Seachem FLuorite info

[henward]

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product ... kSand.html

Ok

was looking at this in the LFS

apparently this is fertilised so it has that for when you first put it in.

but what it does and how it works is that it absorbs ferts and nutrients from your water so its readily available for the roots of the plants.

is this how it works?

would like to know as much as about this as possible.

[phoenix44]

I thought you wanted a cheap option!

[henward]

well

i redesigned my 'pots'

making them way bigger.

deeper too.

a bag is only 60 dollars and its enough for all my pots

here is my question.

i readonline and other forums

CEC id ont know what that is

its responsible for pulling nutrients from the water column. column means just the water right?

ok..

then heres my plant.

plant to get the sandy fluorite.

reason is that its finer has more surface area to absorbe nutrients...IF INDEED IT DOES THAT

which im sure they wotn lie about.

but i want to put heavier blukier stones on top of the blank sank so my geos wont get to them.

will that still work?

will it still pull nutrients even wtih the bigger stones on top of the sand?

or does that nullify the purpose of the nutrient pulling?

the way i see it, the bulkier stones wont actually WATER TIGHT seal the sand from the water column so to speak.

but feedback would be good.

jsut want the plants to grow, invsting much on them, and dont want them to die.

also, i was also told that nitrates in the tank will be absorbed somewhat by the fluorite.

so, if i turn down my water change - the nitrates should get absorbd a little bit.

and i can just test it every other day to get the balance right.

[phoenix44]

Ok. so this is why i would never grow plants in a container in a tank.

1. it limits root growth.

2. the water flow is either non existent or marginal

3. if you 'seal' the top with stones that will just compound the problem unless you sort of dig through the sand once in a while.

4. I've seen it done a couple of times - with many types of substrate, and boy did those roots rot! the smell was enough to kill me hahaha.

its different in a tank where you have lots of water flow, the occasional gravel vac and plants being shifted around sometimes.

one way to over come this, or reduce the side effects is by using a normal ceramic pot with the hole at the bottom. just put a small convex piece of pot or something over the hole so the substrate does not come out. you'll find the roots come gushing out.

you could try some stem plants but your mettnys will eat them.

[henward]

yeah

the java and the anubias are fine, tie to wood.

i will try indian fern.

last time i tried they grow like weeds!!!

and some amazon swords or sword type plants.

the containers i am using are big.

they are not small. in fact the total volume of pots i will use per plant is probably more than some planted tanks i see on lfs displays.

are the facts i said about the fluorite true?

do they absorbe nutrients in the water for roots to easily use?

was just curious tahts pretty cool.

so in that case, i should use the coarser fluorite, not the black sand.

so there would be more water flow getting to the roots?

im gonna experiment in this way, its the only way i can plant plants in that discus tank.

geophagus will destroy the substrate and uproot plants.

so the question is

1) does it really pull nutrients from the water?

2) black sand flurite by seachem or the same stuff but coarser?

[henward]

also

when you say lots of water flow?

you mean turn over?

or litereally strong flow in the tank?

i will have reasonable flow in this tank i think.

not too much but reasonable circulation.

will drilling small holes on the sides of the pot help put newer water into the pot and let the nutrients absorb in the fluorite?

[livingart]

the stones on top will restrict surface area of flourite

just a thought but what about creating fine mesh bags to hold the plants and flourite instead of pots

[henward]

the fine mesh bags will get cut up with the fluorite edges.

the sand may go through you see very fine.

considered it. i dont know what else to use.

also, i dont want the tank to look unsightly,

this project is somewhat more ambitious lol

cos i want aesthetics and a balance of practicality.

the glass pots would look unique and nice i think.

just reading up on the fluorite.

apparently its high in CEC so it absorbs and stores nutrients floating in the water, and makes these avail for roots.

wow!

awesome!

now figuring out now to put more flow through the fluorite.

if i use the sand stuff:

i cant drill holes on the sides of the pot, i have to put stones on top to stop geos eating it.

black sand looks better

if use coarser stuff, i dont have to put rocks on top, and i can drill hols on side of pots. But does not look as good.

also sand holds roots better

while the rocky stuff may not?

its a tough one.

[phoenix44]

get rid of the geos.

[livingart]

make some hyper tufa pots like small rock formations

make the hyper tufa with the flourite

[Jennifer]

get rid of the geos.

+1

IMO if you are wanting to do a good planted tank, stock it with fish that will facilitate that goal. You could always just have another tank for the geos.

[henward]

yeah considered removing geos.

even if i remove geos, im still gonna use the pots because the tank is way way too big to fill up entirely with that sort of substrate.

but it would fix my problem of having to put stuff on top of the tank.

i really liked the geos how they cleaned after the discus you see:P

i will have 5 smallish clown loaches in there, but im not sure if they will be enought o clean after the geos. the geos were particularly good at sifting through the sand and cleaning up!

[phoenix44]

you dont need that substrate to grow plants.

use daltons sand. its cheap as chips.

[henward]

yeah i knwo there are cheaper alternatives

but i dont want to grow the plants and have to move them and uproot them.

thats why i wanted to try the novel pots idea lol

i am seriously if not borderline gonna get rid of the geos now actually i think about it.

they are the problem really.

non of the other fish in the tank and future fish will uproot and sift through dirt

[Jennifer]

The loaches will be fine as a cleanup crew, just get more of them if you are worried about it. 8)

+1 about Dalton's, although plants will actually grow fine in most substrates. No need to over think it, just get what you like.

[henward]

well put the geos up for sale/swap:D

so yeah.

they are going when i set this up!

clowns should clean up enough.

so question is.

sand fluroite or coraser red?

[phoenix44]

dont do your whole large tank in flourite. I wouldn't - daltons will be better considering you don't want it heavily planted like mine - and even my tank has no flourite at all. all you need is the daltons and some JBL balls in the substrate where you plant your swords and crypts.

[henward]

well, daltons

what is that?

how bout whit silica sand, thats what i want the tank to look like really.

also reason is taht it reflects light up heavily which enhances further the colour of fish.

can i use silica sand as substrate - i actualy th ink they would make good substrate for roots to go to.

but the main thing is that i am renting.

so i dont want to have to uproot the plants and start again in a new substrate setting.

also. how thick of substrate do i need?

the pots were gonna be 5 to 6 inches high.

providing plenty of root space.

[phoenix44]

how bout whit silica sand

eww! gross!

you're kidding eh? :lol:

[Jennifer]

Don't listen to P44. 8) We all have our preferences. Do what you like! White silica will be fine, just use JBL fert balls and the plants will go brilliantly well. As with any enriched substrate, uprooting will cause excess nutrients in the water column (and usually some amount of cloudy water) so be warned if you ever plant to move the plants.

[phoenix44]

:lol:

[Jennifer]

:lol:

[phoenix44]

This is the perfect "click my signature line" moment.

[henward]

yeah i like silica sand lol

i love it in fact

easy to clean

looks good, enhances fish colour by reflecting light from underneath!

[phoenix44]

if you want your fish to look good, get a dark substrate not a light one.