"Dukester" Spaketh Thusly:

I am setting up a live plant aquarium. I put 45 pounds of Flourite in
a 26 gallon bow front tank. I dont think I cleaned the Flourite good
enough cause my water is now the color of Chocolate Milk. Practically
zero visibility. How long will this last? Is it better if I just turn
off the filters to let the particles settle? Right now I am just
running a whisper power filter.. I already turned off my Fluval 204.
Any help would be appreciated...
As already suggested, if possible, siphon it out. If you can run a hose to
fill and a siphon vac at the same time, that would be the easiest way to do
it. If you set it up carefully you can leave both running and just go back to
stir it up occasionally.
If you can't siphon it all out, I suggest emptying out all the expensive media
in your Fluval and putting in something like floss. Plan on changing it very
often at first, perhaps twice daily to start, and it'll slowly clear up. You
can agitate it to get out more now, or put up with a big cloud of it every
time it gets disturbed for a time, your choice.
I did the same as Liz and used the cartridge in a Magnum 350 and it was clear
within a day - but that was after a thorough cleaning before it even got into
the tank.

Cleaning Flourite properly is neither a skill nor a science. Rather, it's a
cross between Art and Black Magic. Google this group for "cleaning flourite"
and you'll find many good ideas that have been presented over the years to
make it somewhat easier next time. Most involve fine strainers, incredibly
large amounts of water, and the Flourite added a little at a time.


--
Bill H. [my "reply to" address is real]
www.necka.net
Molon Labe!