CONDITIONERS & TREATMENT

Flourish Trace™ supplies a broad range of trace elements demonstrated to be necessary for proper plant health and growth (see below for signs of deficiencies). Trace elements are normally depleted by utilization, oxidation and precipitation. The latter two processes occur more rapidly than with other micronutrients. This makes it important to restore trace elements on a regular basis. Flourish Trace™ is safe for invertebrates such as shrimp.

We normally recommend one start with Flourish® and/or Flourish Tabs™. These provide a broad range of micro-nutrients (vitamins, amino acids) and micro and trace elements (iron, manganese, nickel, cobalt, etc) that will enhance plant health and growth. If the growth rate is substantial the trace elements are often utilized more rapidly than the other components in Flourish®, thus in this case it would be beneficial to also employ Flourish Trace™ along with Flourish® and/or Flourish Tabs™.

Iron is immobile in plants. This means that plants cannot divert iron from older leaves to new ones. Therefore, deficiency symptoms appear first on new or young leaves. Because plants use iron to produce chlorophyll, a lack of iron results in chlorosis, or yellowing, of the younger leaves. Stems may also appear short and slender. If the deficiency is severe and prolonged, each new leaf emerges lighter in color than the preceding leaf.

When choosing an iron supplement, it is important to know the distinction between the two forms of iron. The iron will be in one of two oxidation states: ferrous having a +2 charge, or ferric having a +3 charge. Ferrous iron, the preferred iron form and is soluble in water at any pH. Ferric iron, however, is only soluble below a pH of around 5.5; but if the pH is higher than 5.5, which more than likely it will be in a planted aquarium, the ferric iron will become insoluble and precipitate, settling in the root zone. Once this occurs, foliar absorbtion becomes impossible.

To overcome this precipitation, competing products employ a chelate of ferric iron: iron-EDTA. While this does keep it soluble, it has a couple of drawbacks with respect to foliar uptake of iron. (1) Iron-EDTA bonding is very strong, thus very little of the iron will be available to the plants over a given time frame and (2) Physiological energy must be expended by the plant in order to extract the ferric iron from EDTA-iron and then convert (reduce) it to the ferrous form. Our approach is different in that we use a complex (not chelate) of ferrous iron in Flourish Iron™.

Flourish Iron™ is a highly concentrated (10,000 mg/L) ferrous iron gluconate supplement. Plants are able to much more easily derive a benefit from Flourish Iron™ because ferrous iron gluconate is already in the ferrous form so they do not expend energy reducing it. Despite what other manufacturers may intimate, gluconate is not harmful to plants or fish. In fact, ferrous gluconate is better suited to foliar feeding than is iron-EDTA owing to the relatively weaker iron-gluconate bonding vs. iron-EDTA bonding. In addition, ferrous gluconate has the added bonus of being a source of carbon.

Replenish™ is a proprietary blend of salts designed to replenish physiologically relevant minerals that are removed by reverse osmosis or deionizing filtration. Replenish™ restores General Hardness (GH) using a balanced blend of both “soft” (sodium, potassium) and “hard” (calcium, magnesium) salts. Restoration of mineral content is essential since a complete lack of minerals will result in osmotic stress in those species whose osmoregulation systems are adapted to a mineralized environment. Severe osmotic stress can result in osmotic shock which will lead to rapid death.

To restore GH in the planted aquarium, we recommend Equilibrium™.

Neutral Regulator® adjusts pH to neutral (pH 7.0) from either a low or high pH and maintains it there. It softens water by precipitating calcium and magnesium while removing any chlorine, chloramine, and detoxifying ammonia. The use of Neutral Regulator® makes other conditioning unnecessary. To lower pH below 7.0 use Neutral Regulator® with Acid Regulator™ (or Discus Buffer®). To raise pH above 7.0 use with Alkaline Regulator™. All of these products will enhance and stabilize the freshwater aquarium environment. For further freshwater environment enhancement, use Fresh Trace™ to restore the proper level of trace elements and feed NutriDiet® Tropical Flakes for thriving, healthy freshwater community fish.

