Gravel vac with Fluorite?

Question

I've had a tank setup with flourite for a couple weeks now, and there are some dead leaves on the substrate that are starting to decompose. Its flourite, which seems to be a very cloudy material anytime its disturbed. Should I use a gravel vaccum in it, or is there some other preferred method of cleaning a flourite substrate? Will the cloud forming nature of the flourite eventually go away the more I vac it? Does this remove nutrients for the plants?

Answer 1

I have a 20 g long with a substrate of mixed flourite and sand. I use a gravel vacuum to clean it and although some of the finer particles (of both flourite and sand) come out, most doesn't. I have noticed no negative effects on my plants. Note that I put the sand (pool filter sand) on top of the flourite in order to subdue the cloudiness and it works well for me, even though the vacuuming process has mixed the two media quite thoroughly by this point.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 2

In my experience is works much like a lose laterite. It will become more dense with time, but will never be as firm as laterite. I never have had it get so dense that it would stand up to a gravel vac actually pushed into the gravel bed. That's assuming you placed it under the gravel or mixed it with your gravel. I have always done the former.