Malawi cichlids and Flourite substrate?

[Seedy J]

tl;dr - Will Seachem Flourite work as a substrate for Lake Malawi cichlids (peacocks and haps)?

I've been wanting to move my Malawi cichlids from a 55g to a 75g... got a killer deal on a used 75g high-tech planted tank setup that came with Flourite substrate. As you know, Malawi cichlids like to dig and sift the sand (they've got black Tahitian moon sand in the 55g). Will they be ok with Flourite or do they need fine sand?

I'll eventually be moving the Malawi guys somewhere else... seems like a waste not to do a planted tank with the fancy setup, but I won't be doing plants right away. If it'll work, I'd rather just put the Flourite in the 75g from the start and not have to deal with changing the substrate later on.

 

[tiger15]

Fluorite is baked clay, terra-cotta granules It has neutral pH, so if you need to raise pH and hardness for African, it won’t work. But the dark brown substrate makes fish stand out, specially blue fish. Tahitian sand is volcanic sand, different texture and minerals. African are fine to sift sand or gravels. I avoid sharp crushed coral and prefer dolomite gravels.

 

[Seedy J]

My water comes out of the tap at 8.2 pH and stays there (don't remember the exact KH and GH numbers but it's fairly hard too) so no need to raise pH. I'm mostly wondering if it'll be safe for them when they sift through the sand and filter stuff out through their gills.

 

[tiger15]

Fluorite is safer than crushed coral commonly used for African due to sharp granules. It’s expensive stuff, probably costs 3x as much as crushed coral. Used fluorite is even better as all the dust has been washed out.

 

[Seedy J]

Perfect . I didn't realize Tahitian sand was volcanic sand, that's pretty cool. I had new Flourite in a smaller tank years ago... I rinsed it first but it still made the water cloudy for a long time. Good to know I probably don't need to worry about that with secondhand stuff. I'll give it a shot in the 75g with the Flourite then.

Now I need to find another regular 75g for these Malawi guys to live in permanently... deeper down the MTS rabbit hole. Oh well . Nice Green Terror in your avatar, btw.