Plant food?????

[EMTtony]

What should I use to keep my plants healthy, that won't harm my fish in the tank? Is there a liquid supplement or something to put in the gravel near the root systems? I'm not to sure on what plants I actually have. I forgot the names to them right after I bought them.

 

[An t-iasg]

Can you look on your receipt to see if any names are listed, or maybe call the store, or look online for some pictures? It's important to know the names of the plants. Some plants are root feeders, and some take nutrients from the water column. For the water-column feeders (sorry TankGirl, I forgot your new term for that!) there are liquid supplements, and for the root feeders, there are root tabs that you push under the substrate. There are only a few brands of root tabs that I know of and I think they are similar. However, there are many types of liquid ferts. Most plants will use the basic, comprehensive ferts, but your plants may need a few more specific ferts, like iron, for example. If your tank is very large, with high light, the liquid ferts will not be very economical for you. Bulk, dry powder fertilizers will be better in that case. Also, lighting comes into play...high-light tanks need more fertilization than low-light tanks.

So we need some more information first!

Here is a link to a site with lots of pictures of plants. Maybe the easiest thing to do is search by lighting requirements first.
http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php

 

[tailbarlionfish]

i use Leafzone to help my plants stay healthy(and green)

 

[EMTtony]

Are all of these safe for fish? I will try to get the names of the plants ASAP. The receipts don't have the names, just UPC codes, quantity, and price.

 

[An t-iasg]

Yes, the fertilizers are safe for fish. Don't overdose - I have heard of some fertilizers being bad for fish if you overdose - a huge overdose, not just a few milliliters (of course, a bigger tank gives you more "room for error"). Just follow the directions for your tank size. I have low-medium light 5 gallon tanks, and I use the Seachem line of liquid fertilizers. I use a half ml every day, except water change day, of Seachem Excel, Comprehensive, Nitrogen, and phosphate (alternating by day). The phosphate is mixed for me at the hatchery I go to. The plant guru there has a digital scale, dry ferts, and he'll mix up 100 ml for me. I don't have a digital scale and I don't want to buy dry ferts by the pound.

That's why we need to know your tank size and lighting, besides the names of the plants. I don't want to recommend the Seachem line if your tank is large. You'll go through that 8 oz bottle in no time. But if you have a small, low light tank, you don't really need bulk, dry ferts either.

 

[Jchillin]

An t-iasg...just for the record:

For the water-column feeders (sorry TankGirl, I forgot your new term for that!)

The word is...epiphytic.

 

[An t-iasg]

Oh yes! I will do my best to remember that!

 

[Jchillin]

LOL...word is now etched into my subconsciousness. 8O

 

[EMTtony]

The tank is a 20 gal occupied only by 4 guppies right now. From what I saw on the site above all, of my plants are moderate light, and moderate care.

 

[An t-iasg]

Now we need to know how much lighting you have over those 20 gallons! After you turn your light off for the night, and let it cool for a few hours, open your hood and look at the bulb. Can you see a wattage rating on the bulb, a number like 20 or 30? One of my bulbs (I'm looking at the spare one in the closet!) says FL 15, meaning normal output fluorescent and 15 watts.

There may be another number on the bulb too, with a K after it. That means Kelvin rating or color temperature.

 

[EMTtony]

I'll check that tonight after I turn off the light.