Fertilizers for a planted aquarium

[Mijo51380]

How do I know what frets to add to my tank and how to check them? As of now i am just use seachem flourish 1 a week. Should I be adding something else and should I get a test kit.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Depends on plants, what do you have?

 

[Mijo51380]

Java fern, java moss, dwarf hairgrass,and telanthera cardinalis

 

[aqua_chem]

What's your setup, lights especially?

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Good for ferts, if you have root feeders like amazon sword, you need root tabs
Also, root tabs for the grass won't be bad for them
You have high light right? That's what the dwarf hair grass needs

 

[Mijo51380]

55gallon it's got about two watts per gall with two 48watt T5HO

 

[Mijo51380]

I do run CO2

 

[Mijo51380]

Don't know the specs on the bulbs but I know they are for plants.

 

[Smcoyle87]

I agree with root tabs for the grass. 2wpg will def keep all your plants alive but it might take awhile for your grass to carpet.

For ferts, look up aquarium plant nutrient deficiency charts. If the plants begin to show characteristics, dose accordingly. Lol, you'll eventually have every fert!

 

[Mijo51380]

Are there any test kits I should get I was going to get a CO2 test kit what about iron should I use it

 

[aqua_chem]

They don't have a co2 test kit. You'll need to get a drop checker. An iron test kit is probably unnecessary as well for most purposes.



If your running co2, you should definitely be looking at a dry dosing method for fertilization. Liquid ferts just aren't going to cut it in the long run, and will be much more expensive.

 

[Mijo51380]

Well that blows chunks when I got started I got like the whole seachem line I know it was dumb but it is what it is ill just use it and move on just don't want to dump a bunch of crap in the tank when I don't know how to check it I had some hydro systems in the past that went good but I knew how to check it

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Mijo...

Depending on the plants you keep, you may not need to use a commercial fertilizer. I keep large tanks of plants that require just low to medium light and rarely use commercial fertilizers. The reason: The tap water has sufficient levels of the large dose nutrients and the fish provide the small dose nutrients. I just make sure of two things: Doing large, frequent water changes and feeding my fish a balanced diet.

Pretty simple and very economical.

B

 

[Mijo51380]

I do water changes every week for the most part the plants are doing well but the java fern has some black spots on it and growth is kind of slow for all the plants

 

[aqua_chem]

Hello Mijo...

Depending on the plants you keep, you may not need to use a commercial fertilizer. I keep large tanks of plants that require just low to medium light and rarely use commercial fertilizers. The reason: The tap water has sufficient levels of the large dose nutrients and the fish provide the small dose nutrients. I just make sure of two things: Doing large, frequent water changes and feeding my fish a balanced diet.

Pretty simple and very economical.

B

That ship's already sailed if he has T5HOs and CO2.




OP,


http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizer.html

Check out this page. At the top is some information about different dosing regimens. You can buy dry ferts at the bottom. They are very reasonable, especially if you consider that one set will last your at least a year. I recommend EI for its simplicity and effectiveness, but PPS-Pro is also very popular.

How are you injecting CO2.

 

[Mijo51380]

Paint ball tank with co2 regulator to diffuser run by a pH controller

 

[BBradbury]

Hello aqua...

You're likely right. The cardinalis plant will need strong lighting. Missed an opportunity to save a little. The lower lighting won't work for this plant.

B

 

[Mijo51380]

That plant is doing ok turning red and has new growth the only fertsI use is seachem flourish what I read online is that they need iron and high quality ferts should I start to use iron and trace

 

[Mijo51380]

Sorry but I'm a little slow lol

 

[Mijo51380]