Re: Flourish nitrogen and Phosphorus

["Bailin Shaw" <bailin_shaw at hotmail_com>]

Hi Robert,

I was one of the beta testers for the new line of Seachem's products.  I'll 
try to elaborate on the products without giving away anything proprietary.

>
>Can someone explain this "unavailable" form? Does this mean algae can not
>feed on it?
>
Premise behind the "complexed" form is that the ammonia is not as readily 
available to algae because the algae needs the ionized form on ammonia over 
the complexed form.  Plants are capable of utilizing the complexed ammonia, 
thereby giving the plants the added advantage of uptake of the ammonia over 
the algae.  This was based on some conversations that Dr. Morin and I had 
prior to the publication of a review I did on both products.

>
> >>When used as directed Flourish PhosphorusT will enhance and accelerate 
>the
>growth of aquatic plants without enhancing algae growth.<<
>
>Can someone elaborate on this statement?
>
I take this to mean that if you use all or most of their products based on 
the instructions, you will get enhanced growth of the plants by maintaining 
proper levels of each nutrient.  Of course, this may not necessarily be 
accurate since all water is not the same and conditions differ from tank to 
tank based on plant density, bioload, and other such factors.  However, if 
we were to maintain the nutrients based on the instructions for the various 
Seachem products and provide adequate lighting and CO2, I think the 
statement of "enhance and accelerate the growth" is accurate.
>
>So is anyone using this? Is this a suitable alternative to buying raw
>chemicals?
>
I've used and still use both of the new products as well as many of their 
other products.  I think if you're new to dosing of nitrogen and phophorus, 
then adding these two nutrients based on the recommended levels will improve 
your plant's growth quite nicely.  The one drawback is that increasingly 
larger amounts are eventually going to be required to maintain the enhanced 
growth and accelerated growth eventually begins to slow as plant mass 
increases.  This would only make sense since demand for the nitrogen and 
phosphorus source would increase with a higher plant mass.

If you want a more concise article, read the review of the products on the 
Dallas-Fort Worth Aquatic Plant Club site:
http://www.aquatic-plants.org/product_reviews/seachem/seachem_np.html

Hope that helps.

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