Seachem Fluorite Red Clay Gravel, 7.7 lb

I've tried most of the Flourite varieties in a handful of different setups. Most recently I've re-scaped my 55-gallon planted tank and used 3 different Fluorite colors. I laid a base layer of Flourite Dark and then topped it with a two-tone of Flourite Black Sand and this Flourite Red. I think it's a really attractive and eye-catching contrast between both the color and granule sizes. Flourite Red is a burgundy red fracted clay gravel. The granule size is not consistent like a sand; it's very irregular but visually interesting. The red coloration is very natural appearing, exactly like a red clay that it's made from. It's similar to a red clay pot and appears much brighter under high light (obviously).One word of caution if you plan on using this, or any Flourite product, is that it absolutely, positively must be rinsed thoroughly unless you want your aquarium to look like a glass box of dirt. The bag claims it's pre-rinsed, and I'm sure it was once, but during transit all those pieces of clay knock around against each other and create a nice layer of dust inside the bag. The easiest way I've found to deal with this is to rinse it a pound or so at a time through a fine mesh sieve or colander. Some people rinse it in a bucket, which I've also done, but my experience there is that the 'muck' just settles to the bottom of the bucket rather than being washed away. When it comes to filling the tank afterward, add water slowly and pour over a bowl, plate, or rocks/wood/decorations in your tank to avoid kicking up any unwashed sediment.In terms of performance, it seems to work as well as any of the other Fluorite substrates I've used. My plants root in it easily and after an adjustment period of a few weeks they'll start sending runners/leaves/propagate. I've never run any high-tech setups but I do dose Green Leaf Aquariums micro and macro nutrients daily and use glutaraldehyde (Flourish) on a semi-weekly schedule. My plants seem happy and Flourite seems as though it's a healthy compromise between plain sand and a dirt substrate (which seems messy and problem-prone, but an overall superior solution).

I bought it for my 20 gallon tall tank. One 7.7lbs bag is almost enough but not enough. I wish I got two bags. However, this substrate needs a thorough wash before being added to the tank. And even after three good washes, it will still color your tank's water and filter. My water was blurry for a day after three good washes, and I had to change the filter by the end of the week. But now that all is clean, my lucky bamboo loves the substrate. It's growing and thriving. I suppose my fish like it as well.

Okay, so the first thing to know about this (or probably any) fluorite is that when the directions say to rinse it they don’t just mean a quick going-over under the faucet. Or even a half hour of rinsing under the faucet. I spent about a half hour rinsing this in a large strainer over a bucket and I thought it was good to go, but when I put it in the tank it left red sediment EVERYWHERE. The filter cleared it up after a day or 2, but there was still red sediment left sitting all over my plants, the tank walls, etc. & anytime the fluorite would get disturbed even a little bit it would release a mushroom cloud of red sediment that would darken the entire tank again. I got tired of this so I decided to start over. I removed the fluorite, cleaned the tank, rinsed my plants, and began rinsing the fluorite one cup at a time. I would rinse while turning/stirring it until the water ran clear. This took me about an hour or more. The fluorite looks noticeably different now - you can see color variation in the rock. There is zero sediment or cloudiness in the tank & everything looks great! I can dig down into the fluorite and it does not release any sort or cloudiness into the water anymore! I’m super happy about this product. I know some people argue that leaving the sediment there & letting it settle is the way to go b/c the sediment has beneficial nutrients yadda, yadda, yadda, but in my opinion it isn’t worth the trade off for a tank that always looks nasty. Thoroughly rinsed fluorite still has plenty of benefits & it looks amazing too!

I have this in my already established aquarium and am setting up a new one so bought more. The color is great and the plants love it. However, I forgot how terrible it is to rinse this. I could have provided water to a small village or a hundred camels with the amount of water you have to use to rinse this and even then the water is cloudy. I rinsed and thought I was good only to put it in my tank and add water and just have total instant cloudy water. Took all 30 something gallons of water out, removed gravel, and rinsed again...still have cloudy water but it is what it is and hopefully it will settle after a couple of days.

Does require some rinsing but is definitely worth it, and I would certainly buy again. It is beautifully textured and I have found success with most plants growing in it as well.

This one is hard to rank. It looks great and keeps my plants healthy, but getting it clean enough to go into an aquarium in rough. Like, spend over an hour rinsing handfuls in tub / with garden hose only to get it in the tank and its still cloudy as hell. It is absolutely ridiculous how much effort this requires to use. Even after you get it as clean as you can, expect to increase the amount of water you change each week for the next month or so before it finally clears up.But if it says anything about the substrate, I bought one bag in November & then bought two more larger bags this month as well. The cleaning process was still horrible & I am still waiting for the tank to become crystal clear like the first.