Planted tanks require fertilizer for optimum growth. For my first planted tank, I picked Flourite because it was on sale, and I know Seachem makes quality products. I wanted to write a review about a product that helped my planted tank out a lot: Flourite.
Flourite costs around $20 for a 15 lb. bag, and once shipping is included, it can get pricey. I only paid $15.99 for my bag during a sale, lucky me! I purchased regular Flourite, since back then Seachem was not making Flourite Red (same thing, just red colored).
Initially when I opened the bag, the Flourite resembled wet, coarse sediment. I figured I could just pour it in my tank straight from the bag, pouring it in dry. This turned out to be difficult because some of the sediment is dusty, which caused a mess in my living room - I should have rinsed it! I then put down a layer of gravel because I did not want the sediment to get my tank all dirty. Next, I added water to the tank, only to discover brown muddy water in the aquarium. My aquarium looked like I had recreated my neighbor's pasture pond in my living room! Not only was the water brown and cloudy, the surface of the water had a layer of dust. After these mistakes, advice to you is to rinse the Flourite before use, outside.
Once the debris had settled and the tank looked clear, I added my plants. The plants for this tank consisted of Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus), Anacharis (Egeria densa), Amazon Sword (Echinodorus amazonicus), Chilensis (Sagittaria platyphylla) and Wisteria (Hygrophilia difformis). When planting the tank, anytime I disturbed the sediment a dust cloud would emerge and cloudy the tank. This was frustrating but, after the plants were planted the tank cleared again. Another reminder: be sure to wash the Flourite!
After about a month, my plant growth rate exploded, and I had to clear areas in the aquarium for the fish to swim in! I received constant comments on my aquatic "jungle"!
All in all, Flourite is a great substrate for a planted aquarium, or a great fertilizer if added to the current substrate. I highly recommend Flourite!
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