[Wet Thumb Forum]-Substrates - Fertilizing

aquaticscapes · 03-22-2003, 02:57 PM

I have just set up two twenty gallon tanks that are mirror identical, plants, water chemistry, filters, lighting. GH of 4, KH 2, both CO2 injected one bubble per second, 77 degrees F. The difference in each tank is the substrate. One is Eco Complete with a Dupla Thermik substrate heater, the other is Florabase by Red Sea, both purportedly have everything a plant needs to grow. Plants are Wisteria, Cabomba, Wallichi, Didiplus, Broadleaf Repens, Alternanthera Reineckii, Myrophyllum, Limnophilia Sess, Sag Subulata,Hydrocotyle Leucocephala, and Ludwigia palustris.Except for the Sag, which is on the high end of the temp scale, I choose bunch plants for the experiment because it is much easier to observe growth. All were the same amount of stems and heights. I am told by the wholesaler that got me to try the Florabase that it produces its own heat. Both are in a constant 61 degree environment and it appears he is right because the Florabase is warm to the touch. Just set it up two days ago so should be interesting to observe which does better. I have a twenty that is set up with Eco Complete without the undergravel and after initial lag time, the plants are unbelievable in their pace of growth as well as their appearance. Don Matakis

aquaticscapes · 03-22-2003, 02:57 PM

I have just set up two twenty gallon tanks that are mirror identical, plants, water chemistry, filters, lighting. GH of 4, KH 2, both CO2 injected one bubble per second, 77 degrees F. The difference in each tank is the substrate. One is Eco Complete with a Dupla Thermik substrate heater, the other is Florabase by Red Sea, both purportedly have everything a plant needs to grow. Plants are Wisteria, Cabomba, Wallichi, Didiplus, Broadleaf Repens, Alternanthera Reineckii, Myrophyllum, Limnophilia Sess, Sag Subulata,Hydrocotyle Leucocephala, and Ludwigia palustris.Except for the Sag, which is on the high end of the temp scale, I choose bunch plants for the experiment because it is much easier to observe growth. All were the same amount of stems and heights. I am told by the wholesaler that got me to try the Florabase that it produces its own heat. Both are in a constant 61 degree environment and it appears he is right because the Florabase is warm to the touch. Just set it up two days ago so should be interesting to observe which does better. I have a twenty that is set up with Eco Complete without the undergravel and after initial lag time, the plants are unbelievable in their pace of growth as well as their appearance. Don Matakis

jpmtotoro · 03-22-2003, 04:19 PM

yes please be sure to post the results, it will be interesting to see. i don't think many people do what you are doing

we end up tearing it out and redoing it, or just not giving a hoot, so maybe NEXT time i can make an informed decision!

JP

aquaticscapes · 03-23-2003, 04:56 AM

I just hope I can keep my hands off of it long enough to observe the growth without spoiling the original conditions. It's tempting to fill it up with plants due to ever growing needs for space, all of these plants I gave adequate room to grow. It should be interesting. Don Matakis

aquaticscapes · 04-13-2003, 03:32 AM

Well preliminary results are in with Eco Complete far outperforming the flora base! Plants are taller and grow faster in the Eco Complete tank, Of course it also has a substrate heater and the florabase does not. There was only one plant in the flora base side that did better in terms of growth and that was the Ludwigia glandulosa, which is about 3 inches taller in the Florabase tank. I kept the conditions as even as I possibly could, and it only mirrors the growth I observed in the non heated Eco Complete tank. It did seem to be faster growth with the heated Eco for whatever that is worth. Perhaps that made the nutrient content available to the plants sooner, I don't know. And in my customer tank I fertilize with Tropica Mastergrow (about a third of the recommended dose) in the water column once a week, and all plants there are displaying very healthy growth with Eco Complete with the substrate heating system. It is a very viable substrate for exceptional aquatic plant growth IMO. Of course a little credit could go to the grower, LOL. Don Matakis