Cleaning Seachem Flourite

[Marala]

Well this is going to sound odd, but I cleaned the gravel well and then left it in a bucket beside the fish tank it was going to be in. It has been that way for a few weeks and a few days ago I noticed that it looked wet. Upon closer inspection I found that my dumb cats had thought that it was kitty litter and had peed in it. Needless to say I was about to strangle them especially because the gravel costs so much. What I want to know is if there is any point in trying to clean the gravel(if so how) or if it has already absorbed the pee and I should just buy another bag.

 

[YuccaPatrol]

Definitely do not buy another bag. Just rinse it all over again. The only real danger is that the pee contains ammonia.

If you are beginning a new aquarium and are doing a fishless cycle, I'd take advantage of the free ammonia and just toss it into the tank.

 

[Marala]

What about the smell? Will it affect the water?

 

[kuzikan]

it shouldn't smell if you rinse it off enouph.

 

[justintoxicated]

lmao but it really is kinda funny

 

[Marala]

lmao but it really is kinda funny

Yes it is when you aren't the one who has the problem! :mad2:

it shouldn't smell if you rinse it off enough.

Do you have cats? Cat pee is really hard to get out!

 

[Roan Art]

If it were me, Marala, I'd throw it out.

I mean, the time that would be involved to clean the Flourite isn't worth it, nor the time to invest finding out just how much ammonia is in cat urine.

Not to mention the fact that -- I *think* -- it would have absorbed a lot of the ammonia and I don't know if you could really get all that out.

IMO safety first. Cat urine isn't just ammonia. You have cats, so you know what I mean. Not sure what exactly is in it that makes it "stick around" forever -- it's been a long time since I did any research on cats. But, whatever it is, it may not be good for the fish.

Also, if you can't get all the ammonia out, you may not even know it until you dump it in your tank and get a huge ammonia spike.

IMO not worth it.

My 2 cents
Roan

PS
I'm never leaving Flourite around my cats! Good lesson for everyone with kitties here.

 

[Sploke]

Roan has a good point. However, after recently paying over 30 bucks a bag for flourite myself, I would be hard pressed to dump it and start over. I would try it and do a fishless cycle, and keep an eye on the readings, and make sure the water doesn't smell at all. IMO, if you're doing a fishless cycle anyway, its worth a shot before throwing it out. Worst case, you try it and decide its not saveable.

Also, that stuff is practically impossible to get really clean. I rinsed each bag 10-12 times, and it still took 18 hours for my tank to settle and clear. Another reason to do a fishless cycle.

 

[naps]

Sorry to hear about that!! Having 3 cats I can totally see that happening. I would also try to salvage the gravel, that stuff is NOT cheap!! It's a new tank anyway and you have some time to make sure that everything is ok with your water before adding anything alive to the tank. Just break it down to yourself, if you have the time and no money try it, if you don't and have more money than just get a new bag.
If you end up using it I bet it will be some of the best rinsed Flourite to date!!

 

[Marala]

I'm never leaving Flourite around my cats! Good lesson for everyone with kitties here.

Lol! I would have put it higher or put something on top of it, but I wouldn't have thought that they would actually climb on top of the bucket(it is about a foot tall) and pee in it when their litter box was less than 50 feet away! Cats are so weird!


Hmmmm... I will give the cleaning a try, but if doesn't come out I am probably going to chuck it. It took me almost two hours just to get that stuff clean to begin with and I am not looking forward to doing that again! The pee in only in the center so I think I can get some of the untouched gravel out from around the sides and save a little of it. I had wanted to add more gravel anyway. Thanks for all of the help!