seachem flourish advice

[kevfiz]

Can anyone tell me the advantages and disadvantages of using seachem flourish?

 

[Essjay]

Which type of Flourish, there are several. Flourish comprehensive supplement for the planted aquarium; Flourish Excel; Flourish Advance; nitrogen, iron, phosphorus etc etc.

 

[kevfiz]

Sorry I meant to put excel

 

[Essjay]

Pros - if there are fish in the tank, none
Cons - it contains a powerful disinfectant which is harmful to fish even at the recommended dose. An accidental overdose can kill fish and plants.

There are products marketed for use in fish tanks which should not be used, and this is one of them. For an aquatic garden with no fish, it is probably OK. But not when there are fish in the tank.

 

[kevfiz]

This might sound crazy but can I squeeze a sponge into the tank to add oxygen? I clean the glass of the tank with sponge every few months and I notice the amount of bubbles it puts in.

 

[Byron]

This might sound crazy but can I squeeze a sponge into the tank to add oxygen? I clean the glass of the tank with sponge every few months and I notice the amount of bubbles it puts in.

The air in the sponge will squeeze out into the water as bubbles, but these break at the surface so I cannot see it being of any benefit.

Bubbles that appear on surfaces during a water change are most likely CO2 from the tap water. Dissolved CO2 can be high in tap water. This does benefit the plants somewhat depending upon the normal CO2 level.

Edit. Forgot to mention essjay is spot on re the Excel. Never use this in an aquarium with fish. For one thing, it is not needed, but the detrimental effect of adding this sort of toxic disinfectant is a serious risk. I know there are people on this forum who will say they use it with no harm to the fish, but unless they are trained biologists that can perform a necropsy on a fish to back this up, it is impossible to assume it is "safe." Splash some on your skin and it will burn. That is not "safe" for fish.

 

[Retired Viking]

I use seachem flourish comprehensive and avoid Excel. I also use their root taps.

 

[Fishmanic]

I spilled some excel on my vinyl tile floor once . It discolored the tile permanently. I stopped using it years ago. I wouldn't want that nasty stuff in my fish.

 

[thelonerasbora]

Does flourish advance have the same problems?

 

[Byron]

Does flourish advance have the same problems?

Flourish Advance does not list glutaraldehyde as an ingredient, and this is the ingredient in Flourish Excel (and most other so-called "liquid carbon" supplements) so presumably not. However, one must always realize that additives to the tank water will get inside the fish, and none of them are beneficial to fish. Minimum additives will always result in less-stressed fish which should translate into healthier fish.

I use a comprehensive liquid fertilizer, but sparingly.

I looked into Flourish Advance a while back (online I mean, not by using it) and I could not see any real need. If you run a high-tech planted tank you are in a different situation and these products may have benefits. But for those of us with fish tanks that happen to have live plants in them, where fish come first, many of these products really are not necessary.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I use seachem flourish comprehensive and avoid Excel. I also use their root taps.

@Byron So Seachem Flourish Comprehensive is safe??? That’s what I use.

 

[AbbeysDad]

@Byron So Seachem Flourish Comprehensive is safe??? That’s what I use.

I'll step in and say that it's safe, or as safe as any aquatic fertilizer when used appropriately. Having said that, anything and everything in the water ends up in fish through osmosis. So modest ferts are likely 'okay', but too much (of anything) is bad.

 

[Byron]

Agree. The goal is to add only what the plants actually can use. I take the approach that caution is better than assumption. Water is continually entering the fish through every cell and at the gills. Substances dissolved in the water may or may not get through the cells (gills are another issue). It depends upon the size of the particles dissolved in the water, as large particles cannot diffuse through the cell membrane. I am not a chemist and I have no way of knowing the particle size in these products, and I suspect the manufacturers would never disclose such information--I once asked Seachem about the level of TDS in Prime and they came back with "no idea," which I took to mean either they really didn't know or more likely they did not want me to know. So caution (and common sense) tells me to avoid the risk. The gills issue is a bit different, as chemical substances in the water can impact their function; clarifiers for example will bind the gill filaments which in time starves the fish of oxygen, while chlorine burns the filaments, and aloe vera slowly destroys the filaments, and other substances can have similar effects.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Thanks, guys. I only half dose to be safe.