Is Flourite what I'm looking for?

[bradleyheathhay]

Setting up a 125 (first tank ever) and I'm just sort of winging it here buying equipment and materials before I know what the exact end tank is gonna look like. So I'm trying to put everything together leaving as much room as possible for future flexibility. Only thing I know for sure is that it's gonna be planted and a species tank with rummy nose tetra. Anyhow, I just read a suggestion that if doing a planted tank one should mix Flourite into the gravel at a ratio of 1/4 to 1/2. Just wondering what everyone's opinion about this is and if there's something better than Flourite I should consider using.

Thanks

 

[jasonfishaddict]

I used Eco-Complete for my planted 29g.


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[Byron Amazonas]

I would not mess with Flourite. I used this in my 70g and after two full years saw absolutely no benefit to plant growth compared to my six other tanks with fine gravel or play sand, and the same plant species and lighting, etc. Waste of money in my view. As Eco-complete is much the same product, I would not go with that either. Another aspect is the roughness of both products; substrate fish like corys and loaches can have isues. I had to move my corys out due to mouth injuries, and there is no doubt that it was the substrate (Flourite). I had chosen Flourite over Eco-complete after a catfish breeder warned me off the latter, as I though Flourite was smoother in my hand, but not so obviously.

Sand is probably your best substrate choice, depending upon intended fish species. Liquid fertilization is all you need. Other types of enriched substrate that I have not tried (like the ADA, etc) may or may not have benefits in high-tech systems. But the truth is that plants will grow in most any substrate provided light and nutrients are present in the aquarium.

I tore down my 70g after two years, and put in play sand. Now, one year later, the plants are thriving better than before, and I can have corys again in this tank. And the $15 for two bags of play sand compared to $180 for Flourite is a nice plus.

Byron.

 

[jasonfishaddict]

I wondered about that myself. My 29g was my first planted endeavor and the plants really grew well. I've recently thinned them out, moving the larger ones to my 75g with regular gravel and the plants are still healthy. By the way, I'm using API root tabs, CO2 booster, and leaf zone.


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[Byron Amazonas]

I wondered about that myself. My 29g was my first planted endeavor and the plants really grew well. I've recently thinned them out, moving the larger ones to my 75g with regular gravel and the plants are still healthy. By the way, I'm using API root tabs, CO2 booster, and leaf zone.

I did the experiment (using Flourite) after members on another forum I then belonged to insisted it would be an improvement, and as I continually said I doubted it, I was challenged to try it, so I did. I think two years was long enough to see results, which as I said were not beyond what the tank had been doing previously with gravel, and now after a year with sand it is back to the same level again.

I have a photo record which may be of interest. Photo 1 (March 24-11) is one month after setup with Flourite [plants were those from the former gravel setup, culled a bit] and photo 2 (February 24-12) is one year later. Photo 3 (Feb 11-13) is a few days after being torn down and reset with play sand, photo 4 (Jan 28-14) shows the jungle it became in less than a year, and photo 5 was taken this morning after I did some culling/rearranging last week.

 

[wesleydnunder]

I agree with Byron. I kept fluorite in a few tanks and finally gave it away to one of the local fish club members. Very expensive for what amounts to crushed-up-flower-pots.

Mark