Florite - why do you use it?

[ScottVinVA]

Is this something special for planted tanks or does it just look nicer? I know its not just rock but made up of minerals and such correct?

Is it easier to plant in that vs regular tank gravel or peagravel?

Thanks

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

It is something special for the plants. In the wild, plants don't grow in loose gravel on top of glass, they grow in dirt/mud. This is where they absorb nutrients. The fluorite is an attempt to recreate a more natural substrate for your root-feeding plants.

 

[ScottVinVA]

So would they grow better in sand vs peagravel if you can't get Flourite. I know you can order it online but if you don't want to spend the money would sand be better than gravel?

Thanks for the input!

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

Yes, sand would be better than gravel. I've found flourite at petsmart.

 

[travis simonson]

I agree, most plants seem to really like quartz sand instead of your basic aquarium gravel. You can buy good plant sand at places like Home Depot. The stuff you want is sold as 'play sand' and is a great substrate for planted tanks.

Flourite is used becasue it is a fracted (read: shattered) clay base that contains many micronutrients that root-feeding aqautic plants love. Standard gravel and sand do not provide these nutrients. This is the advantage of Flourite. I would also recommend looking into Caribsea's Eco-Complete Planted Tank Substrate and Seachem's Onyx Sand substrate if you're looking for a really serious planted tank substrate. They're much darker than Flourite and, IMHO, look a lot better. Eco-Complete is one of the most popular planted tank substrates going and I use it in my main tank. I use a mix of sand and Flourite in my grow-out tank with similar success. I've never tried Onyx Sand, but it sure looks cool