Contains phosphate buffers and conditioning agents. Safe for all freshwater fish acclimated to neutral pH.

American Cichlid Salt™ is a chemically sound blend of salts designed to replicate the natural environment of American Cichlids. It contains all physiologically essential elements such as magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, and includes trace components such as iron, aluminum, and iodide.

American Cichlid Salt™ is formulated so that dosages vary depending on the species’ origin and need only be added when setting up an aquarium or with water changes.

Flourish Excel™ is a source of bioavailable organic carbon. All plants require a source of carbon. This is typically obtained from CO₂, but, may also be derived from simple organic compounds (such as photosynthetic intermediates). The use of either CO₂ injection or Flourish Excel™ does not necessarily negate the use of the other. Because the processes of producing photosynthetic intermediates and building onto them occur simultaneously, one can derive a substantial benefit with the use of Flourish Excel™ either alone or in conjunction with CO₂ . The combination is particularly ideal for situations when continuing to add CO₂ could result in dangerously low pH levels. Flourish Excel™ also has iron reducing properties which promote the ferrous state of iron (Fe⁺²), which is more easily utilized by plants than ferric iron (Fe⁺³).

The reason plants need CO₂ is to produce longer chain carbon compounds also known as photosynthetic intermediates. Photosynthetic intermediates includes compounds such as ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate, and 2-carboxy-3-keto-D-arabinitol 1,5 bisphosphate. Although the names are complicated, the structures are quite simple (5 carbon chains). Flourish Excel™ does not contain these specific compounds per se, but one that is quite similar. By dosing with Flourish Excel™ you bypass the involvement of CO₂ and introduce the already finished, structurally similar compounds. It is in its structural similarity that Flourish Excel™ is able to be utilized in the carbon chain building process of photosynthesis. Simple chemical or enzymatic steps can easily convert it to any one to any one of the above named compounds (or a variety of others).

Flourish® is a comprehensive plant supplement for the natural freshwater aquarium. It contains a rich assortment of important micro elements, trace elements and other nutrients. These include calcium, magnesium, iron and other important elements that have been shown to be beneficial to aquatic plants. For macro element (NPK) fertilization, use Flourish® Nitrogen™, Flourish® Phosphorus™ or Flourish® Potassium™ as needed. Flourish® is safe for invertebrates such as shrimp.

Flourish® is designed to be used in conjunction with other macro and micro-nutrient supplements. Other manufacturers try to include ALL necessary nutrients, leading to overdoses of micro-nutrients in an attempt to raise macro-nutrient levels.

Stability® will rapidly and safely establish the aquarium biofilter in freshwater and marine systems, thereby preventing the #1 cause of fish death: "new tank syndrome". Stability® is formulated specifically for the aquarium and contains a synergistic blend of aerobic, anaerobic, and facultative bacteria which facilitate the breakdown of waste organics, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. The bacteria employed by Stability® are non-sulfur fixing and will not produce toxic hydrogen sulfide. Stability® is completely harmless to all aquatic organisms as well as aquatic plants, thus there is no danger of over use.

The bacteria used in competing products are inherently unstable. The conditions necessary for their growth and development fall into a very narrow range of temperatures, pH, organic loads, etc. When any of these parameters are not strictly within the proper range, the bacterial culture quickly crashes and dies. Stability® is not limited this way. The necessary conditions for the growth of Stability's™ bacteria strains encompass a very broad range. When other bacteria begin to die off (usually from high organic loads caused by the undetected death of an organism), Stability™ simply becomes more effective.

Safe™ is the complete and super-concentrated dry conditioner for both fresh and salt water. Safe™ removes chlorine, chloramine and detoxifies ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. It is non-acidic and will not impact pH. A further bonus for the reef hobbyist—Safe™ will not over-activate skimmers.

Safe™ may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity. It contains a binder which renders ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate non-toxic, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. Use at start-up and whenever adding or replacing water. When transporting or quarantining fish, use Seachem StressGuard™. When adding new fish, use Stability®. Both are ideal for use with Safe™.