Seachem Flourite Black Clay Gravel - Stable Porous Natural Planted Aquarium Substrate 15.4 lbs

Yes, probably best to wash it... but honestly not the end of the world if you don't (unless you try adding it to an existing tank with no backup tank to put existing fish from that tank). It will take a couple of days for the dust to settle if you don't rinse it. And if you stir it up again by moving things or planting, it will take a couple more. However, over time, the dust settles down beneath the rocks and is harder to disrupt. I didn't wash mine on a new tank setup and it was barely cloudy for a few days. No fish went in right away so no problem. I think the dust is probably good for the plants since the smaller particles are easier to absorb than whole rocks. I got a second bag of the dark reddish flourite and put that into an existing tank and it got very cloudy, like a storm on Mars or something. Even that cleared up within about 36 hours. (I did have to relocate my fishes to other tanks though because I don't want them choking on the dust) I used the flourite as well as fertilizing tabs by seachern, and my plants are very healthy and grow very fast, including a nice thick carpeting of monte carlo. In contrast with another tank I have without "plant supporting" substrate, the tanks with the flourite grow plants much faster (with same brand lighting, and no Co2, just liquid fertilizer from seachern.) I'd recommend a light rinsing if you're in a hurry to get a tank setup, and definitely if you're adding it to an existing tank. The color is awesome and looks very natural, which is rare for a black substrate. I've bought a couple different brands I threw out because they just looked unnatural in black (one was obviously painted :/ ) So I really like this substrate and have already bought more. I think you'll like it too as long as you're prepared to let the dust settle over a few days. :D

We got this because the color is not supposed to fade. It is a naturally black gravel. It is not painted/coated like most colored gravels. It looks great in our glow tank. I highly recommend washing this gravel prior to use. Despite what it might say, it is very dirty right out of the bag. (We got 3 bags and all were dirty). If you desire quality black gravel, and have a little extra money to spend, this is for you.

Almost all the bad reviews related to this product refers to how dirty it makes your water. There is a simple remedy. 24hrs after filling my new tank with unwashed Flourite Black I had a crystal clear tank. Open bags and pour directly into an empty aquarium. Place all rocks, fixtures, decor and plants before filling. When it comes time to fill the tank you can't just stick a hose in at full blast or dump buckets of water into your tank. Instead trickle fill with a hose onto a plate, into a small bowl or over a large rock to disperse the water flow so it does not disturb the substrate. I personally used a pitcher to pour water into the tank. This takes a while but it is a lot less work than rinsing this stuff in a bucket multiple times only to find that the water is always cloudy when finished anyways. You will still get a rather cloudy water but all you have to do is run your filter for 24 hrs and then add the magic secret (Although you could probably use it immediately. I had to wait for Amazon to ship it to me the next day). I used a product called API Accu-Clear. You can buy it on Amazon for about $8 for an 8oz bottle, however it only takes 1/2 cap-full to treat a 50gal tank. You can find numerous other aquarium clarifiers on Amazon from other producers if you prefer, but I can only vouch for API since that is the one I used. 20 mins later you will have a crystal clear tank. The pictures attached show it's effectiveness.

So when I first decided to get some of seachem's flourite for my aquarium, I accidentally got the regular red/brown color instead of black. The bag had busted open in the box, so I was able to see what it looked like before returning. The flourite black is much finer particle size than regular. And quite finer that standard aquarium gravel. Idk how this will affect it being in the aquarium as substrate, but it did make it a pain to clean. So the directions on the bag suggest you rinse it. I would say rinsing it is a requirement. And because it is so fine, you'll need a fine mesh strainer for this. Get yourself 2 buckets. Dump all your gravel in one. Use a strainer to rinse it in the sink and then dump the clean gravel in the other bucket. Time consuming? Yes. But the water that came out of the gravel when I did this was a murky grey/black color. I definitely would not want this in my aquarium. I don't even want to imagine how many gravel vacs and water changes it would take to get out. Here is the detailed way I strained it. Once the water comes out clear from rinsing, I would shake/sift it around in the strainer. I discovered that a mess of tiny particles come out in the sink, see pics. So I would tip the strainer enough that I could use my hand and the water to get all those tiny particles off the bottom of the strainer. Be careful to not tip so much that your relatively larger sized gravel particles fall out of the top of the strainer. Then I sifted again and did this rinsing of the bottom of the strainer again. Like I said, it was time consuming. Also, if you don't want some of these super tiny particles going down your drain, I suggest getting a fine mesh sink strainer. I know my sink is already a little slow draining and needs the trap underneath cleaned out. So I wasn't terribly concerned about it. As far as quantity, I ordered three 15.4 lb bags. The first pic is how they look in a 55 gallon tank. I haven't properly leveled it out yet, but it is approximately 2 inches total, with 1 inch being visible above the frame. I would actually like just a little more than this. But my plan is to mix some regular aquarium gravel in with it for a pop of color. Though this level of gravel is fine for this tank. It is just a personal preference. And I almost just ordered 2 bags, but I don't think that would have been enough. Once I do add my colored gravel in and get it set up and going with my plants, I will update this review.

Easy to install just rinse let settle .

Produtos da marca seachem, vc pode comprar de olho fechado, pois até o momento, não conheço nenhum que seja ruim. Utilizo vários produtos da seachem, como ração clorella flakers, purigen, seagel, acid buffer, alkaline buffer, prime, stability, flourish e stress guard, todos muito bons e agora o substrato flourith black.

This is really good plants grow well and it does not make mess in tank like some others have put this in all my tanks

Used Flourite to replace 66% of the gravel in my 200l aquarium while the fish were in it. Washed the Flourite in colander till water was clear. 1) Removed plants and vacuumed old gravel. 2) Took out the gravel where the plants were (fish loved it, kept getting in the way, especially the guppies) this did cause murkiness. 3) Waited an hour for murkiness to subside, added the Flourite and it definitely did not add to murkiness. 4) Filled aquarium, ran filter for two hours, water quite clear. 5) Switch of filters, replace plants. 6) Switch on filters (2 internal canister filters and under gravel filter with 3 200l/h power heads). Two hours later water 90% clear, by morning glass clear. I also used the same batch of Flourite for a new 50l nano tank, zero murkiness. Have had aquariums for 30 years, used many gravels that I always pre-washed, so I can confidently state that the Flourite after washing is among the cleanest substrates. Fish all alive and well and plants definitely happier than in my old plain gravel.

I think the people that have written bad reviews due to cloudiness & wrecking their tank, probably just shouldn’t own fish, or have a tank. ANY GOOD fish keeper knows to rinse new things before putting it in your tank. It’s basic aquarium keeping 101. I rinsed it, which was barely an Inconvenience, it rinsed well & fast just in the sink with a strainer. & than I put it in the tank, & filled er up. Absolutely no cloudiness in the tank at all. Perfect black sand, can’t wait to put plants in! Will update my review once plants are in.