# Seachem flourish



## Nave (May 28, 2013)

I am starting this thread to show what flourish can do over time. I myself am newer to plants and started putting live plants in my community tank one by ones couple months ago. All I have been using is Co2 booster from API and an LED light on one side and a full spectrum T8 on the other. The LED side has been having the greatest results so far.

I just picked up some flourish. I will be adding it as the label says to and do its max of two doses per week along with the Co2 booster I have. 

Here are a couple photos of my tank and plants today. 

Aquarium Gallery - image148

Aquarium Gallery - image147

Aquarium Gallery - image146

There are three false plants left in my tank the two rear corners and the orange ones. (These will not be there for long and will be replaced with newer live plants)

Any advise, comments, and of course criticism will be greatly appreciated. If there is something I could do differently to better this time lapse experiment please let me know.


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## chrisb01 (Apr 4, 2010)

You are doing great. 

I'd probably start the flourish at half dose first, though; but that's just me.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Look good to me as is but I know you want it to Flourish...LOL...
Which LED is that ?
I doubt they would just assume everyone who uses it would have a heavily planted tank. So the directions likely are tailored 
to (whatever they think) an average tank of plants would have if any such thing exist. The amount of plants in there will only
use up so much ferts. I use Excel myself and need to restrain myself from the "more has got to be better" idea. I will admit 
that I have both API Leaf Zone which I dose a half dose of mid week. But then I have Flourish Comprehensive also and dose
the Leaf Zone full dose after the water change on the weekend along/w Tetra Pride which is used at a half dose at the same 
time as the after water change Zone dose. Half dose because I don't change all the water so why use a full dose. But every 
other week I use both the Leaf Zone and the Flourish comprehensive plus the Pride.
If it were a 55 instead of a ten G I'd not have done this for the cost but the substrate was an all out effort to maxx it.
I bought a 15lb bag of the Sea Chem Flourite, cut it in half and mixed that/w a 55oz box of API First Layer Pure Laterite.
The Original Flourite was chosen because of it's higher than others iron and magnesium content. I was joking/w my LFS
person and said I'm surprised my water don't rust. 
So I do fudge on using excess ferts myself, but I cultivate hair as well as other algae. So IMO you might want to get it started
a bit more slowly on the ferts like maybe using half doses twice a week instead of full doses until you can see an increase in
those plant's growth at least. No experience in this issue in tank plants but house plants can come out deformed if over
fertilized.


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

I think you guys may be right. I will do half doses twice a week to start. Does the amount of fish in a tank have any effect on how well the plants grow via "natural fertz". 

I noticed before I moved the other sword to the LED side of the tank it was not doing as well probably because of the light but I wonder also if the one under the LED light was doing better because it was on the side I feed my bottom feeders and we all know too well how much a mess those guy can make. 

The LED light I have is nothing special it's a 24" marineland single bright. I've been told that light will not grow plants but it's been doing better the and "special" plant bulb thus far.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Oh Oh...and why am I feeling very apprehensive about that "special" plant bulb comment ?
Could you give a link to it ? I just started using T5 bulbs/fixtures and as such don't have a list of "ones I've had good results/w".
But in the T8 I do have a list based on personal experience/w them.
The Zoo Med Ultra sun. good visible light @6500K $17
Zoo Med Flora Grow fair but less visible light @ 5400K used these two together for some time now/w good results. $17
Aqueon "Full Spectrum" @8000K used for a few months/good visible light/good on plants $12 Petsmart
Hagen "Power Glow" @ alleged 17,000K used for a short time/w good plant results $12
Loew's GE "Daylight" must say 6500K on package/used for short time but burnt out rather fast $10 though
Prices are for the 18" bulbs. In your tank the Flora Grow would be dim because of height.
The Double Bright is fair on plants being about equal to one Ultra sun bulb in T8 both the same length.
Don't know how that rates the single bright but it can't be very good.
Your least expensive move would be to get two Aqueon Full Spectrums from Petsmart or you could try the ones from Loew's as I don't know the one I got wasn't rough handled. In the 18" they were $8.95


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

Here is the plant bulb it's nothing special Flora Sun Plant Growth T8 Fluorescent Lamp - 5,000K - 24 in.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Nave said:


> Here is the plant bulb it's nothing special Flora Sun Plant Growth T8 Fluorescent Lamp - 5,000K - 24 in.


Perhaps then it does have something to do/w the fish food in the other end. That is one of the bulbs on my list but I did say it
wouldn't be good alone for a 55 G tank(alone on one end) as I used them in conjunction/w the Ultra sun Zoo Med. Had 2 18" bulbs
on a ten G. For all intent and purpose you have one long bulb.
IMO you will not get the results you expect from that set up. Adding Flourish(comprehensive)(or trace) needs to be balanced with
more light and Co2. Small amounts will increase plant growth. But if the other ingredients aren't add also it won't be that much.
On the other hand easy grow plants can do well in there with that amount of light ...like Wisteria.
The WPG rule is ineffective but just to amuse us lets look at what you have. If it were full length it would be 40W so that is LESS than 1 WPG.
The tall tank takes away from the effectiveness also. There is a person on here who uses two CFL bulbs in those bell shaped fixtures hanging 
from the ceiling. Has great success/w the plants. Most set ups that I've seen with any amount of plant growth in them have had a 2 bulb
shop light suspended over the tank on 55's. Not really necessary as good bulbs in your fixtures will work.
Try your idea before you buy anything else though. You may get good enough results just the way you have it now.
Later after a few weeks if you don't like it then try one of those Aqueon bulbs to see. They aren't but about $10-12.
Edit: since you already use the API Co2 Booster, by adding Flourish you will get more growth. Just perhaps not what you expect till you add
more light to that mixture.


