turface? retail stores? - Substrates

davemonkey · 11-03-2009, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vonjager

I had picked up some oil absorbant from Carquest and I couldn't get it to rinse anything clearer than hot chocolate. It would never clear up and I kept at it for weeks, rinsing more whenever I was on the front porch. I finally gave up and bought Turface, but this is a bi*** to get rinsed too. Although not quite as thick and cloudy as the oil absorbant, I have rinsed it about 20x's already. Do you all rinse this until it comes clear?

Maybe the oil absorbant is not fired clay, just dried. Turface is fired. Have you put it in your tank yet? If you put it in dry, plant, then fill up, there should be only a little cloudiness that clears up in a few days.

vonjager · 11-04-2009, 08:50 AM

I have another question, after doing more research, I see that a lot of people will do as you suggested of putting in the Turface and then planting and then the water. That is not a problem, but I also read that the Turface gets easier to work with once roots become established to kinda hold the Turface in place and prevent substrate movement and cloudiness. But if I am cycling my tank with a lot of bunch plants that I later plan on removing, won't yanking out those roots from the substrate cause a new set of problems and bring back the old set of problems? I was planning on putting some sand on top of the Turface to hold it down and make it easier to keep the plants in the substrate, but I will be making a big mess when I pull up the stem plants to make room for better plants, right? Then the sand will be infiltrated and I will have the Turface not holding the new plants in well and a cloudiness problem again, right? Is there a way around this?

bosmahe1 · 11-04-2009, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vonjager

I have another question, after doing more research, I see that a lot of people will do as you suggested of putting in the Turface and then planting and then the water. That is not a problem, but I also read that the Turface gets easier to work with once roots become established to kinda hold the Turface in place and prevent substrate movement and cloudiness. But if I am cycling my tank with a lot of bunch plants that I later plan on removing, won't yanking out those roots from the substrate cause a new set of problems and bring back the old set of problems? I was planning on putting some sand on top of the Turface to hold it down and make it easier to keep the plants in the substrate, but I will be making a big mess when I pull up the stem plants to make room for better plants, right? Then the sand will be infiltrated and I will have the Turface not holding the new plants in well and a cloudiness problem again, right? Is there a way around this?

The sand would eventually separate and settle to the bottom of the tank since it is smaller grains.