Fertilizer

[pinkkiwi1230]

Does anyone see anything harmful in these fertilizer. I've been reading up on diy fertilizer and I think this is all the same ingredients.

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[Caliban07]

People normally recommend soils without added chemical fertilisers. Organic is best. For better results, you can mineralise the soil which involves wetting and drying a few times. This will break down some of the organics making nutrients more available and see ammonia through to nitrate. Nitrogen is the main issue when adding soil.


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[Delapool]

For substrate tabs I went for as high as I could get for potassium and low in phosphates / nitrates.

For ferts in the water column (if the case) I find better off buying macros (nitrate, phosphate and potassium) and minors separately to control dosing better. They last for ages.

Some of the nitrate ferts (ammonian nitrates?) either gave a slight ammonia reading (so check test the first few times dosing) or seemed to trigger algae blooms. I think it's potassium nitrate I'm using at the moment and light dosing.

What are you planning?

 

[Thrills22]

Miracle Grow Organic grew a jungle for me. But as mentioned above don't use soils with added ferts and chemicals.

 

[pinkkiwi1230]

I'm using eco complete substrate but my plants just look bad. I thought about using this but I dunno. I have home made co2 so I might just wait til I get better lights.

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[Thrills22]

Eco complete is inert so it wont be the cause of your plants looking bad. Post some pics and we can help you id the problems.

 

[pinkkiwi1230]

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[pinkkiwi1230]

I trimmed some back for new growth

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[Thrills22]

Perhaps someone else can weigh in here but when you said your plants "just look bad" I thought we'd be able to spot defficiencies but it looks to me that the plants are just adjusting to your tank and parameters.

My advice would be to cut and remove the leaf where you see melt because the plant will still send resources to that particular leaf. Also, what is the plant in the first pic it' possible it's not a true aquatic plant.

 

[Fresh2o]

I agree with ^^^^ the first plant might not be a true aquatic plant.
The good news is that the newer leaves on the other plants look healthy. When a plant is under stress or not doing well, priority is given to the new growth and the older growth declines quickly (can become an algae magnet).
If you cannot get a hold of some DIY root tabs, get some brand name root tabs in there now and later get the more economical DIY ones.


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[CatfishRex]

The first plant is a dracaena sanderiana it is not a true aquatic

 

[pinkkiwi1230]

Oh I definitely can't name the plant lol. I just grabbed a few at the pet store... I did order some seeds online, alot cheaper. So if these fail, I'll have some more stuff to experiment with... I have a 3 ft tank that has a placo and gold fish. It has 2 bulbs, one is for plants. One is full spectrum. I'm going to experiment in that tank with the fertilizer and plants.... those are my don't care fish lol. I also got some plants from the river bed after the water levels dropped, just to see what frows... the fertilizer did raise the Ammonia levels when I tested the water, but it has seem to hurt the fish, but they are also hardy fish and not the same plants I'm trying to save.

Do yall have any opinions on lighting for my 4ft

I been window shopping and have my eye on one at petco


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[pinkkiwi1230]

Oh any also some plants did just melt away. The ones left are the only survivors, and they seem to be struggling too. Every time I go in grab a different kind. Which has been alot. That's why I ordered the seeds.

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[pinkkiwi1230]

I meant hasnt* hurt the fish

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[Fresh2o]

Which fertilizer are you using? How much was added?
How much ammonia was in the tank after adding the fertilizer? Typically DIY substrate ferts are put into clear capsules and those are pushed deep into the the substrate so they don't interact with the water column.
Goldfish and plecostamus are not ideal for planted tanks.
What kind/species of seeds did you get?
Obtaining plants from the outdoors without doing a preventative dip or quarantine is asking for trouble. There is the potential for the introduction of invertebrates (hydra, planaria, pest snails, leeches, worms).
What are your goals, plant wise? This should help determine if that light is suitable for your tank.


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[pinkkiwi1230]

Yeah I put it in capsules. I used both, around 8, 4 of each one. Yes I know those fish don't don't go with the plants, but it's my don't care tank. The gold fish was a 35 cent feeder fish and the pleco started getting territorial and killed my betta. Then ate my neon tetras.

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[pinkkiwi1230]

And the seeds were a mix pack


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[Fresh2o]

The reason I asked about the capsules is because it was not mentioned earlier. Others reading this thread will look at the pics in the first post and just assumed they were added to the tank as is. Thank you for clarifying.
When and if the seeds sprout, I suspect the goldfish will eat them.
Surprised that a listing of the plant species were not provided with the product description of the seed pack. To be honest, it sounds sketchy. Most of the plants depicted are grown and distributed totally submerged, partially submerged, or via tissue culture. Have not seen them available via seeds. Not all plants produce flowers, more less, seeds to the point of making harvesting profitable. Just checkout the reviews on that product.


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[pinkkiwi1230]

Yeah I wondered about the seeds too. But for 29 cents I figured it was worth a shot...

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