Laterite!

[onemisterchristian]

Hey, I'm finally doing a well planted tank and just bought some laterite for the roots. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with it and would like to impart any useful knowledge on how long to rinse it or how much to use etc...
the directions on the box say one oz. per gal. put a one inch layer down after rinsing then put in 1 in. of substrate (play sand) and mix then pour one in. over the top of that. Sound good? thanks for any help

 

[WendyinWichita]

Rinse it, but dont rinse it until the water runs clear because it never will (run clear). I rinsed mine until the water was "murky" but not solid red. My tanks were already set up so I just scooped it out with my hands and put it into the tank, then swished it into the existing gravel. My tank clouded but then cleared after about an hour and have been crystal clear since.

It doesn't take much of the laterite to meet the criteria of 1oz per gallon. One 50oz box was all I put in my 55 gal tank. (subtracting all the gravel etc I guess there is only 50 gal of H2O in the tank. Plants are doing great!

I don't think you will need an inch of laterite below the sand, but I don't think it would hurt (just the pocketbook). One ounce is a very small fistful (for a girl).