what liquid fertilizers should i buy?

[Raimeiken]

I just got my plants and now i'm gonna buy the ferts. I was looking at AZgardens.com and they have the Seachem and Kent ferts. Which brand should i buy and what kind should i buy?

Will i need the iron? because i have flourite as my substrate.

 

[LAGlocker]

Well I know I told you before, but I like to use both brands actually. I use seachem flourish and flourish excel, and use kent grow, and their other fertz like k,phos, nitro+, fe, micro..ect.

 

[Raimeiken]

should i buy the iron?

 

[Guest]

How much light do you have on the tank? Normally the answer is yes you should buy the iron. Also you can get the Seachem products much cheaper at www.petsolutions.com

 

[LAGlocker]

Listen to Rex he knows what he is talking about.

 

[trenac]

I started out using Seachem products because they are cheaper than the Kent products at my LFS. At the moment I am using a combo of both: Seachem trace & iron and Kent grow. When I run out of Seachem I am going to change over to Kent. Iron is one of the most important trace elements, so I would use it if your plant leaves became yellow & glassy.

 

[Raimeiken]

I've decided to go with KENT. Do i need all of these?

Kent Botanica Phos+
Kent Botanica Nitro+
Kent Botanica FE
Kent Botanica Formula K
Kent Botanica Grow
Pro Plant

am i missing anything?

 

[trenac]

Yes, on grow its a general fert andFormula k for potassium.

Maybe on Botanica Nitro,Phos+ depends on the levels in your tank. I would test for these first then if low add minute amounts until you get the levels where needed. Be careful these can cause algae outbreaks if over used.

More than likely on Botanica FE. You usually have no traces of iron in the beginning. I would also test for this on daily basis until you get the levels up.

No, on Pro plant it also contains nitrogen.

I would get Botanica Micro for your trace elements.

 

[Raimeiken]

too bad i don't have any of the test kits, except for ph, gh, kh, ammonia and nitrates. How do you test the iron in the water? i thought the iron test kits are crap.

 

[trenac]

I have heard that iron test are no good also, I think it depends on the brand you use. The one I use is by Seachem which I have found accurate and reliable in IMO. I also have one by Red Sea which I would not recommend because it will never register any iron. I did a side by side test with both kits and the Seachem register and the Red Sea did not.

 

[Raimeiken]

Do you guys add phos and Nitro in your planted tank? Are they important, because i'm going to buy my ferts online now. I'm going to buy the Kent grow, iron, K. BTW what's the TRACE for? do i need that stuff too?

 

[Guest]

Read my FAQ. It's covered pretty well there.

 

[kagentx]

i've always thought Tropic Master Growth was the best according to thekrib.com, btw how's arizona aquatic gardens? i'm planning to order plants and shrimps from them soon. Is the shipping expensive?

 

[Raimeiken]

they didn't charge me for the fed ex 3 day shipping, only the $5 for the box. Probably because i live here in AZ. That plants were great, but the baby tear's i got were covered with that brown hairy algea stuff. PLus i saw like 2 snails in the plants i ordered. Try aquariumplants.com they give you lots of free plants when you order. I bro just got his order there and the plants look great plus the free ones

 

[Raimeiken]

Yeah i just saw the Tropica Master grow on Bigalsonline.com, so which should i buy, kent Botanica grow, or the Tropica master grow? The kent grow is 8.7 oz for $5.39 and the tropica is 100ml for 4.99. I don't know which one is more.

 

[kagentx]

i've read from www.thekrib.com and saw many great feedbacks for it

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/tropica-fert.html

check it for yourself

 

[gone fishin]

DIY PMDD is THE best, you need lighting, CO2 (DIY works well) and pmdd(search) I have leaves that grow inches in 24 hrs, pearling-like7-up!