Affordable Alternative to Seachem Flourish Liquid Ferts

[eddyk]

First off,

Thanks for all of the help and input from the community. I have been able to get great help with my 125g planted community tank.


I have been using the sachem Flourish dosing regimen (http://www.seachem.com/support/PlantDoseChart.pdf ) Seems to work well, but is pricey

My question, is there a more affordable alternative?

I have read about dry fertilizers but do not know where to start.

Any help here would be much appreciated.

 

[Rivercats]

I use these ferts.... http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/micro-macro-fertilizers.html.


I also suggest 3 of these dosing bottles... http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/dispenser-32oz.html


Read this thread about dosing PPS-Pro but only read the opening post and not all the comment posts... http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/pps-analysis-feedback/39491-newbie-guide-pps-pro.html.


There are two things I do differently than the thread is that I split my macro nutrients up using one dosing bottle for nitrates, and one dosing bottle for phosphates and potassium. This allows me for better custom dosing to the needs of my tank. I shoot for 10-20ppm of nitrate and 1-5ppm phosphates. The thread also has MgSO4, magnesium sulfate in the macro mix. If your tanks Gh is 4 or over then your tap water has enough magnesium in it that supplementing it is not needed.

What is your lighting? Do you have nitrate and phosphate test kits as you will need them. Also having a Kh and Gh test kits is helpful. Depending on the type plants and lighting you have you will also need to think about using pressurized CO2 or a liquid carbon which can be expensive in a large tank. If you go with liquid carbon I suggest getting Metricide 14 which is a generic.

 

[BBradbury]

Using Commercial Ferts

First off,

Thanks for all of the help and input from the community. I have been able to get great help with my 125g planted community tank.


I have been using the sachem Flourish dosing regimen (http://www.seachem.com/support/PlantDoseChart.pdf ) Seems to work well, but is pricey

My question, is there a more affordable alternative?

I have read about dry fertilizers but do not know where to start.

Any help here would be much appreciated.

Hello ed...

Agreed. Commercial fertilizers are expensive. I don't use them much. But, I keep to the dark green aquatic plants. They're much easier to keep, because they don't require strong lighting which is very pricey and they don't need added fertilizers. I just keep a lot of fish in my planted tanks and feed them a variety every couple of days. The fish provide the plants with all the ferts needed. I do large, weekly water changes to replace minerals lost to the filtration process and the tank plants are fine.

Now, the light green plants are a different story. They'll require much stronger light and fertilizers to match.

B

 

[eddyk]

I use these ferts.... http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/micro-macro-fertilizers.html.


I also suggest 3 of these dosing bottles... http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/dispenser-32oz.html


Read this thread about dosing PPS-Pro but only read the opening post and not all the comment posts... http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/pps-analysis-feedback/39491-newbie-guide-pps-pro.html.


There are two things I do differently than the thread is that I split my macro nutrients up using one dosing bottle for nitrates, and one dosing bottle for phosphates and potassium. This allows me for better custom dosing to the needs of my tank. I shoot for 10-20ppm of nitrate and 1-5ppm phosphates. The thread also has MgSO4, magnesium sulfate in the macro mix. If your tanks Gh is 4 or over then your tap water has enough magnesium in it that supplementing it is not needed.

What is your lighting? Do you have nitrate and phosphate test kits as you will need them. Also having a Kh and Gh test kits is helpful. Depending on the type plants and lighting you have you will also need to think about using pressurized CO2 or a liquid carbon which can be expensive in a large tank. If you go with liquid carbon I suggest getting Metricide 14 which is a generic.

Sorry I should have mentioned my lighting.
I have high tech LED lighting. 2x 36" Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Lights in a 72" tank.

 

[eddyk]

Sorry, I re-read the message and forgot the rest of the info.

I have a Hagen master test kit to check all the above chem levels. I am debating CO2 but I don't want to get in over my head too quickly.

The price for the E.I is much more affordable than the Seachem Flourish line of ferts.

What about Fert tabs?

I had an Osmocote disaster where a couple of gel caps of osmocote broke open and my nitrites went sky high. ( not sure if it was caused by the osmocote or the over cleaning of the filter floss in one of the eheim 2217's. I rinsed all the substrate ( removing all nutrients from the flourite and eco-complete ) Now I am on the back end of the mini cycle and my nitrites are down to 1-2 ppm. Nitrates are at about 3-4.

Ammonia is zero.

 

[Rivercats]

Dry ferts are very reasonably priced and last a long time. You can dose PPS-Pro or EI.

In a planted tank you want nitrate levels at 10-20ppm and phosphates from 1-3ppm (the higher ppm in higher light tanks).

If you don't want to go CO2 then you need to be using a liquid carbon daily. If you buy Metricide 14 Day Solution you can get a gallon for around $20 plus shipping. If you dose it straight from the bottle you would use 1/2ml for every 2 gallons daily. Just be aware you need to build up to that level and some plants such as val's and anacharis are sensitive to liquid carbons and can melt.

 

[eddyk]

Rivercat,

Thanks for the help here.

What do you recommend PPS or E.I. ?

What do you use?

Thanks again.

 

[Rivercats]

I use the PPS-Pro because you can custom dose to achieve the levels of nitrate and phosphate you want. Read the bottom of my first post to see what I do. EI dosing is based around having excess ferts in a tank so that plants never lack for any nutrients. Some think EI is easier but I like having my tanks at specific levels (nitrates 10ppm and phosphates 3-5ppm) since I tend to use a lot of non-green plants.

 

[eddyk]

Your 220g is impressive.

Do you use matricide or Co2? I definitely do not want melting plants.

I am looking for ease and low cost in the long run.

I am not sure if E I or PPS is right for me.

What are your thoughts on Fert Tabs?