# Substrate causing murky water?



## CeeEssGee (May 15, 2014)

I finally bought my 10G tank. We purchased another betta and have had him in his 2.5g where he has been quite happy (he is VERY active).

My plan was to get this tank cycled and to lay the groundwork so that we can potentially do more things later on such as put in tank mates and plants without having to change the substrate.

So when I went to Big Al's I told him that I wanted a substrate that I can use for plants in the future, and would also be okay for Cory Cats (one of the three fish (Neon Tetras and Danios were the others) that we were looking at as tank mates). I said I didn't want any substrate that changed the pH or leaked anything, because I really want something easy to use, even if it happens to be more expensive. He suggested Fluval Stratum, and said it would be perfect.

It said rinse gently, although to be honest I don't really know if how we rinsed it could be considered gentle. Regardless, we rinsed it, and put it in the tank, and then put the tap water in. We tried putting a plate over it to stop the dispersion but since we only had one small clean plate (we're getting married soon, it is a busy time), it didn't do much. The water was completely black last night. I didn't turn the filter on because I figured that it would be better to let the water settle a bit. The package says it would clear up within a "few hours." 

Well, this morning, about 12 hours after adding the substrate, it had cleared up significantly but was still quite murky; I could barely see from one side of the tank to the other. I did turn on the filter this morning hoping that may speed things up, but I hope I will not come home to find a clogged filter!

Is this normal? 

Am I going to have to deal with this as a problem every time I change the water and/or use the gravel suction?

Was the person at BA's completely lying when he said this doesn't change the pH? It seems like some reviews online of this product state that it absolutely lowers the pH. I'm worried about that, because both the water at Big Al's and the tap at my house has pH around 7.8-8.0, and the fish have become used to that.

If I were to use a sandy substrate (which is supposed to be ideal for Corys) would I also have this same problem with murkiness? Will that limit my choice of plants?

I don't currently have the lighting for a heavily planted tank, but figured in the future I may change that. For now I'm sure the most I can put in there is some java ferns/moss, and maybe an anubia. Should I just scrap the plant specific substrate idea until I am a more seasoned aquarium aficionado? I am really trying to just make things easy for me, and figured a few plants would be nice and would also improve the health of the ecosystem.

Finally, if the Fluval stratum is a poor choice for me, does anyone want to buy some gently used? I bought two 2kg bags of it for about $30, and would be willing to part with it for a fraction of that if someone is in the area.


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

CeeEssGee said:


> I finally bought my 10G tank. We purchased another betta and have had him in his 2.5g where he has been quite happy (he is VERY active).
> 
> My plan was to get this tank cycled and to lay the groundwork so that we can potentially do more things later on such as put in tank mates and plants without having to change the substrate.
> 
> ...


Okay so to try and answer everything:

- Yes this is a good substrate for plants/your fish selection. 
- Yes it's normal to be cloudy, you should turn on your filter and clean the sponge after 6 hours more or less and keep doing this until your tank is clean. If you let all the debris settle to the bottom than anytime you go to plant or when your corycats are swimming around they are going to make large clouds. 
- Yes it is going to lower your PH a little bit, but that shouldn't be a problem as you have really high PH right now anyway. There are only a handful of plants which thrive at a PH of roughly 8 (hard water). There are a lot more plants which will do better in the 6.5-7.5 range, so your options have increased. 
- CO2/Ferts/"Special Lighting" is not needed for a successful planted tank, many people have planted tanks with no ferts, co2, or good lighting yet beautiful layouts. 
- You didn't mention your bulb situation but if it's a possibility then use 13w screw in bulbs on your hood for the 10g (if it's the model that takes screw in CFL's). If not then let us know what kind of lighting you do have. 
- You have many options for plants from any anubias, ferns, crypts, some stem plants, mosses etc, I'd basically try everything which isn't high light/co2 demanding.

Not sure if I missed anything but good luck!


