# Fluorite Rinsing



## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

Hi Everyone, 

I purchased a bag of red fluorite to add to my tank, unfortunately I wasnt even considering planting my tank until after I had set this tank up and putting fish in. 
So my question is, how should I add in this fluorite while there are fish in it already? How much to I rinse the fluorite, and how much should I add at a time? I read up on it and some people say it is very very dusty. I obviously cant wash it outside at the moment, all I can really do is use a bucket and a sink. 

Any thoughts on this?


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

So I rinsed just one bag of red fluorite for an hour until it was relatively clear... 
I put half of it in my tank that already has fish and plants in it, a handful at a time, and my water is dirty dirty brown... 
It is so cloudy that I cant even see through it and the fish are gasping... I'm basically really worried, and I want to know if this is going to kill all the fish in my tank. D=

Or if the dust particles are harmless or will get cleared out by the filter in time....??


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

Wow I wish I had seen this earlier...

and that it wasnt winter... =(

http://www.vickisaquaticplace.com/fluorite.html


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Kerohime said:


> So I rinsed just one bag of red fluorite for an hour until it was relatively clear...
> I put half of it in my tank that already has fish and plants in it, a handful at a time, and my water is dirty dirty brown...
> It is so cloudy that I cant even see through it and the fish are gasping... I'm basically really worried, and I want to know if this is going to kill all the fish in my tank. D=
> 
> Or if the dust particles are harmless or will get cleared out by the filter in time....??


If the fish are gasping, you need to act fast -- change some water and do your best not to stir up the bottom. Repeat until the fish stop gasping. One the fish stop showing signs of distress, i.e. are acting normally, what you've got is mostly a cosmetic problem.

Once the fish are okay, reduce turbulence from your filter, especially at the bottom levels, so that the heavier sediment has a chance to sink into your existing substrate. Get some polyester batting or polyester fiberfill. The former is used to make quilts or to wrap around foam pillows under the sewn on cover, and the latter is used to stuff pillows or toys. You can get both at fabric stores like Fabricland or places like Walmart or Zellers that have a sewing or crafts department. Put a wad of either in your filter, and rinse it out frequently. It should trap fine particles. If your filter is hard to add random media to, you can rubber band some batting or fiberfill around the intake. Don't pack the stuff tight -- you want it loose so water can flow through it.

I use Turface which is basically Flourite but of more uniform color and grain size, as well as vastly cheaper. It's used to spread on athletic fields to absorb rainwater before a game, or as a soil additive for heavy soils. My experience is the same as in the article, and I've come up with more or less the same process -- wash out the loose stuff but stop before you're mostly grinding the grains up.

Btw, in future, if you can't wash the stuff outdoors, it's best to pour the wash water down the toilet instead of the sink, since a toilet has a much bigger trap that is less likely to get clogged.

I hope this helps. Let us know what happens.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

It just occurred to me that your fish may be gasping because the filter is clogged with sediment. Check the flow on the filter and clean it if that's the case.


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

thanks for the response!

The fish arent really gasping anymore, and its settled down some. but not enough for me to start putting my plants back into the substrate... I cant see much. And even the planting processes is redistributing the dust around. I think I'll do a water change (30%) and see what happens tomorrow morning. 

The fish are swimming around doing their thing at this point, so I'm not that worried.


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