Nilocg Thrive... Which One To Use?

Hey all! So I’ve recently stumbled upon NilocG thrive all in one ferts but I’m a little confused on which one I should use.

I have been dosing my tank with seachem flourish but it hasn’t helped much. It has been suggested that I use other seachem products along with flourish but I don’t see a reason to buy different bottles when there is a brand of liquid ferts that has an all in one.

My tank is a 6 gal fluval edge and I have low light plants such as Anubias, java fern and Christmas moss. My main issue is my christmas moss as it hasn’t grown at all in the two months that it’s been in there while my Anubias has shot up a new leaf on two of my Anubias plants. I know these are all very slow growing plants but I’d like to give them a good source of food such as thrive. Which Thrive product should I use?

Info:

I’m still in the process of cycling my tank. I have zebra danios in right now and will be returning those for a dwarf puffer once my tank has established.

My parameters are:
Ph 7.6
GH 4
KH 2
Nitrate 5.0 (this amount is showing up in my tap water as well)

My tap has a GH of 6 and a KH of 4

My KH was at 3 for a while before it dropped. I don’t know how to remedy this as water changes aren’t bringing it back up and I don’t want to use buffers because I don’t want to raise my ph levels.

Not sure if this matters but my lighting is the fluval edge stock 21 led 4.4watt, 6500k but I may have to buy a led light to put on top of the glass. I love the asthetics of my tank but unfortunately, it only gives off light in the middle leaving the sides of the tank dim. Everyone I have spoken to has suggested I add more lighting for my moss so I’m hoping with the lighting and the right ferts, my plants and moss will grow better and bushier in no time.

 

Hey all! So I’ve recently stumbled upon NilocG thrive all in one ferts but I’m a little confused on which one I should use.

I have been dosing my tank with seachem flourish but it hasn’t helped much. It has been suggested that I use other seachem products along with flourish but I don’t see a reason to buy different bottles when there is a brand of liquid ferts that has an all in one.

My tank is a 6 gal fluval edge and I have low light plants such as Anubias, java fern and Christmas moss. My main issue is my christmas moss as it hasn’t grown at all in the two months that it’s been in there while my Anubias has shot up a new leaf on two of my Anubias plants. I know these are all very slow growing plants but I’d like to give them a good source of food such as thrive. Which Thrive product should I use?

Info:

I’m still in the process of cycling my tank. I have zebra danios in right now and will be returning those for a dwarf puffer once my tank has established.

My parameters are:
Ph 7.6
GH 4
KH 2
Nitrate 5.0 (this amount is showing up in my tap water as well)

My tap has a GH of 6 and a KH of 4

My KH was at 3 for a while before it dropped. I don’t know how to remedy this as water changes aren’t bringing it back up and I don’t want to use buffers because I don’t want to raise my ph levels.

Not sure if this matters but my lighting is the fluval edge stock 21 led 4.4watt, 6500k but I may have to buy a led light to put on top of the glass. I love the asthetics of my tank but unfortunately, it only gives off light in the middle leaving the sides of the tank dim. Everyone I have spoken to has suggested I add more lighting for my moss so I’m hoping with the lighting and the right ferts, my plants and moss will grow better and bushier in no time.


View attachment 533334

We may need to know what your ammonia levels are as well. Christmas moss is going to grow super slow. Even with high tech tanks it grows super slow. I would recommend Thrive. Just get the regular Thrive though. I use it along with the nilocg Thrive tabs and this is what I have. I need a new pic, I have added a couple plants since this was taken.

 

We may need to know what your ammonia levels are as well. Christmas moss is going to grow super slow. Even with high tech tanks it grows super slow. I would recommend Thrive. Just get the regular Thrive though. I use it along with the nilocg Thrive tabs and this is what I have. I need a new pic, I have added a couple plants since this was taken. View attachment 533343

As of right now my ammonia is at 0. My cycle stalled and was at the nitrite phase (1.0ppm) but it has gone back to zero and has been like that for two days. I still have slight nitrates however... always have as its in my tap.

What is the difference between regular thrive and thriveC besides that it’s suited for low tech plants like mine. I really don’t need root tabs as all my plants are attached to driftwood/rock so it wouldn’t do me any good.

 

I believe ThriveC includes bioavailable carbon (and I also believe that's why it's 'C').

Is that a CO2 diffuser I see in your tank (low down, between filter intake and thermometer)? If so, no point in getting the carbon version.

 

I believe ThriveC includes bioavailable carbon (and I also believe that's why it's 'C').

Is that a CO2 diffuser I see in your tank (low down, between filter intake and thermometer)? If so, no point in getting the carbon version.

No. It’s an airstone. I’m using one that’s capped upwards so it doesn’t blow my sand everywhere like all other airstone tend to do. I turn it on at night because I heard it helps with oxygenation.

I’m just not sure which to go with. I’ve only used seachem flourish and it’s not really doing anything. My KH is also dropping. Not sure if it’s a cycle related thing so I’m also looking into NilocG reKHarb but hesitant to use because it will probably raise my ph and I definitely don’t want that. I am confused as to what to use.

 

Regular Thrive, it’s the most concentrated aside from Thrive+ (for high tech) and therefore the most value for your money. Just dose smaller amounts if need be
Christmas moss in my experience is actually quite fast growing in comparison to other mosses

 

I am inclined to go with Mak's advice and the regular Thrive. I like the idea of a bioavailable carbon source in ThriveC, and if it is real, it would be awesome. However, I am skeptical. First, I have never heard of another readily available carbon source for aquariums other than gluteraldehyde. If it is available, why isn't anyone else using it? For that matter, even Nilocg isn't using it... their carbon fertilizer, Enhance, is gluteraldehyde and citric acid. But whatever the secret carbon ingredient is, it is not in the ingredient list on the website and they make no claims on the label for how much carbon is provided. I am skeptical. But other than the carbon question, their fertilizers are good. I think any of them would be beneficial to your tank. Their recommendation is to use ThriveC if you have trouble with nitrates getting too high, otherwise use regular Thrive.

Otherwise, I agree that lighting is an issue in your tank. Not only is the light small and in the center, but judging by the sharp shadows, I am guessing it is an LED light? LED is a very directional sort of light, it doesn't bounce around the way fluorescent lights do. So shadows are darker with LED. I think your tank looks incredible, and you have done a great job of aquascaping. However, for your plants to flourish, you need to either provide more light, or rescape so that the plants are in the middle directly below the light.

 

First, I have never heard of another readily available carbon source for aquariums other than gluteraldehyde.

Isn’t that in seachem flourish excel?

Their recommendation is to use ThriveC if you have trouble with nitrates getting too high, otherwise use regular Thrive.

I am planning on getting a DP when my tank is finally done with cycling. However, I’m concerned with the nitrates a DP can or will cause because I heard they are very messy! I have 5ppm of nitrate already in my tank from the water I use during water changes as well so I don’t know if that’s going to be a major factor. I also don’t have a heavily planted tank so I’m kind of afraid of overdoing it with the nitrate situation. This is why I am confused as to which thrive to go with.

I use spring water in my tank, btw. My ph, ammonia and nitrates are way too high in my tap. I know I could just let water sit out but I’m impatient and don’t like to wait 3+ days for water to gas out.

I have also read that dosing half wouldn’t be as beneficial as an entire dose because I’d be cutting nutrients in half and wouldn’t see results. Correct me if I’m wrong on this though.

And yes, you are correct, what I have is an led light. It came standard with the tank. I purchased a strip light for my tank to add on to it.

Not sure if that light is going to work but it’s worth a shot.

I need to find a solution to my KH problem as well. It’s been at 2 whereas the water I use is at a KH of 4 so not sure what’s going on there. Water changes don’t seem to make much of a difference.

Thank you for the compliment. It was a real pain to get my tank to look like that. A fluval edge isn’t very friendly when it comes to scaping. You can only put in one hand at a time so it took me forever just to get it the way it is now.

Regular Thrive, it’s the most concentrated aside from Thrive+ (for high tech) and therefore the most value for your money. Just dose smaller amounts if need be
Christmas moss in my experience is actually quite fast growing in comparison to other mosses

I read that dosing half won’t be as beneficial as compared to dosing an entire dose that is recommended. Not sure if this is true so correct me if that info is wrong. I’m also worried about the nitrate content from regular thrive. I plan on housing 1 DP once my tank has established and I heard they’re very messy! I also don’t have too many plants to help suck up nitrates (I don’t think I do anyway). And, I have 5ppm of nitrates in my tank from the water I use. So when factoring in all of that, I am pretty stumped on what to buy. I change 25% every week so that equates to 2.5 gallons of water. I can’t do much more than that because at 2.5, it’s already at almost half the tank. I have to factor in the amount of Ohko I have as it pretty much covers the entirety of my tank.

 

I read that dosing half won’t be as beneficial as compared to dosing an entire dose that is recommended. Not sure if this is true so correct me if that info is wrong. I’m also worried about the nitrate content from regular thrive. I plan on housing 1 DP once my tank has established and I heard they’re very messy! I also don’t have too many plants to help suck up nitrates (I don’t think I do anyway). And, I have 5ppm of nitrates in my tank from the water I use. So when factoring in all of that, I am pretty stumped on what to buy. I change 25% every week so that equates to 2.5 gallons of water. I can’t do much more than that because at 2.5, it’s already at almost half the tank. I have to factor in the amount of Ohko I have as it pretty much covers the entirety of my tank.

The thing about half dosing can be true, but not in your case.

I'll paste something I wrote a couple weeks ago somewhere:

If the reasoning for wanting to dose less is due to already existing nitrate from tap/waste, then the FAQ answer (warning about half dosing) applies. ThriveC contains less nitrate and phosphorus. Also less of the other nutrients, though more than a half dose of Thrive.

If the reasoning for wanting to dose less is due to low tech conditions, less plant mass, or slow growing plants, then half dosing Thrive will be fine and cheaper because the plants are growing slowly. Slow growth slows down uptake of all nutrients, not just N and P.

Also, a single full dose of Thrive (for a person's particular tank size) adds only 7 ppm of nitrate

 

The thing about half dosing can be true, but not in your case.

I'll paste something I wrote a couple weeks ago somewhere:

If the reasoning for wanting to dose less is due to already existing nitrate from tap/waste, then the FAQ answer (warning about half dosing) applies. ThriveC contains less nitrate and phosphorus. Also less of the other nutrients, though more than a half dose of Thrive.

If the reasoning for wanting to dose less is due to low tech conditions, less plant mass, or slow growing plants, then half dosing Thrive will be fine and cheaper because the plants are growing slowly. Slow growth slows down uptake of all nutrients, not just N and P.

Also, a single full dose of Thrive (for a person's particular tank size) adds only 7 ppm of nitrate

Sounds reasonable enough to go with thrive BUT, I will have to do 50 percent water changes with regular thrive correct? That means 3 gallons of water needs to be changed leaving me with only 1.5-almost 2 gallons in the tank. I’ll basicslly be emptying my tank every week. The rocks I have in there take on a lot of weight. I have 6 big pieces of it not to mention the 20 plus little pieces I used around my moss trees and for my petite nana (I’m over excessive I know lol). On top of all of that, I buy my tank water... long story.

 

Sounds reasonable enough to go with thrive BUT, I will have to do 50 percent water changes with regular thrive correct? That means 3 gallons of water needs to be changed leaving me with only 1.5-almost 2 gallons in the tank. I’ll basicslly be emptying my tank every week. The rocks I have in there take on a lot of weight. I have 6 big pieces of it not to mention the 20 plus little pieces I used around my moss trees and for my petite nana (I’m over excessive I know lol). On top of all of that, I buy my tank water... long story.

Nah, low tech Thrive dosing only needs 30% and even then it's a recommendation. Whatever suits your tank

 

Nah, low tech Thrive dosing only needs 30% and even then it's a recommendation. Whatever suits your tank

Thank you.

 

Isn’t that in seachem flourish excel?

Right, sorry, my wording wasn't very clear. Nilocg claims that the source of carbon in ThriveC is NOT gluteraldehyde. I am not aware of any other liquid carbon sources that are bioavailable to plants. There may be something out there, but if so, I wonder why no one else is using it.

 

Right, sorry, my wording wasn't very clear. Nilocg claims that the source of carbon in ThriveC is NOT gluteraldehyde. I am not aware of any other liquid carbon sources that are bioavailable to plants. There may be something out there, but if so, I wonder why no one else is using it.

I think Colin came up with something to use as an alternative to glut... maybe a man made source harmless to fish perhaps. Who knows. All I know is that I need to make a decision on this fert lol.

 

I think Colin came up with something to use as an alternative to glut... maybe a man made source harmless to fish perhaps. Who knows. All I know is that I need to make a decision on this fert lol.

Honestly I would go with regular Thrive. No one knows what exactly could happen with the non glut carbon since it's a very new product. No one even knows if it benefits the plants at all. I would also recommend not dosing excel but that's just me and I know I will get some haters calling me out on it but it has only ever caused issues for me when I used it so I stay away from it. Its cheaper to get co2 gas in the long run anyway. I only pay about $25 every 10 months to fill my tank compared to how much it costs for excel in that time frame. I think 2 bottles of it is about that and won't last anywhere near as long. Sorry for getting off topic a bit but had to at least give some info on what I know.

 

Honestly I would go with regular Thrive. No one knows what exactly could happen with the non glut carbon since it's a very new product. No one even knows if it benefits the plants at all. I would also recommend not dosing excel but that's just me and I know I will get some haters calling me out on it but it has only ever caused issues for me when I used it so I stay away from it. Its cheaper to get co2 gas in the long run anyway. I only pay about $25 every 10 months to fill my tank compared to how much it costs for excel in that time frame. I think 2 bottles of it is about that and won't last anywhere near as long. Sorry for getting off topic a bit but had to at least give some info on what I know.

No worries. I would love to use thrive regular but as I mentioned before, I don’t want to end up with a high bioload of a DP and higher nitrates because of thrive. I also don’t want to do over 25% water changes a week unless I really have to. I have emailed the company twice (once through their website and once to Colin direct) with no response. Talk about bad customer service.

As far as co2 goes, I don’t think I’m ready for that. I think it will be better suited when I get a bigger tank. For now, I’m just focused on growing my plants and trying to find a way to get my KH up without raising my ph somehow.