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## CeeEssGee (May 15, 2014)

I will check when I get home but the light is LED and they mentioned at the store that it is unlikely to be good enough for most plants. It is in the 10G marineland starter set. I figured that the light/hood is something really easy to change if I needed to.. but substrate is a bit more tricky once the tank becomes established.

I realize I have a high pH, but at the same time, the fish and plants in my area have all become accustomed to a high pH and hard water. I worry that a sudden drop in pH will make it more acidic than the fish are used to.

If I do continue to use this stuff, do I have to treat it like sand when vacuuming it, or can I just treat it like gravel?


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Sounds like you didn't quite rinse it enough. I haven't used this particular substrate myself.

Unless your fish are extremely sensitive and absolutely require a specific ph, I wouldn't worry about it. Those that use co2 have their tanks shift ph every day with no problems


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

CeeEssGee said:


> I will check when I get home but the light is LED and they mentioned at the store that it is unlikely to be good enough for most plants. It is in the 10G marineland starter set. I figured that the light/hood is something really easy to change if I needed to.. but substrate is a bit more tricky once the tank becomes established.
> 
> I realize I have a high pH, but at the same time, the fish and plants in my area have all become accustomed to a high pH and hard water. I worry that a sudden drop in pH will make it more acidic than the fish are used to.
> 
> If I do continue to use this stuff, do I have to treat it like sand when vacuuming it, or can I just treat it like gravel?


Ahh Okay I know the light you're referring too, I would switch it out for a simple CFL light, you can get them at walmart for 8-9$ a piece.

I think you're fine with the substrate and wouldn't worry so much about the PH drop. Realistically if you're at 8.0 it'll probably drop to 7.5 or a bit lower but that's still a neutral PH. 6.5 would be acidic and the fish probably couldn't handle such a large swing like that in one day, but from 8.0 to 7 or 7.5 they will be fine, as will the plants.

I used to live downtown in Cabbagetown and we had very very hard water, 8.2+ mostly, and I kept a WIDE variety of plants in my tank and even plants that shouldn't have been kept in such a high PH. Anyway, when I moved back to Brampton the PH at my place is 7.5, all the fish I transferred and plants did perfectly fine and within a week I had the PH down to 6.5 because of my CO2.

Like Pyrrolin has mentioned, I wouldn't worry about it so much.


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

Stupid instruction on the Fluval soil. You should not rinse it as that is one way to make sure your water will be cloudy. I helped Shrimp Fever with the new store set up and a lot of tanks use stratum. I did like the OP and put a saucer in to start filling. Tommy stopped me and I will be honest the water was already pretty murky with only about a gallon of water having gone in. He showed me how to cover all of the substrate with plastic then fill the tank. Crystal clear water from the get go using his method. Your substrate will not drop the PH much or quickly. Do NOT vacuum it. Just run your syphon lightly across, but not touching or disturbing the substrate. If you try and vacuum it deep down like gravel it will go up the tube and out and make the tank so cloudy you will be back to day one. Disturb it as little as possible. Also while your tank is cycling you will need to keep an eye on ammonia. Stratum releases a lot in the first few weeks.


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## CeeEssGee (May 15, 2014)

Really, it releases ammonia? It seems like all of the reviews say it doesn't at all, but only affects the pH/hardness. I will have to test for that.

So at this point, since I have already screwed everything up by rinsing and putting the water in too violently, will it ever clear up? Should I just restart, dry the stuff out in the sun, and do it right? Since I won't even have plants in there probably for another 4 months, should I even bother with this stuff?

I am starting to think I just want to put in some form of gravel to make things easier. I don't need a substrate for java ferns/moss.

I also don't like the fact that I can't use the gravel vacuum in the substrate directly, because my Betta loves to swim up to the vacuum. The only way I can keep him away from it is digging it under the gravel.


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

The filter will eventually clear it up, but you need to clean the sponge part out frequently. I use potting soil in pots capped with gravel to plant my plants in.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Just leave it and if needed to gentle water changes and keep the mechanical filter cleaned and it should be fine soon


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