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I just bought 20 bags of flourite for my 200 gallon tank. They were $13.00 a 15 pound bag, a total of $260 ouch.... I heard that they are really good for plants, but I want to ask everyone at FP to make sure. Is it really worth what I am paying for it? I still havent open them, so I can get my refund.

Hi
For years I used regular gravel and then tried plant tablets
and other stuff. 12 years ago I switched to 100% straight
flourite, and frankly I love the stuff! I'm growing plants
so fast and so well, that I'm throwing cuttings away nearly
every week. It is a tropical clay (laterite) that was
fractionated (baked to brick like consistancy) and then
crushed into aquarium grave sized pieces.

On the times that I've uprooted plants to move or discard,
the root systems have been enormous, some the size of my
fist. Frankly, I have not found a better substrate.

For some extra reading, you might want to try this site.
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/cec.html

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 14-Apr-2005 00:01

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Personally I think it's worth it. Another option is to do a mix of Flourite and gravel, I've had a lot of success with that too.

edit: and be prepared to do a lot of rinsing with Flourite

Last edited by Theresa_M at 14-Apr-2005 02:52

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

depends what your gona do with it. if your gona run high lighting and Co2 and have wall to wall plants then absolutly. if your gona run a sparse planting with rock work and lots of wood then its a waste of money.

its a balancing act in the end. to much lighting and co2 and not enough nutrients at the roots and the plant looks bad. to much nutrients and not enough co/light then you got a mass of algae.

you can also save yourself money by useing flourite where the plants will be. the root systems will hold most of it in place and you wont be gravel vacing there anyway. this would save alot of cash if your just doign a corner or haveing a wide open front.

Last edited by Sin in Style at 14-Apr-2005 08:01

Wow, only $13 a bag. It's $25 here. I actually just purchased it for my 20 gallon long and it was cheaper to get it online and pay the extra shipping.

However, if it works as well as they advertise and you don't have to add a lot of extra ferts it will be worth it.

---

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I would half-half it, IMO. Flourite is just too rich of a substrate to keep exclusively.

it really depends on the plants you are going with. and lighting. since its a 200gall, lighting will be very very expensive. florite is great stuff but for the cost i cant justify using it in anything larger then a 60 gal. mostly because of expense of plant and lighting will limit your options. maybe 50/50 with a heavier substrate.

florite is a rich and high cec substrate which is good, but you need to make use of your money. lighting and plants will pretty much determine what substrate you should use.

rootfeeders are great for florite but you need better lighting another good root feeder for a low light setup would be crypts and apons

remeber on large size tanks the WPG rule does not apply having 2 wpg on a 30gal shallow is probably better then having 4 wpg on a 200gal

Just remember... rinseRINSErinseRINSErinse... spend HOURS doing it and when you think you're done, rinse some more. It's a pain in the butt, but you'll be happy you did. I wound up with a dark cloud in my tank I did gravel vacs, and I thought I'd rinsed enough.

I finally got fed up with the dust storms and switched out the flourite for regular gravel. Let me tell you, *I* was happy, but my plants just don't do quite as well. They LOVE the stuff.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

I heard that if I leave the remaining fines than it would be more beneficial for the plants. Should I save some? THankyou for all your help. I almost change my mind yesterday, but I know now that I am doin the right thing.



Last edited by trojan_man at 14-Apr-2005 15:34

I'd actually argue that while it's worth it for a high-tech tank too, it's particularly useful in a low-tech one. If you're NOT using CO2, or being heavy-handed with the ferts, or generally making it a high-maintenance plant tank - Fluorite allows you to keep root feeders happy and healthy long-term with perhaps a root tabs for the big ones now and again.

-Molly
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