Laterite vs Flourite vs Onyx

[Sumpin'fishy]

I checked at my LFS and they only regularly carry Laterite. This looks like a red clay with medium sized grains (about 10 to 15mm each). They said they can order bags of Onyx or Flourite. Flourite will cost about $20 a bag, but Onyx will be around $40 each bag! These are 20 lb bags by the way. The laterite is also $20. One of the posts above this one said that laterite must be replaced periodically? Could someone explain please?

Second question My Salifert Test kit for KH/Alkalininity only gives 2 measurements: one is dKH which is 5.4 in my main tank, and the other is meq/L, which measures 1.94. Is this second listing similar to ppm? If not, how can I figure out my ppm of KH? I hear people talking about 80 ppm KH, 150ppm KH, etc. I'm at a loss when they use these terms.

 

[plantbrain]

Not sure why there's a price difference between the onyx and the flourite.
They cost the LFS the same or sometimes a little less etc.
But I'd get the flourite in that case.
Laterite is okay.
It's an admendment added to plain gravel.
Flourite is used at about 50:50 ratio or higher.
I don't care for gravel mix with two types. Looks cheesy.
I can also remove it later and use it again with no layering or mixing together issues. It also works better than laterite sand IME/IMO.
It's good stuff and generally cost a bit more than sand/laterite or turface(this stuff is cheap and good but too light weigh IMO).

I can easily replaced the lights at any time without much hassle.
I can change a filter without much hassle, But changing the substrate is a PITA. Flourite is good stuff and what I use or onyx sand.
I can have about any substrate set up I wish, that's what I have.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Sumpin'fishy]

What color, size and texture is Flourite? I have heard Onyx described before, but not Flourite.

 

[Fishiebusiness]

flourite is a reddish dark substrate, made of small chips 3 or 4 mm in lenth and width. Color is a mixture of brick red to dark brown.

 

[125gJoe]

I use 100% Onyx sand from SeaChem. Onyx and Flourite do not need additives such as laterite. I like that... I ocassionally need to move my live plants around a bit, and I didn't want to deal with distubing laterite under the gravel which would cause a real mess. I do add root tabs for extra fertilizer. Flourite is reddish, Onyx is a grey color. You can see Onyx in my pictures. If you want samples of Flourite and Onyx, contact SeaChem and they will mail you samples.
Onyx can be hard to find, get it thru Big Al's Online.

 

[wetmanNY]

Flourite is laterite. It has been lightly baked to consolidate it and then broken up ("sintered and fracted"). The red color comes from iron oxides. Not all laterite is so red (Schultz Soil Conditioner), nor is it all hardened in a kiln (cat litter).

A lot of the value of Flourite is in the smaller particles that make the water cloudy at first. By the time you've washed it all "clean" you're almost back to "aquarium" gravel, IMO.

 

[125gJoe]

SeaChem

SeaChem offers 2 colors of Flourite. One is bright red, and I do not like the look of that. When I think of laterite, I'm thinking of the clay like material - what some use under gravel layers. It's great for plants, but real messy if you have to move plants. If Onyx wasn't available I'd go for the Flourite and use it with root tabs. I prefer the look of Onyx sand; it's grey and finer than Flourite.

 

[southrock]

I used Laterite in my 180 gal tank when I set it up a year ago, and now I’m slightly sorry. Slightly because I have absolutely no problem growing huge swordplants (heavy root feeders), and they are beautiful. But when I have to remove one of those bad boys, a ton of Laterite comes up with those huge roots. I use a gravel vac while I am extracting it, but it only helps a little. The water is cloudy for a week. Eventually, from re-planting cuttings and re-arranging old/new plants, it’s no longer a nice 1 inch layer of Laterite under 3 inches of gravel, but it’s all mixed together. Now, whenever I have to pull up or put in plants, I can count on a few days of cloudy water.

It’s not the worst thing in the world, but I’m with Tom. Flourite or Onyx sand is probably the better way to go.

-SR

 

[mchernecki]

I was trying to decide between Onyx sand and Flourite. I emailed Seachem and they sent me samples of each. To help my decision the local Petcetera was throwing out a bag of Flourite, I got it for free and tried it, and loved it. I bought a few more bags online and redid my whole tank. I have had many excellent comments on the look of the flourite in the tank, it looks great. I washed mine in the kitchen sink with a gravy strainer. I put the washed gravel in a bucket, then scooped the fine mud from the sink and saved it for my first layer. I drained my tank and saved the water in large buckets. I put the mud first, followed by the washed Flourite, refilled the tank with no cloudy water. It has been about 2 weeks and I am starting to see a difference in both my swords and my crypts.

Mike

 

[Jared]

Wetman, are you certain of this? Do you mean that it's a fired, iron-rich clay? Or that it's true laterite. I was speaking to Neil Frank at our last club meeting and he happened to remark that he would be very curious to learn what it really was.

Jared