# SERA Florena vs other brands



## Antipofish (15 Dec 2011)

Hi, I have kind of asked the question "which ferts" already,  but am really interested to find out _WHY_ one brand might be better than another.  Some say TPN+ slightly fewer say Flourish.  Then LFS's mostly want to peddle Tetra Plant stuff, and I expect I may well end up going down the EI route once I am a bit more accomplished.

I would like to throw another name into the mix.  SERA FLORENA.  I have been looking at the Sera range of products.  Their Florena claims to have no nitrates or phosphates and be balanced in such a way as to minimise the chances of algae.

So my question is twofold;

1) Why is one brand better than another (stake your claim and say why you prefer against others) ?
2) Has anyone had any experience of Sera Florena (or any of their water treatments) ?

Cheers.


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## Alastair (15 Dec 2011)

Never tried the sera stuff myself, I used apf all in one and tnc all in one and had great results with both before moving into ei dosing. Youd only need a plant food with our phosphate or nitrates if you were planning on relying on your fish waste and left over food to supply npk. If need be I have two spare bottles of tropica ferts you could have for a small fee. Both 500ml.
I'm not biased in anyway but like I say I had great results with fluid sensor onlines all in one and apf all in one. However tropica is supposed to be good stuff.

Oh and nitrates and phosphates don't cause algae.


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## Antipofish (15 Dec 2011)

Alastair said:
			
		

> Never tried the sera stuff myself, I used apf all in one and tnc all in one and had great results with both before moving into ei dosing. Youd only need a plant food with our phosphate or nitrates if you were planning on relying on your fish waste and left over food to supply npk. If need be I have two spare bottles of tropica ferts you could have for a small fee. Both 500ml.
> I'm not biased in anyway but like I say I had great results with fluid sensor onlines all in one and apf all in one. However tropica is supposed to be good stuff.
> 
> Oh and nitrates and phosphates don't cause algae.



Hi Alastair, thanks for that.  What DOES cause algae then, so i can avoid it   And why would Sera make a point of saying i does not contain N & P ?  I assume K is potassium ? Does fish waste provide that ?  I expect at the end of it I will have quite a few fish so it may well be they provide enough...


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## Alastair (15 Dec 2011)

Too much light, an inbalance of ferts, not enough co2 or fluctuating co2, and insufficient flow :0). If you've read the ei dosing tutorial it explains that ei is essentially us supplying our tanks with an excess of nutrients in order to ensure there's more than enough to supply the plants. Healthy plants means they take up the nutrients out competing algae. Sick plants ate caused by not enough nutrients co2 etc which means algae can take hold, Or if light is running too long or too high. 
Some off the shelf ferts are still made sticking to the old myth that nitrates and phosphates cause algae which it's proven they don't. If your going heavy with the fish load then a fert with out n and p will be ok.


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## CeeJay (16 Dec 2011)

Hi all



			
				Alastair said:
			
		

> Too much light, an inbalance of ferts, not enough co2 or fluctuating co2, and insufficient flow :0)


I agree with all of the above, however there is one very important ommission. Ammonia.
Ammonia + Light = Algae...........guaranteed  every time


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## Antipofish (16 Dec 2011)

CeeJay said:
			
		

> Hi all
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Won't the filter be dealing with that though ?


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## CeeJay (16 Dec 2011)

Hi all
Missed this bit.  


			
				Alastair said:
			
		

> Healthy plants means they take up the nutrients out competing algae.


This is not quite the case.
It's not about out competing the algae. Algae need far less nutrients to survive than our higher order plants, so the plants will never out compete the algae for nutrients.
The problem is the trigger. Once algae has been triggered, it will feed on the very same stuff that you feed your plants.
To give you a real life example, I ran a tank for about 9 months dosing double the EI values. In theory, that meant that there was a whole weeks supply of ferts in excess, every week, compared to what the plants required, and not a drop of algae. All I had was mental plant growth rates (CO2 had to go up too).
If we know what the triggers are, we take steps to avoid them (we're doing it all the time, maybe without realising it). Not too much light, enough ferts, enough CO2, enough circulation and no ammonia, which means keeping the tank clean. We achieve this with our huge weekly water change


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## CeeJay (16 Dec 2011)

Hi all


			
				Antipofish said:
			
		

> Won't the filter be dealing with that though ?


The bulk of it yes.
However, it can't deal with localised Ammonia production, produced by failing plant leaves. If it could, you wouldn't get algae on your plants   .


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## Antipofish (16 Dec 2011)

CeeJay said:
			
		

> Hi all
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So the moral of that is to cut out failing leaves whenever you see them ?


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## CeeJay (16 Dec 2011)

Hi all



			
				Antipofish said:
			
		

> So the moral of that is to cut out failing leaves whenever you see them ?


Absolutely. 
You're never going to save them


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