Mebbid's DIY root tabs

[eddyk]

Here is what I started with.....

 

[mattcham]

Congratulations on your nice garden. How many months from the beginning?

Also I notice you have some wisteria plantlets in the foreground. You will eventually need to relocate those plants to the background when they turn into massive trees!

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[Mebbid]

It's nice to see progress on tanks! Thanks for sharing

 

[eddyk]

The thanks goes to you Mebbid.

I plan on a big time re-scape and man-scaling in a couple of weeks.

Tank is 3.5 months or so.

The Amazon Swords, which are in the back, are still are not taking off like other plants, but they will.

I was able to get a lot of shredded crap like plants from petco. They don't have a properly lit plant tank, so they were begging me to take them. $1-$1.50 a plant. Awful looking plants, but had 1-2 viable leaves.

The Fert Tabs are smoking, just make sure they are inserted with tweezers or forceps a few inches below the roots, to ensure they stay put....

PPS pro is a wallet saver.

 

[Delapool]

The only problem I see withbusing clay is that it might not release the ferts very readily.

I just push my tabs right beneath the plants.

It's a good question. I think jeta or someone has done sun-dried clay balls with ferts pushed into them?

Be nice if it soaked up phosphate a bit.

 

[Mebbid]

It's a good question. I think jeta or someone has done sun-dried clay balls with ferts pushed into them?

Be nice if it soaked up phosphate a bit.

Jetas root tabs are a mix of the ferts and clay. The ferts arent just pushed into it but thoroughly mixed together.

 

[Delapool]

Jetas root tabs are a mix of the ferts and clay. The ferts arent just pushed into it but thoroughly mixed together.

That's the one. The clay is bentonite (swelling clay). Although I wasn't really fussed.

Just thinking about it, might be ok - the ferts are meant to be slow release but all I could find that was low phos actually looked like normal fertiliser grains. If the clay locks up some that may work out better as long as the plants can still get to it or it doesn't release all at once. Thoughts?

 

[cherokeeluvr]

Any chance these would spike nitrites?


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[Brookster123]

Any chance these would spike nitrites?


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Could cause an ammonia spoken which would result in trites.. how deep you bury them?

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[cherokeeluvr]

Ammonia is 0 ppm. And I buried them at bottom so about 1-2 inches


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[jetajockey]

It's possible but usually only happens if you go way overboard with them or if you happen to crush some of them

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[1998golfer]

I was thinking of making up some DIY root tabs..
size 00 gel caps as normal
I'd buy 2lb osmocote + and 2lb dynamite, mix in a bin and then make the root tabs. Is this a recipe for disaster?
And how many (approx) root tabs would 4lb total (2lb osmocote, 2lb dynamite) make? I have no idea, would it be 100? 1000? 10000?

Thanks.

 

[cherokeeluvr]

I put 4 in a 10 gallon and they were size 0 a bit smaller than 00.


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[RadMax8]

I was thinking of making up some DIY root tabs..
size 00 gel caps as normal
I'd buy 2lb osmocote + and 2lb dynamite, mix in a bin and then make the root tabs. Is this a recipe for disaster?
And how many (approx) root tabs would 4lb total (2lb osmocote, 2lb dynamite) make? I have no idea, would it be 100? 1000? 10000?

Thanks.

With 4 lbs you'd probably have a pretty lengthy supply. I just used Osmocote+ and 0 gel capsules. I got the 100 pack and barely used any O+.


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[Tacit Blues]

I've been thinking about doing this, too, and was wondering if anyone on this thread could let me know about their experiences with the little osmocote (and any other brands you may have used) "balls" dissolving--if they reach the substrate surface, do they eventually dissolve all the way, or are you left with thousands of little plastic beads?

 

[Mebbid]

I've been thinking about doing this, too, and was wondering if anyone on this thread could let me know about their experiences with the little osmocote (and any other brands you may have used) "balls" dissolving--if they reach the substrate surface, do they eventually dissolve all the way, or are you left with thousands of little plastic beads?

Youre left with the plastic beads. Thats the only downside to them tbh. However, they can usually be siphoned out with little difficulty.

 

[jetajockey]

They don't dissolve they are some sort of plastic. That's one of the reasons why I don't usually use them in tanks, but I do use them in some flower beds and pond pots.

 

[Tacit Blues]

Do different brands behave differently?

 

[Mebbid]

Do different brands behave differently?

Nope, they all use the same or similar plastic product.

 

[Tacit Blues]

Cool, thanks.