How to set up Flourite for your plant tank

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

Every so often someone complains about the dust/fines from Flourite. A
simple rinse 3x in a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 a bag at a time with some swirling
should remove all you need to worry about.
You do not need to rinse it completely clear/clean. 3x is enough.

To the bottom of the bare tank add: detritus/mulm from an established tank,
roughly about 1/4 liter wet per sq.ft. This is the wet "dirt" left on the
bottom of a water change bucket after vacuum the gravel.  You wait about 2-5
minutes and pour off the clear water, save the wet soupy stuff and addf this
to the bottom of the new tank. Next add ground peat, like Scott's brand etc
from a nursery, about one handful per sq ft. 2-3x this amount of both mulm
and peat if you plan on a non CO2/carbon enriched tank.

Mix with about 1 inch of flourite well. Cap this with 2 inches or more of
flourite. 3 inch if non CO2 tank. Same procedure for Onyx.

You can get mulm from another tank if you own more than one, a buddy's tank,
a LFS's tank etc. Any FW tank will do.

Regards, 
Tom Barr