You know, I wouldn't have thought there was an article in this subject, but I see so many questions about it on the boards I thought maybe it was something that needed to be addressed. We are talking about SeaChem's Fluorite, a fracted clay material that is just about the perfect substrate for growing plants--at least in my humble opinion. It's the right size, it's loaded with iron and other trace elements to feed the plants' roots, it won't affect the ph or hardness of your water, and it's even pretty! How can you beat that? The only complaint I ever hear about it, aside from the cost--and I hear it all the time--is how messy it is when you wash it and how badly it clouds your tank. Well, it doesn't have to be that way--it's not that way for me--and I thought I would share my methods in the hope it will help alleviate someone' else's frustration. So why use Fluorite? What's wrong with plain old gravel? Well--nothing, really, except plain old gravel is just that; it's inert, and it offers nothing extra to help your plants grow. If you use plain old gravel, you'll find that you need to use substrate fertilizers to give your plants a boost. It's more than that, though--Fluorite is the best rooting medium for plants I've ever come across. It's the perfect size, and it's lighter in weight than regular gravel and doesn't compact as easily, and that together with the nutrients it provides encourages roots to grow like nothing else I've ever tried. Yes, it costs more than gravel does, but think of it as an investment in good plant growth--and a way to protect your investment in all those plants you're going to be buying! Keep in mind that Fluorite occupies more mass than an equal weight of gravel does, so you don't need quite as much; a 15 pound bag is more than enough for a 10 gallon tank, you'll have some left over. About one pound of Fluorite per gallon will give you plenty of substrate; you'll have to buy half again as many pounds of gravel. You can reduce the cost considerably by mixing it with small gravel, up to about 50-50. That's what I prefer to do, and I feel my results have been just as good with a mixture as they have been with a 100% Fluorite substrate. How much you want to use is for you to decide. So, you've decided you want to use Fluorite to give your plants the best possible medium to grow in. Great! Now what? Without further ado, here's how you can get it from the bag to your tank with a minimum of effort for you and cloudiness for your tank.