Hey all,

Quick update/impressions on this...........more details/pics later.

Black Fourite - is very nice. Small grain size, nice color.

I used 6 bags to get 1-2" bed. One more should do it perfectly, so will get 7 for the other side, plus 1 more for this side.

Rinse - placed 1 bag in a large rubbermaid tub. Just barely covered gravel with water. Stir flourite, drain water, repeat. First 2-3 times, water is very black/gray. 5-6 rinses was very clean. Very quickly done.

Removal - used 1" ID clear tubing (home depot) about 9' long. Directed output to two large rubbermaid containers about 20 gallons each.

When tub was full mostly of water, used small RIO pump to drain tub to outside lawn. Kept stopping, switching tubs, etc.

Very easy to do this way. Hose gets gravel and all dirt, so tank stayed clear all throughout. Hose got clogged every now and then, but easy to shake out.

Old substrate now in tubs to wait for transfer to triple bagged heavy duty garbage bags..........a little tired now

I removed 50% of water to start.

When 75% of water was gone, started filling, while still removing old. Worked very nicely.

Placed new flourite in a large wide fish net and then gently released into tank. Very little cloudiness This worked better than I expected actually as I was able to place the net close to the section and tip it out.

This allowed me to have the tank full and filters running while placing the new substrate. Was redone quite quickly this way.

Then trimmed and cleaned all plants and wood, stones on that side.

Rescaped, waited a bit for water to clear, fed fish, waiting now for plants to straighten up a bit, for final placement.

Flourite is loose and easy to plant in. I have a lot of various cories and I think this substrate is less harmful to their whiskers......

Looks good so far.............

Am working on a photo album of before, during, after and should be done soon.

Will do the rest of the tank in 10-14 days.

50% WC every other day for the next week or so should do it.

Added a large bag of carbon to sump............waiting for some purigen and zeolite now..........

Thanks again to all!

Initial pics:

gerrydirish/Gravel Swap - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting