Liquid Ferts?

[Bill M.]

Are they really nessicary??? My sword plant is looking a little yellow, but my others are nice and green.... Does the plant food made my Aquarium Pharmicueticals work?? Better yet, what do you all use and how often???

[RobbieG]

The best plant stuff I have found is the seachem products (excel flourish/trace)

I have to go way out of my way to get them so mostly I use the jungle plant tabs (little pills you stick into the substrate) and kent freshwater plant fertilizer (a liquid)

I use them very sparingly 1/2 to 1/4 of the recommendeed dose for the liquids and when I use the tabs I put them where my plants are not every few inches in the substrate like the directions reccomend.

The ferts replace trace elements and minerals that are generally in short supply in tank water - most are removed by standard water conditioners or RO filters.

Read the directions on whatever you use and read the ingredients and warnigs twice - may will contain minerals (like copper for example) that are not necassarily good for your fish or inverts.

[Chrona]

It all depends on your setup. Low light setups usually don't require much, if any additional ferts because water changes (trace elements/micros) and fish waste (NPK/macros) will provide all that is needed (an iron rich substrate helps though). If you have moderate-high light, then yes, you'll need to dose ferts, and especially so if you inject CO2 as well, or else the plants will starve. The liquid ferts sold at stores are impractical for most tank sizes as agricultural ferts are much cheaper. The only exception is that many people still purchase Seachem Flourish or Tropica Master Grow for their trace elements because it's simply a better mix than the powdered agricultural stuff. Before I go into further detail, what's your setup?

[Bill M.]

@ Chrona

As of right now I have a moderatly planted tank with combomba, java fern, brazillian sword, water wisteria and what was sold as "fern". I inject CO2, and have 20 watts of flora glo bulb and 20 watts or aqua glo bulb......all together 40 watts. I have a normal 29 gallon FW tank, wiht normal "natural" substrate....plants get about 12 hours of light a day..

[Bill M.]

@ Chrona

As of right now I have a moderatly planted tank with combomba, java fern, brazillian sword, water wisteria and what was sold as "fern". I inject CO2, and have 20 watts of flora glo bulb and 20 watts or aqua glo bulb......all together 40 watts. I have a normal 29 gallon FW tank, wiht normal "natural" substrate....plants get about 12 hours of light a day..

[Kuli_Loach]

My florapride perks my plants right up.

[Chrona]

@ Chrona

As of right now I have a moderatly planted tank with combomba, java fern, brazillian sword, water wisteria and what was sold as "fern". I inject CO2, and have 20 watts of flora glo bulb and 20 watts or aqua glo bulb......all together 40 watts. I have a normal 29 gallon FW tank, wiht normal "natural" substrate....plants get about 12 hours of light a day..

Assuming a decent stocking of fish, you should be fine with just Seachem Flourish (for trace) and (insert iron containing product here) for iron/potassium. I used to use API's liquid fert, but it's all the same stuff as the kent/jungle/florapride, so whatever is cheaper will work. Robbie also had a good suggestion with some plant tabs, as you have an inert substrate that doesn't hold nutrients well, along with heavy root feeding plants. I've used the Seachem Flourish Tabs, but since I haven't used the others, can't really say much other than that.

Also, I would reduce photoperiod to 10 hours. Any more and you are simply growing algae, since plants can only photosynthesize for so long a day.

[RobbieG]

I'd also go with the seachem stuff if you can get it easily- I only use the kent because I need to drive so far to get the "good stuff"

[Incredulous_Ed]

I use this iron enriched fert. Makes my crpyts grow nice.