I had to rebuild my tank and instead of using laterite I choose to use
flourite. For the first 2 months I hated it and wanted to throw it away. It
is very messy because it's a clay and there is like 9 pounds of dust per 10
pounds of flourite. Well ok, maybe not that bad but.. This dust would
destroy the water clarity everytime a fish got spooked or any bottom feeders
whirled over the bottom looking for food.

Anyways, after vaccuming it with your standard water change tube for a few
weeks I finally got all of the dust out of the substrate. And now it doesnt
mess anything up and I love it.



"LM" wrote in message
...
HI all,

another newbie question..

I keep reading references to fluorite substrates for plants. I've read
through the FAQ and couldn't find the benefits.

can a kind soul care to educate a newbie on this obviously common
knowledge
item? Right know I have pea-sized gravel, but I probably need to add a
bit
more substrate material to increase the thickness.. so might as well add
something that is more beneficial.

thanks for any info.

linda