# Flourite substrate



## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

Were you fertilizing? Flourite alone is inert, it just has a high capacity for holding nutrients (CEC).


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

+one^.
The fluorite may contain some iron but little else for use by plant's until such time as it has aged and soaked up(adsorbed) mulm,fish waste.
The stuff would also grab onto nutrient's dosed to the water.
I used to use fluorite alone, and found it to get better with age.
I also dosed flourish comprehensive to the tank's twice a week.
The flourish comprehensive alone, would not in my view be enough for high tech tank's with higher light energy, but it DOES contain a little of the macro/micro nutrient's(read the label) that might could work fairly well with low tech,lower lit tank's.IME
People like to say the flourish comprehensive is only trace mineral's,(not true) but they might be confusing it with flourish trace or simply regurgitating what they have heard from other's.


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 13, 2007)

I only use Flourite and it's always been great, however, I do follow Tom Barr's non CO2 dosing schedule.

Thanks,
Harry


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

pg20-21.. 
http://www.sfwcf.com/pam/pam2c.pdf

somewhere there is a better link to the chart but the point is it is a fairly comprehensive analysis of substrate types.
As to your question, think it depends on plant types and light/fertilizer more than substrate..


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I like to use it as part of a mixed base for plants. Sand, gravel, dirt and Flourite are all part of my mixed bag. Nature rarely has a simple one item floor in the creeks and lakes I watch so a mix better fits what my mind thinks of as "natural". I like the way the water and my fish tend to sort and rearrange the different parts to make it seem more random as nature does things.


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## sevendust111 (Jul 15, 2014)

I have Flourite in my 20L high tech and have no problems growing plants. I would definitely pick it over Floramax or Eco Complete as it is a little heavier. It is still kinda light which can make planting difficult. My next tank I am going to move on to Aquasoil or something comparable. What is the deal with your ferts and light?


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi All,

Let's correct some misconceptions. Seachem Flourite (original) does not have a high cation exchange capacity (CEC). Seachem states that Flourite has a CEC of "less than 10". Testing has shown the CEC for Flourite to be about 1.7. It is higher than sand and gravel, which are both inert, but it certainly does not qualify as 'high CEC'. It does contain several minerals and micro-nutrients but it is questionable how much of those are available to the plants due to the moderate CEC. The same applies with regards to absorbing nutrients from the water column and making them available to the plants in the root zone, the moderate CEC limits its' capability in that regard. On the plus side it is heavier than most higher CEC substrates.

I would classify substrates such as the ADA Aquasoils (CEC = 24.5 - 27.5) and the Montmorillonite clay substrates as high CEC with readings in the range of CEC = 30 to 40.

Here is the chart from Planted Aquatic Magazine (PAM) Summer 2000 issue; Flourite is #19; Turface (a Montmorillonite clay) is #16 and #16a; the CEC column is on the far right


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Despite people saying Eco Complete has no nutrients, I had much better success without adding anything to it. I don't really dose anything. So why with Eco would I get growth but not Flourite?


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## zackariah (Jan 17, 2013)

Is that the only lt thing that changed? Are you using a florescent bulb? If so when's the last time you changed it? Has fertilizing changed? Is it the same type of plants? Same fish? Same quantity of fish....... there are many variables in this hobby. Sometimes we can do everything exactly the same on two separate tanks and get different results.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi Blackheart,

Depending upon the bio-load of my tank and the food types I feed the fish can generate (through their fish waste) sufficient nitrates and phosphates for some plant growth. Currently in a couple of my tanks I dose only 1/2 the recommended EI amount of potassium nitrate because the fish waste is sufficient to generate about 10ppm on its' own.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Any clay product such as fluorite will have better CEC than inert material.
Grew some pretty nice Sword plant's in pot's with nothing but fluorite.
As mentioned ,Adsorption capability of clay product's get's better with age but then so does inert gravel once the mulm/nutrient's and detritus settles in/throughout the substrate.


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