I have a 55 planted with profile as a substrate (supplemented with a
few balls of substrate gold flourite and fertilizer root tabs). I
like the color just fine, but maybe some people don't (sort of a
washed out reddish color)--I think it looks more "natural" than
aquarium gravel. You should wash it thoroughly before you use it. I
wouldn't worry about adding a powerhead for additional circulation,
unless your fish would appreciate a stronger current.
In fact, too much surface turbulence would drive off the CO2 that your
plants need to grow (I use co2 injection on my big tank and Seachem's
Flourish Excel on my small one).


"Donovan Niewoehner" wrote in message news:wh7Aa.36484$%42.24122@fed1read06...
I'm setting up a 30 gallon planted tank and have been unable to find a
local supply of Flourite, after doing some internet searches I've found that
profile is a good (and inexpensive) alternative, has anybody here had
personal experence with this product? I was just wondering if it had any
negative properties I should be aware of (light weight, ugly color, ect). I
would probably buy a 20lb bag of it and mix the rest with standard aquarium
gravel. I plan on growing pretty standard easy to care for plants, (swords,
java moss/fern, apon. lillies, crypts and anublias)
If anybody has any suggestions for other alternative substrates, feel
free to share your experence.
Also, I'm going to be using a HOT power filter, should I invest in a
device to circulate water around the tank (I think it's called a powerhead)?

thanks for any input
--donovan