the water to the tank with the substrate in there, it will help tremendously if you pour the water onto a plate or something like that, placed on top of the substrate in the tank. it will prevent the substrate from being stirred up by the water. Stirred up particles can sometimes cause a filter's impeller to jam, which is best avoided.


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## fisherina (Jan 24, 2012)

Thank you!


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