What is your fert routine?

[LizG]

I just set up a 55g, cycling day 5. Some of the plants are looking a bit yellow. I started using Seachem Flourish Excel, every other day. I'm also looking to buy the iron version. The day I planted the tank, I put in tabs.

What is the routine that keeps your plants looking like a million bucks?

 

[Delapool]

I find a nitrates and phosphate test kit helps. I aim for around 20 to 30ppm nitrates and 1 to 3ppm phosphate.

Potassium I dry dose with a shovel at EI levels or a little higher (I have fast growing stem plants). Daily ferts dosing.

CO2 injection with daily glut dosing.

I do use substrate tabs on occasion - get them as deep as possible as I have found they will give an ammonia spike if a lot are added.

 

[Barliman]

I was a heavy Seachem user (or "Seachem slut," as I would put it), but I've switched to Easy Green, the comprehensive fertilizer sold by Aquarium Co-Op. Two pumps a week (Yes, the plants have their own barista) does it. So far, the results have been promising.

I also double-dose Excel daily and add Seachem Iron twice a week for my red plants.

 

[Bert2oo1]

I do EI dosing with dry ferts.
1 gram of kno3 and 0.22 potassium 4 times a week
0.77 grams of iron mix 3 times a week in a 30g tank

Have never seen any deficiencies at all. Oh and 30+ppm of pressurised co2


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[LizG]

I am trying to figure out in what to invest first. I don't want to buy all ferts at the same time. I figured iron should be first. But I can't decide on the rest of it. Ideas?

 

[Brookster123]

Just grab up a pps pro kit at Green leaf aquatics

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Bert2oo1]

I am trying to figure out in what to invest first. I don't want to buy all ferts at the same time. I figured iron should be first. But I can't decide on the rest of it. Ideas?

Dry ferts is by far the cheapest. A years worth would cost u around 20-$30


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Fresh2o]

I spent around $30 on GLA's PPS-Pro back in December 2013. I have quite a bit of it left (albeit this is for a smaller tank compared to the OP's).

 

[LizG]

Interesting. I had not considered dry ferts. I think the level of precision you need with dry ferts scare me a little....

But I think perhaps a combination of dry and ready-prepared solutions could be very interesting.

Do most people dose daily? Or every other day?

 

[Delapool]

I dose daily except the night before water change. Large tank so bit more room for error but I dry dose potassium and phosphate mainly and dose a liquid solution of nitrates and micros. Then adjust dosing off nitrates and phosphate readings mainly.

 

[Caliban07]

Interesting. I had not considered dry ferts. I think the level of precision you need with dry ferts scare me a little....

But I think perhaps a combination of dry and ready-prepared solutions could be very interesting.

Do most people dose daily? Or every other day?

There are different ways of dosing the dry salts. You can premix your own solutions or dose them dry. You need to know which system or index you wish to follow or have an idea of the levels you want to dose.

I dose Estimative index levels daily using a small set of scales. EI allows me to forget about worrying if I have enough nutrients and I don't have to rely on tests kits because i know exactly how much I have put in. The 50% water change at the end of the week resets the nutrients and I just go again.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Interesting. I had not considered dry ferts. I think the level of precision you need with dry ferts scare me a little....

But I think perhaps a combination of dry and ready-prepared solutions could be very interesting.

Do most people dose daily? Or every other day?

I dose daily with EI and to be honest I'm not that accurate. I use gram scales and just use a small measure spoon to pour it on. If it's within .01-5 of a gram I'm pretty happy and it's really easy. I mix a weeks worth at a time in a pill planner at a time when I do my weekly water change.

It's cheap and easy once u get going and my results have been amazing.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[LizG]

Right now, while I'm cycling (starting week 2) the new 55, and most plants started to melt. I'm not sure what to do. Will ferts revert the melt, or just time and new leaves?

 

[Bert2oo1]

What kind of plants do u have? Most crypts will melt when there first put in but after a month they come back nice and strong


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Caliban07]

Right now, while I'm cycling (starting week 2) the new 55, and most plants started to melt. I'm not sure what to do. Will ferts revert the melt, or just time and new leaves?

Plants do take time to adjust to new environments but the transition is always easier if you are supplementing co2. Most aquarium plants are grown emersed before they are shipped to us so they have access to atmospheric co2. When we put them in water this supply is significantly reduced and the plants have to grow new leaves that are better adapted to taking up the co2 in the water column. Most times the new leaves will look nothing like the old ones. This is why some plants melt so that they can come back with new leaves.

If the carbon dioxide content in your water is lower than the requirements of the plants they may not come back. It depends on the plant. It can take days to weeks for them to adjust.

 

[Bert2oo1]

What kind of plants do u have? Most crypts will melt when there first put in but after a month they come back nice and strong.

Make sure u are dosing ferts to recommended on the bottles. Both flourish and excel. You can even 1.5- double dose excel if things are struggling a little. Do u plan on going pressurised co2 at all?


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[LizG]

I am very new to this, so now I'm adding Excel for carbon. I am not opposed to doing pressurized CO2 eventually.

I currently have:
- Amazon Sword (some yellowing/transparent leaves)
- Oriental Sword, doing great
- Anubias (not sure what type, some black dying spots)
- 2 Mystery plants (tag fell off, don't know what they are, some black, but mostly green)
- Water wisteria (melting)

I will post pictures when I get home.

 

[Bert2oo1]

I am very new to this, so now I'm adding Excel for carbon. I am not opposed to doing pressurized CO2 eventually.

I currently have:
- Amazon Sword (some yellowing/transparent leaves)
- Oriental Sword, doing great
- Anubias (not sure what type, some black dying spots)
- 2 Mystery plants (tag fell off, don't know what they are, some black, but mostly green)
- Water wisteria (melting)

I will post pictures when I get home.

Ah ok so mostly low tech. Flourish and excel should work fine for your setup. Just dose to recommended on the bottle. What lighting do you have?
Abit of iron wouldn't hurt either give them a few weeks and hopefully they should recover

Also make sure your tabs are pretty close to your Amazon sword as they love root ferts. Mine struggled until I put a tab beside it


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[LizG]

I have 2 18" 15W T8 broad spectrum fluorescent lights.

To be honest, I have no clue if they are sufficient or not.

And yes, I put fert tabs near the swords, and most other plants too.

Here are pictures of the tank and of the plants.

 

[Bert2oo1]

I'm not sure what effects air stones have on excel carbon but I know that air stones will deplete the co2 in your tank there for making the co2 next to nothing, well that's how it is with pressurised anyway. Caliban will be able to tell u more about that though. People tend to go t5's rather than t8 due to the k rating of them but I have seen people on this forum grow plants with t8's.

If u go on the watts per gallon then your under 1w per gal so that might be a factor. I'm not an expert on lighting though and to be honest it confuses the hell out of me haha. Someone should be able to help u on this.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank