Thrive Vs Flourish

[ZeeZ]

I've been told that Thrive is better than Flourish Comprehensive. Is this true? I have a bottle of Flourish that's pretty old, about 7ish years old but I haven't used it up yet.

If I went with Thrive, what about Excel? Do I use it in addition to Thrive or does Thrive already have it included?

I'm looking for personal experiences. Photos would be great! I'm just trying to find comparison pictures or stories between the two fertilizers.

 

[-Mak-]

One can simply look at the nutrient analysis of both and compare the percentages of each nutrient

Flourish:

Thrive (regular):

As you can see, Flourish has pretty negligible amounts of nitrogen and potassium, and pretty much lower amounts of everything compared to Thrive. It does have a wider variety of nutrients, but having that 0.0009% molybdenum or 0.0007% zinc isn't the most important thing for plants. Thrive does lack calcium, which isn't too big of a problem if you have hard water, but if you have softer water they sell dry blocks of GH booster (calcium, magnesium, potassium) that you can add in during a water change.

In my opinion, Flourish isn't good for much more than very low tech tanks with decent bioloads. The tanks in my signature all get Thrive

Also, since Excel isn't a nutrient, neither Flourish nor Thrive contain it. It's diluted glutaraldehyde, which is a rather toxic chemical if overdosed, but you can buy it from different brands. Nilocg's glutaraldehyde product is called Enhance.

 

[KinderScout]

I've been told that Thrive is better than Flourish Comprehensive. Is this true? I have a bottle of Flourish that's pretty old, about 7ish years old but I haven't used it up yet.

If I went with Thrive, what about Excel? Do I use it in addition to Thrive or does Thrive already have it included?

I'm looking for personal experiences. Photos would be great! I'm just trying to find comparison pictures or stories between the two fertilizers.

I'm relatively new but have tried several different ferts - seachem (flourish, root tabs) to start. Switched to a UK based 'all in one' fert a couple of months back and my plants love it. Despite pushing nitrates up, fish and shrimp are also thriving which is the most important. So I'm guessing it's whatever suits your own regime. Main problem now is maintaing the balance between ferts, lighting and CO2 to keep algae at bay.

 

[danhutchins]

I've been told that Thrive is better than Flourish Comprehensive. Is this true? I have a bottle of Flourish that's pretty old, about 7ish years old but I haven't used it up yet.

If I went with Thrive, what about Excel? Do I use it in addition to Thrive or does Thrive already have it included?

I'm looking for personal experiences. Photos would be great! I'm just trying to find comparison pictures or stories between the two fertilizers.

I have used all fertilizers you mentioned and I honestly think Thrive is the best hands down. Seems like all the others are mostly water. This is my tank so far on Thrive.

 

[Anne79]

I hesitate between thrive and thrive +

Thrive + description indicate it must be used in tank with ph of 7 or less.. i have yet to test my ph. Anyone have tried it with a higher than 7 ph? Is it good?

 

[Anne79]

And how about thrive tabs, vs flourish tabs?

 

[ZeeZ]

Thank you, guys! I've bitten the bullet and decided to go with Thrive over my current Flourish. I think my plants will like it much better.

 

[ZeeZ]

I would think the Thrive tabs are better than the Flourish ones.

 

[Awaken_Riceball_]

I switched from Seachem Flourish line to Thrive. At one point, I tried Seachem's Premium Fertilizer, Aquavitro, and I saw plant deficiency within a month. Seachem Flourish is based on the PPS Dosing Method and Thrive is based on the EI Dosing Method. In short term, PPS is limiting the nutrients just enough for the plants to thrive and EI is overdosing nutrients so the limiting factor is removed for plants to thrive. Following further, both have their pros and cons.

When I switched to Thrive, the plants in my aquarium took off in growth and coloration. Since I inject CO2 in the aquarium, plants growth rate is accelerated and the nutrient uptake is more than what Seachem Flourish line can provide. On the Seachem bottle, it is listed as "Recommended Dose" which is good enough for low light plants and some medium light plant setup; however, on the bottle also list the fertilizer percent which is useful for dosing beyond the recommended dose to meet the plant needs in the aquarium. Since it is based on PPS dosing method, it is advanced, and you will have to adjust accordingly or face imbalance issues.

Thrive is an all-in-one fertilizer containing both Macro and Micronutrients in a pump bottle (like dispersing liquid soap). Dose according to tank size, and it is very simple to use. My plants thrive because nutrients are no longer a limiting factor as well as injecting CO2 allows the plants to maximize growth by removing carbon as a limiting factor. There are three limiting factors that may affect the plants and those are nutrients, light, and CO2. I did not include Algae because it is only a problem if it outgrows the plants and covers the plant limiting their ability to photosynthesize.

I actually see a difference in using Thrive Root Tabs vs Seachem Roots as my Amazon Swords no longer has random white parts on the leaves.

Excel is actually a liquid carbon, and if you want to help accelerate the plant growth or grow more demanding plants then dose Excel. In addition, Excel also doubles as an algaecide which is good for limiting algae growth and letting your plants grow!

Lastly, for more advanced plant information, visit this website created by Dennis Wong. This guy has all the technical details of plant growth! https://www.advancedplantedtank.com/fertilisers-why-bother.html

I hope this information helps you!

 

[Anne79]

Ty sooo much rice ball! Its very helpful! Ill go read the like you provided! And i bought thrive thanks again!

 

[Wraithen]

Ok. Some misconceptions here. Aquavitro is not their premium line lol. It's a cheaper per unit sold only to independent chains to help to mom and pops. Afaik they dont have anything pre mixed, it's all separate nutrients. You can even get your own bottle of chelated iron in the line.

Second, excel is absolute garbage for a carbon source. If they marketed it as a mostly safe algaecide they'd be telling the truth more.

Third, I have the separate micro and macro dose bottles for thrive. I still need to add supplemental iron for red plants, and supplemental potassium for my hygro. I actually recommend his products, but your post seemed a bit short for your intended purpose. I love both companies for various reasons, but both products have their own shortfalls.