# Floramax



## finnyas

Has anybody used the Floramax by Carib-sea substrate? What were your opinions? 
I am researching now going to set up a 300DD planted tank? 

Thanks for your input


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## kamikazi

Used it under pea gravel in my 29 gallon

didn't notice anything amazing about it. You can take a look at my 29 gallon journal to see my plants....I need to update though its looking really great now that i started Excel and EI dosing. 

I may have notice a difference if I had used Floramax only, I dunno.

It has fairly sharp edges so be mindful of that if you plan on keeping cories or loaches. 

Also be sure to rinse it, I didn't and when I gravel vac it clouds the water for a bit.


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## Optix

Ive used it as well...nothing that sets it apart from the others...I think its generally agreed upon for ease/nutrients/value/cost that it is

1. Aquasoil (best but very expensive)

2-98. the rest (floramax, fluorite, eco complete, activ flora etc. etc etc) (great but costly in bulk)

99. DIY style substrate capped/MTS (great results and cheap...but limits the amount of rescaping you can do before starting over)

100. sand (inert, only works with a dosing regimen)

you can grow anything and everything in each of the substrates...just comes down to how you fertilize and add CO2 w/ light

...ease vs cost vs availability is my main criteria so I use MTS


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## shrimpNewbie

Optix said:


> Ive used it as well...nothing that sets it apart from the others...I think its generally agreed upon for ease/nutrients/value/cost that it is
> 
> 1. Aquasoil (best but very expensive)
> 
> 2-98. the rest (floramax, fluorite, eco complete, activ flora etc. etc etc) (great but costly in bulk)
> 
> 99. DIY style substrate capped/MTS (great results and cheap...but limits the amount of rescaping you can do before starting over)
> 
> 100. sand (inert, only works with a dosing regimen)
> 
> you can grow anything and everything in each of the substrates...just comes down to how you fertilize and add CO2 w/ light
> 
> ...ease vs cost vs availability is my main criteria so I use MTS


it was my understanding that active flora was better than the rest but more expensive than aquasoil o.0, i would go aquasoil or some cheap but working route, pfs and turface pro leage are great


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## kamikazi

there's also plain pea gravel, pretty much same as sand in regards to benefit to plants.


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## kamikazi

something else to think about is if you think you'll be replanting or moving things around etc if so your best bet will be some type of "plant substrate" like eco-complete, flourite, floramax etc. or inert like sand or pea gravel.


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## Optix

shrimpNewbie said:


> it was my understanding that active flora was better than the rest but more expensive than aquasoil o.0, i would go aquasoil or some cheap but working route, pfs and turface pro leage are great


no...the mineral breakdown is identical to a bag of flourite (or so both companies claim) and price is comparable

Ive used A LOT of different substrates over my few years in the hobby...activ flora is the probably the same as fluorite or so ~$20/15-20lbs...of all the commercials ones Ive used, activflora was probably my favorite tho but my memory is probably skewed becase it was the first time I experienced success.

I had blue gravel first (wth was I thinking?) plants died

...then reg fluorite (plants died)

...then eco complete (plants died)...then realized that the plants were not true aquatics --recommended to me from petsmart of course :icon_roll

...then big tank overhaul with upgraded lighting, DIY co2 and activ flora (first time I successfully grew a carpet of glosso...and it was quick too, like a 20gal in less than a month and a thick carpet in under 2) which is probably why Im biased

...sold it all off and tried kitty litter with HC, it died (went pressurized)

...then did PFS mixed with peat moss w/ dwarf sag and another quick carpet but I didnt let it get thick because I didnt like the look (also started EI dosing here)

...then finally settled on MGOC topped with black sand with HC...and it exploded with growth

...then UG and it exploded with growth

...then dwarf sag again...didnt like it

...then glosso

...and now DHG and its slow going for some reason, after 3months Im finally seeing runners (probably gonna go back to glosso in teh future, Ive decided its my favorite, growing some in a window sill now)


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## shrimpNewbie

i may have been thinking about flora base, my bad.


i loved using miracle grow organic also however i used way too deep of a bedding and ended up gassing my fish and my room, it was disgusting having the stuff breakdown under water, mineralizing is a better route and works better imo, less cap more soil than with miracle grow, either way my preference is a shallow bed of sand with osmocote.


whatever you choose it will really come down to what you want to look at, and in all honesty sand and aquasoil rule.


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## sayurasem

look at my pic, its 12lb floramax midnight. I would say its decent. It comes with a pouch of "water clearifier liquid." From far away (6ft) it looks decent and nice! has black, gray, red, black/blue metallic, brown etc. from close up you can see sharp rocks.

yes I do *not* recommend if you have corries. But *O.K.* if you have pleco/oto because mostly they stay/suck on the glass 85% of time / rest on leaves (oto only).

-overall... middle, better than plain gravel with no nutrients what so ever.
It cost me 12 bucks for 12 lb. from petsmart with membership.

-right now I'm attempting HC carpet... don't know yet still day 4 since planted


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## astrosag

shrimpNewbie said:


> i may have been thinking about flora base, my bad.
> 
> 
> i loved using miracle grow organic also however i used way too deep of a bedding and ended up gassing my fish and my room, it was disgusting having the stuff breakdown under water....



You probably had too much of it (too deep). I have about 1" of it and not in 6 months has there been an issue of it going anaerobic. 

Most of everything I grow is in the MGOS capped with Eco-complete section. The eco-complete only section has nothing growing it - waiting to find a great low-light/no CO2 carpeting plant.


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## kevmo911

First, take a quick look at this thread:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/cryptocorynes/76369-substrate-experiment-commercial.html

Bottom line: don't stress too much over the substrate type. Unless you're a perfectionist, go with what looks good and is fairly cheap. High CEC is a nice bonus. Fertilize and use root tabs, and you'll do pretty much what any high-end, nutrient-rich substrate will do on its own.

One other thing - while many people cap something with something else (MTS, potting soil, finer-grained sand, whatever) and have good results, many others will warn that a simple mistake, like tearing out a rooty plant or dumping water in too violently, will leave you with a huge mess.

My advice: pick something pretty that you've read about here. You can't go wrong.


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## Msoar16

Old thread bur floramax is the same as flourite, just cheaper. No issues with corys and it is not sharp, looks jagged but very soft. Best color of any substrate, if you want a natural look IMO.


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