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

Funny you post that I need more light cause I felt the same way and went and picked up duel t5 aqueon light, the light came with a colormax bulb and a 6700k bulb, makes the LED look very dim see for yourself.

Aquarium Gallery - image149

I got the Aqueon because it was the best value available to me at the moment and I read some decent reviews on the light. I also read the bad reviews where the light gets too hot and can break glass lids, so I removed to acrylic shield to let the light breath and raised it off the glass so air will pass through. I'm kinda sad to see how dim that LED really is, I thought it was really bright before lol.

I'm thinking of adding some java moss to the small piece of drift wood in front of the anubias what you guys think? I will take any suggestions for beginner to intermediate plants for this scape.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

So now you will need some plants to use up all that light/ferts/Co2 Booster...LOL...
Never thought to take photo's of my tank(s) as they developed. Have a few miscelanious ones which I took for other
reasons, a picture of a fish or RCS. BTW just re-planted a section of the one which had the algae issue. Might not be
a bad idea to get a pix of it to compare how it's growing. Took out the Rotala indica and put in a plant I don't know
the name of. But I do know it grows fast.
Java moss would look good where you said. A Wisteria would replace one of the plastic ones in a corner nicely. They get
fairly large/bushy. Actually they usually come fairly large. At least they do in a mom and pop type shop where they buy 
plants and display them in a tank instead of the little plastic containers on a shelf. This link may help.
Tropical freshwater aquarium fish: Find plants


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

The only question I have is why change lights if your results are that good? I guess it just depends on whether or not you are happy and if you want more colorful plants or ones that require more light to grow.

I think I would dose one full dose, once per week if you're using Flourish. Unless you get more light, of course. How much of the ferts the plants uptake is ALL dependent on your light. Higher light levels, higher demands.

Is this a 55g? If so, I would look to a 48" fixture to cover the whole tank and go to at least a 3X fixture if going with just regular florescent bulbs. Kelvin doesn't matter too much as long as it is in the 5500-10000k range. Anyone who says one or the other grows better than any other probably hasn't had much time with them. Lower light tanks makes it nearly impossible to see growth differences anyway. It is more what you like, ie darker/lighter colors etc.

@Raymond - you are using way too much and likely why you have algae issues. If you like throwing money away you can continue buying all those products if you want. I have posted on here numerous times about mixing your own, spending $12 and having enough to last 3-4 yrs and do more than these products can provide. Up to you.


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## Gregory (Nov 11, 2012)

jrman 83 talk to me about your posts about mixing your own.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I believe these are the ferts Ben is talking about;
Planted Aquarium Fertilizer - Dry Fertilizers, Dry Fertilizers, , , Planted Aquarium Fertilizer - Macro Micro Nutrient Mix, Macro Micro Nutrient Mix,
I ordered them on his recommendation over a year ago and still have 3/4 of original supply(for like $15!)
Bens knows his plants/ferts and water chemistry!Glad you knew who to specifically ask(you got it right).


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

I will be ordering that fert as well. I got the new light because I would like plants to grow all along my tank and yes it is a 55 gal. I also had another tank that was in need of a new fixture now it has the old hand me down lol. I would like my plants to grow faster and healthier then they have been so if brighter stronger light will do that then I'm happy. 

@Ben you say the amount of fertz your plants up take all depends on your light, is there a way to measure how much fertilizer is be utalized by the plants?


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

jrman83: I said I'm aware of it being too much when I add the Flourish comprehensive every other week. Actually it's
about every third week. But that part IS overkill. The rest is "per directions" or in the case of the Prime it's half of the
directed dose. They recommend..."replace/w 10ml for every 20 G after each water change or every month".
I only do a 25% water change so I only use Pride every other week at 5ml as I also have a ten G tank. So to thin it out
I do that.
As far as the cost I have just started to use my new bottle @ 3.38 fluid ozs after a year on the first bottle. So it's not
all that big of a drain on my money yet...
As far as that dry fert...I like it...but...I have had one person on here and another somewhere else say those chemicals
in that mixture should not be mixed together as they can/will react/w each other. What is your experience/w this ?
I would like to use it because it supplies some trace elements which are not in Leaf Zone for example. I have been reading
up on this as I don't just jump into using something on/in my tanks without some research first.
I would appreciate you sharing your experience/w this fertilizer with me as I believe that Nave would also.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

No way really to tell how much your plants take up. In higher light situations you may be able to figure this out by the reduction in some things you can test for or also see that your plants are lacking in some way.

I have read that the KH2PO4 can react with the iron. Not really a reaction that you'd have to worry about. What this does is reduce the effectiveness of the iron, nothing else. Doesn't cause any issue in the tank. Those that make any big deal about it probably just read and believe the hype and think it means more, but it really shows they know nothing about it. 

I used the fert when I first started into powdered ferts as a learning point before I moved onto estimated index (EI) dosing. I followed the directions and my plants did very well. One thing to remember with using it is, it really is important to start light and see how the plants do before increasing dosing. Covered pretty well in the directions.


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

Thanks JR I will start slow once I get the dry fert and follow the directions as they are put. I am going to use the florish for now seeing how I spent the money on it. I might as well use the stuff up. 

I got myself a small amount of the java moss today from a friend, I will post a pic tomorrow when the lights are on. How fast does this stuff usually grow I hear it can kinda take over. 

I was thinking about it today and it dawned on me that when I had those plants under the marineland LED light I was flipping on the night light (dark blue). I had covered two of four of the LED so it wasn't as bright at night. Could having a "moon cycle" benefit the plants? Could that be why the plants on that side where thriving better the the ones on the other? There where several things going on differently between the two sides of the tank. The light, the fish poo and food, and moon light. 

Has anyone used a "moon light" on their plants and seen different results then another tank?


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