fertilizer

[2manyFish]

I have a slightly overstocked 55 gallon. I just added plants and im wondering if I should be adding ferts. My nitrate levels are at around 100ppm and nitrite is 0 to 0.5

 

[2manyFish]

I added 2 java fern, 3 jungle val, 2 amazon swords, some micro swords, 3 water wysteria, and some small crypts

 

[2manyFish]

Beforw and after. Im waiting on some christmas moss then im takin out the ship and putting a piece of driftwood that im going to make look like a tree. More pictures to come

 

[Fishfur]

The swords and crypts are root feeders that really need root tabs to do their best. They are pretty heavy feeders. Micro sword can be quite difficult to grow, depending which one of the two species you have. Fairly high light needs, and does much better with C02.

Ferns are not picky, and the hygro difformis, [wisteria], is also not picky, but it does better with good light and fertilizing than without.

I see you have fish. Surely you know that nitrite is very toxic to them and should always be zero ? If you overstock you need to do extra water changes and have extra filtration to help handle the load of waste the fish produce.

Nitrate is also toxic at high levels and your level is WAY too high. 50 ppm is the highest level considered safe for fish and most try for 20 ppm or less and that's enough for most plants.

So you don't need to add nitrates, though other nutrients and trace elements such as iron may be lacking. If you test for iron, and it is ok, then usually trace elements will be ok too. But before you worry about feeding the plants, you need to get that water changed to get the nitrite out and the nitrate levels below 50 ppm, or you may end up losing fish.

You might have to do a couple of very large water changes one after the other to get the nitrate down to acceptable levels.

 

[2manyFish]

The nitrite is at 0 and the nitrates have been around that high for awhile. Ive been trying to do water changes more and its been slowly dropping. Will the plants help lower the nitrate levels?

 

[2manyFish]

Havent had any noticeable effects on fish so far

 

[Mebbid]

I have a slightly overstocked 55 gallon. I just added plants and im wondering if I should be adding ferts. My nitrate levels are at around 100ppm and nitrite is 0 to 0.5

100ppm nitrate is waaay high. If you are having difficulty dropping this level then I would suggest that you increase the amount of water you are changing. A weekly 50% water change is the gold standard for planted tank water maintenance.

The plants will help with nitrates but don't be surprised if it's not a huge difference.

What lights do you have over the tank? This often determines if you need to add ferts or not. It should also decide what plants you should attempt to return.

 

[2manyFish]

I have an aqueon led light strip. It holds 3 bulbs. I have 2 colormax and one daylight currently

 

[BBradbury]

Hello 2...

I would follow an aggressive water change routine. I keep several 55 gallon tanks and they're all well stocked with fish. I change half the tank water every week or so to maintain high mineral levels in the water and to maintain a stable water chemistry. I don't use commercial ferts much, they're pricey and the fish, if fed a good diet, provide all the nutrients the plants need. Lighting is pretty simple to, I have a couple of T5s that are 28 watts per lamp and they seem to work well, but I keep plants that require subdued lighting. You just need to research the specific lighting requirements for the plants you keep.

Pretty simple, really.

B

 

[2manyFish]

Well ive researched most of my plants amd mone seem to demand to much light. My only problem is I dont know how good these LED lights are for plants

 

[BBradbury]

Hello again 2...

I've used light strips with the LED lighting and I don't see that they have any value in a tank with plants that don't require high end lighting. The lights seem too small to be any benefit. As far as I can tell, it's just a way for the companies that make these to bump up the cost.

B

 

[Billbug68]

Yeah, I don't think the aqueon LEDs are strong enough for growing plants, especially on a 55, and especially with two colormax and only one day light... There are several led fixtures on the market, however, that are great for growing plants. Finnex makes some great ones, I run one myself, and buildmyled.com is becoming very popular as well. Try sending Rivercats a PM, I'm pretty sure she's running buildmyled fixtures on her 55s.

 

[Rivercats]

I'm running Build My Led fixtures on 3 of my tanks and one is the 55g. The company also has a whole new line of fixtures to choose from plus you can get their dimmer for the fixture and run the light from 10% to 100% which means you can do anywhere from very low to I would say high light over a 55g tank. Here's the link... Freshwater - Build My LED, LLC

 

[2manyFish]

Im trying not to spend to much on a light. I do like the light I have but if I have to ill get a better one cuzni do want my plants to survive. Any suggestions on a cheaper setup. I dont think any of my plants need high lights

 

[Sillyfishies]

Im trying not to spend to much on a light. I do like the light I have but if I have to ill get a better one cuzni do want my plants to survive. Any suggestions on a cheaper setup. I dont think any of my plants need high lights

4 clamp on work lights with CFLS

 

[2manyFish]

Thats a good Idea but I still want it to look nice

 

[aqua_chem]

What mind of budget are we taking about here?

 

[Sillyfishies]

Thats a good Idea but I still want it to look nice

Spray paint them black?

 

[2manyFish]

Did 50% water change. Nitrates down to around 50ish. Gonna do another tomorrow. So even if I use 2 daylight and one colormax u still think ill have a hard time growing plants?

 

[Billbug68]

Did 50% water change. Nitrates down to around 50ish. Gonna do another tomorrow. So even if I use 2 daylight and one colormax u still think ill have a hard time growing plants?

I'd go with all daylight, but even then you run the chance of wasting money on those strips. Try to search google, see if anyone has success with that fixture, but I doubt it. You can get T5 shop lights for a decent price at Home Depot or lowes. With the right bulbs you should be able to get low-medium light. Just have to find a way to mount them.