Flourish questions

[Totenkampf]

I think you mean "fluorite"?..the substrate? Yes, you can bleach it as it's pretty much, to quote Jeff Senske, "crushed-up flower pots".

Mark

lol nice catch mark, i am sure that is what was meant. since it is fractured clay and can absorb nutrients, can it absorb bleach? i would rince it really well after and use dechlorinator

[76dragon]

Yes, thanks for the catch. I meant flourite substrate.

lol nice catch mark, i am sure that is what was meant. since it is fractured clay and can absorb nutrients, can it absorb bleach? i would rince it really well after and use dechlorinator

[Complexity]

The best thing for a massive MTS invasion is see if you can borrow someones adult Clown Loaches! (Try this first complexity!)

I've managed to get control of the snails, but now the substrate is littered with hundreds (maybe thousands?) of empty shells. It's unsightly. So when I found Eco Complete for $16 a bag and had my 90g to take over the fish and plants from the 75g, I figured this would be the best chance I would have to clean out the 75g from all the snail shells. Plus, I was never able to paint a background on that tank which has bothered me all this time so I want to get that done. So it's a major overhaul with the snail issue being just one element in the whole thing.

Having said all that, it is generally not recommended to put adult clown loaches in planted tanks. The juveniles are supposed to be okay, but the adults are said to do some pretty major damage.

I will look into the No-Planaria, but its betel nut palm extract and betel nuts are pretty bad a$$ed. overseas they chew them for the caffine and they are a powerful stimulant

I read that it's biodegradable, but it didn't indicate how long it takes or what it breaks down to (inert substances to future snails?). I did find this, but the page did not indicate what it meant by "long term". http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/imag...laneria_01.jpg Too little info.

[Totenkampf]

IHaving said all that, it is generally not recommended to put adult clown loaches in planted tanks. The juveniles are supposed to be okay, but the adults are said to do some pretty major damage.

I guess every individual is different, but i had five adults that were around 6-7 inches in length and i never saw them eat anything but protein matter, even once the snails were culled out. it did take a long time, the oldest MTS dont go to the surface much, they just cruise around and reproduce like little landsharks under the substrate. eventually, tho, they got GOT

[Complexity]

I've never had them so I have no personal experience, but the caution isn't that they'll eat the plants, but that they'll uproot the plants. It could be one of those myths that goes around or it may just depend on the plants/substrate you have. I've just never had a tank large enough for a shoal of them so I've always passed them up.

[Totenkampf]

with well rooted palnts there isnt a problem other than occasionsally uprooting one when they get spooked (dusk / dawn lights are a good idea). they dont actually dig for the snails, just pick them off the surface and crunch em, at least i never saw them dig nor did i see evidence of this. they come from sandy climates so i would think that their barbels would go in for nosing though even pool sand or flourite

[Complexity]

Maybe that's where the issue came from -- unrooted stems? It's the natural cycle to cut the tops off, discard the rooted bottoms, and plant the unrooted tops.

I just know that I finally got mine under control, but now I'm left with a zillion shells. I never really liked how it looked, but it really stood out when I started up the 90g and put fresh substrate in without all those shells. It looked so much better! So I figured I wouldn't have a chance to replace the substrate like this again so I might as well take advantage of it while I could.

[mistahoo]

BTW, be sure to take note of their description of Flourish: "Flourish™ is designed to be used in conjunction with other macro and micro-nutrient supplements." What this means is that Flourish is not a complete fertilizer by itself, and it is not intended to be used with Excel alone either.

Excel is the carbon source -- a CO2 substitute, not a fertilizer
Flourish -- these are the micro (trace) ferts
Flourish Nitrogen, Flourish Phosphorus, and Flourish Potassium -- these are the macro ferts

All 5 are needed together.

You would dose Excel every day.

You would dose Flourish every other day.
And dose Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium every other day

Your micros and macros are dosed on opposite days.

So your dosing regime would look something like this:

Mon -- Excel + Flourish (micros)
Tues -- Excel + Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (macros)
Wed -- Excel + Flourish (micros)
Thur -- Excel + Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (macros)
Fri -- Excel + Flourish (micros)
Sat -- Excel + Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (macros)
Sun -- 50% water change only

This is the same as you would do with dry ferts, except you're using liquid ferts.

Thanks! I've been dosing flourish for about 3 months and excel for about 1 1/2 now. Didn't pay much attention that the flourish was trace micro ferts. I've been seeing great results though! Would dosing macros push the growth and color of the plants much more? My tank is packed with plants and livestock so they're getting the good ole poo as well.