Freshwater sand wixed with flourite

[dolphinsrok]

Hello all, I stopped by my to buy more green cabumbas and maybe hornwort so I spoke to this guy who claimed he was the plant guru and I told him I'm currently using crushed coral (haven't added fish yet), He told me crushed coral will increase ph levels and strongly recommended to use flourite but I told him I wanted something white looking so he recommended a flourite/sand mix on the bottom (1 part sand, 2 parts flourite) then on top use a layer of sand only. Has anyone used sand in fw before? Would this combo prove to be successful?

[Drumachine09]

A TON of people use sand in aquariums. A layered substrate is a good idea if you don't like the look of the ideal substrate.

[Lady Hobbs]

Sounds like a plan but I doubt it will work. The sand will settle down under the flourite and you'll see only the flourite eventually. Especially with planting and moving things about. But, you do need to get rid of the coral substrate or will have such high pH you won't be able to have anything but some cichlids.

Especially if you have a smaller tank, there is no reason to bother mixing substrate.

[Nautilus29]

They make sand flourite now but it is black. You could use the sand flourite that way the sand doesnt settle under the regular flourite like lady hobbs is talking about.

[dolphinsrok]

Thanks everyone for all the good suggestions. I'll be searching for a good deal on sand and flourite tomorrow.

[smaug]

I use a very fine gravel mixed with fluorite.

[dolphinsrok]

got 2 bags of caribe sea sand today and 2 bags of fluorite, what I'll try to do is first a flourit layer then a layer of mixed flourite and sand and then a top layer of sand only. Need to rinse out the flourite real well, I heard it takes patience. I will post pix next week.

[A340]

There are many other plant substrates other than Flourite out on the market. Sera makes a good one called Floredepot ...

http://www.sera.de/index.php?id=301&L=1

... and is quite easy to find or order online. It gives a much more sandy looking bottom and can be layered better with sand than Flourite.

[xoolooxunny]

I have sand/carib sea on the bottom, and fluorite on the top, I really like the look of fluorite, so I'm in good shape.

Does anyone know if sand would settle below aqua soil? if not then you could use that on the bottom of the sand.

Otherwise, if all else fails, you could always use just sand and add fert. tabs regularly.

[A340]

I have sand/carib sea on the bottom, and fluorite on the top, I really like the look of fluorite, so I'm in good shape.

Does anyone know if sand would settle below aqua soil? if not then you could use that on the bottom of the sand.

Otherwise, if all else fails, you could always use just sand and add fert. tabs regularly.

I did like the look of Flourite at first, but now I find it just too red. At least now there are different Foourite products on the market such as Black and Sand.

I'll be using the Sera Floredepot on that 10g planted tank I'm planning. From what I've read, it's a much better product (nutrient wise) then Flourite and a lot cleaner.