Fertilizer?

[kimberly]

I have a 58 gal planted. I have assorted plants and low lighting. Am I supposed to add fertilizer? I have the basic test kit (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, ph), would I need to get additional tests before fertilizing?

My plants look good and are growing.
Thanks.

 

[travis simonson]

Most of the time low-light tanks don't need much, if any, additional fertilizer. A lot of people supplement with a trace/iron fert like Flourish. As long as your plants are looking good and you don't have much algae I would say you're doing it right

 

[TankGirl]

I agree - let your plants be your guide, as they are a whole lot better indicators of their needs than are test kits.

 

[kimberly]

Thanks! No algae at all, which still surprises me! I keep expecting to have algae, I have always had algae in my aquariums at some level (probably b/c I am a whimp when it comes to begging fish so I tend to overfeed).

 

[Jchillin]

I have a low light tank and it contains j. ferns, african ferns, two crypts and two amazon swords. I knew that the sword shouldn't be able to do well in the tank as I don't provide any supplements whatsoever. It's been doing well, along with the others, however...I do keep a bit of NO3 around just in case my level goes below 10ppm.