# flourite?



## hiphopn (Feb 10, 2005)

do i need flourite or a type of fertilizer substrate? or can i use sand or gravel???? and add liquid fert. if so what kind is the best liquid fert?


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## spree_rider (Mar 20, 2004)

you can use regular gravel or sand but flourite is better, and for ferts anything will work as long as its made for aquarium use, depending on your fish load and food type you will get best results from different brands of ferts, most people seem to use seachem i use a hagan product called plantgrow because its all i can get localy and it works good, if you are interested you can make your own ferts for practically nothing, but im too lazy so dont know too much about them, i know you can get all the ingrediants for cheap, and most of them at a drugstore, but you would have to ask around to get the recipe


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## hiphopn (Feb 10, 2005)

owwwww sounds interesting... i want that recipe. i have a couple more questions and there is no point in starting a new thread unless they dont get answered in here. how do i know if my tank is planted heavilly enough that:
A)my plants will starve the algae
and
B)i dont have to do gravel vacs
?????
here is a pic of my current set up. it is kinda cloudy right now cuz i just added a few more plants. i have a little over 4wpg and i am injecting co2...
please help
View attachment 56622
View attachment 56623
View attachment 56626
View attachment 56629


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## hiphopn (Feb 10, 2005)

it is 17 plants in all.... i really dont like that amazon sword on the left either which sux cuz i bought it today and it cost like 11 bux which is expensive for a plant that looks gay and takes up too much room...


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## Blitz023 (Feb 19, 2004)

nice setup man.


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## channafreak (Mar 27, 2004)

Well......just having plants dosent mean you wont get algae. Its all about nutrient balance. Even the best balanced tanks get algae also. Elbow grease required no matter what. The best preventative measure for algea "blooms" are test kits for nitrate, potassium, and phosphate. Dont overdose with nutrients and make more frequent smaller waterchanges. I vac maybe twice a year in my planted tanks. Almost never. Only when the buildup of "mulm" is causing a problem.


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## hiphopn (Feb 10, 2005)

wtf is mulm? i am so sick of spending money on all these test kits. gosh!


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## channafreak (Mar 27, 2004)

Mulm that sludge that is left after waste and other organic material is broken down by the bacteria in your gravel. Rich in nutrients.


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## spree_rider (Mar 20, 2004)

in a p tank you will always have to vacume out the leftovers, and probably is no way to perminantly stop algea. 
btw nice looking setup.


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