Seachem's Aqua Vitro Plant Line

[krisw]

I picked up a few bottles of Seachem's new high-end plant fertilizer line from Tropical Lagoon the other day. To start, I just got "Envy" (Traces) and "Propel" (Iron) to try out on one of my tanks to see if I notice any differences from the regular Flourish products. These ferts are supposed to only be sold through local fish stores.

http://www.aquavitro.com/products/plant.html

Has anyone else tried these? If so, do you notice any difference compared with regular old Flourish? The packaging is much nicer, but I don't think that has any effect on plant growth!

[Aaron]

Looks like repackaged Seachem to me.

aquariumfertilizers.com now has ferrous gluconate if you want to try mixing your own. Seems to work well for me so far.

[krisw]

It *is* Seachem. Supposedly there's more traces and proteins in the trace that's not in Flourish.

[takadi]

lol, with the names you'd think they're marketing cologne. Boutique fertilizers?

[Aaron]

Actually, with the name I had hoped they were marketing aquatic plants grown in vitro.

[Aaron]

Noticing any difference with the fancy traces?

[krisw]

You know, it's hard to tell. My stems have been looking really good. I've been dosing their recommended dose, which is less than I usually do for flourish and Fe, so it might be more concentrated, which would be a good thing. I'm continuing with it. I should probably try to do a side by side growth test to really see.

[Aaron]

You know, it's hard to tell. My stems have been looking really good. I've been dosing their recommended dose, which is less than I usually do for flourish and Fe, so it might be more concentrated, which would be a good thing. I'm continuing with it. I should probably try to do a side by side growth test to really see.

I'm curious because the envy isn't trace elements, it's just vitamins and I wondered if it was really beneficial or just snake oil. It's also curious that the new aquavitro line doesn't seem to have a product that does contain traces like maganese, etc...

I saw Brightwell recently came out with a substrate system that looks interesting too.

[krisw]

I'm curious because the envy isn't trace elements, it's just vitamins and I wondered if it was really beneficial or just snake oil. It's also curious that the new aquavitro line doesn't seem to have a product that does contain traces like maganese, etc...

I saw Brightwell recently came out with a substrate system that looks interesting too.

Actually, it's fairly confusing. If you look at the guaranteed analysis on the bottle, it doesn't list any trace elements. But, if you read the description on their website, it says that it contains "chlorella," which contains a great number of trace elements:

http://www.aquavitro.com/products/envy.html

envy™ is a comprehensive carbohydrate, vitamin, amino acid, and polyunsaturated fatty acid supplement that addresses the micro and trace nutritional requirements of plants. envy™ contains ascorbic acid in a base of chlorella that contains a rich assortment of amino acids and vitamins.

Chlorella is a unique algae that grows in fresh water. It is extremely high in enzymes, vitamins and minerals, including the full vitamin-B Complex. It is over-flowing with unsaturated fatty acids, amino acids, and proteins. There are also vitamins found in Chlorella including: Vitamin C, pro-vitamin A (B-carotene), thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), pyridoxine (B6), niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, Vitamin B12, biotin, choline, Vitamin K, lipoic acid, and inositol. Minerals in Chlorella include: phosphorus, calcium, zinc, iodine, magnesium, iron, and copper. It contains a higher level of amino acids than spirulina and is FDA approved for use with ornamental fish.

Of course, it doesn't seem to guarantee any specifics amounts of many of those.

[DelawareJim]

Um, Chlorella is a genus of algae; like Chlorella vulgaris. It has a reputation for easily binding with heavy metals. Back in the day, there was a fad to use it as a "de-toxifier". Don't know if I would want to intentionally add algae to my tank.

Cheers.
Jim