Ferts and low light plants

[tamtam]

What sort of fert schedule should be in place for low light plants like java fern & water sprite? I'm reading all sorts of conflicting info online. Some say they have never used it and others saying it can't be grown without. I'm so confused.

 

[fort384]

What you are asking depends on a lot of variables... how heavily the tank is planted, how heavily the tank is stocked, how old the tank is, what your maintenance schedule is, and what kind of substrate you are using. It also will depend on your lighting.

A lot of folks can get away without dosing any ferts with very undemanding plants and low light. Some folks will see a need for adding some trace elements and some nitrogen, maybe some potassium.

What I would recommend is getting a trace mix like API leafzone or Seachem trace.

I would also recommend testing nitrates every week or two, and if you see them bottoming out, consider dosing something like seachem Nitrogen.

You might find some useful info in this article I wrote: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/introduction-fertilizing-planted-tank/

 

[tamtam]

thank you!

It's an established 20 gallon tank, with weekly water changes of 30 or so..

I'm not planning on supper heavy planting, I was thinking perhaps 4 plants total to give it a go at first. I have some platy and am expecting to have fry in the future, I am planning to keep them in the main tank and wanted to provide some natural plant cover to mix in with my fake plants.

I just have the basic lighting that came with my tank but the tank is also by a window and gets plenty of sunlight for most of the day. I thought I would give it a go with this set up and if need be I will upgrade lighting. It's a smaller gravel substrate, nothing fancy, about 2 inches thick.

I'm not planning on growing or expanding these too much, I just want to ensure they survive and if they do grow some then great.

Thanks for the tips! I'll check out the link too and see what else I can learn