Buy the Seachem Iron and dilute 50% to last longer.

[Stan510]

If you go through the bottle faster than your budget allows? It's so concentrated you could dilute 50% and I'm sure get good results.
I ran out and needing iron I bought some liquid iron from Home Depot and it does not smell "Irony" like Seachem and it's also is lighter in brown color than Seachem. But,the plants are doing fine. And a gallon of it is $11. Cheap.
My public service moment of the day.

 

[Rocky998]

If you go through the bottle faster than your budget allows? It's so concentrated you could dilute 50% and I'm sure get good results.
I ran out and needing iron I bought some liquid iron from Home Depot and it does not smell "Irony" like Seachem and it's also is lighter in brown color than Seachem. But,the plants are doing fine. And a gallon of it is $11. Cheap.
My public service moment of the day.

So basically what I do is melt iron into lava and then dump it in the tank... You may see bubbles but thats fine. And hey, boiled fish for dinner

 

[Stan510]

I should mention that the Iron in the blue bottle is the one to use from Home Depot. The other type they sell is red liquid iron and I have read that its somewhat toxic to fish and the red does not stop tinting the water! So,blue bottle,one gallon. The Red is like a quart or half that.

 

[GaryE]

I just put a grain of iron chelate into the filter - never had any problem with the fish and it has always worked. I bought my jar for cheap 25 years ago and I've barely dented it. It hasn't rusted yet...

 

[StevenF]

Seachem iron is iron Gluconate It is a type of acidic sugar. bacteria consume gluconate very quickly. When the gluconate is gone the iron rusts. May people try to maintain a iron level of 1ppm with this product Some peaple have to add iron gluconate almost daily to maintain soluble iron levels adequate for plant growth. Iron oxide is not soluble and not useable by plants. if you use a form of iron that lasts longer in the aquarium you will use a lot less

I use iron DTPA in my aquarium bacteria won't consume it and it will last a long time. I dose once a week to to maintain a level of 0.1ppm in the aquarium. DTPA is safe for shrimp and fish..Bacteria doesn't touch it and it is stable to about a PH of 8. Above a PH of 8 is rusts and is no longer available to plants.

Take a container with 100nl of distilled water and one milliliter of vinegar and 3.44 grams of iron gluconate (equvelent to 1/2TSP+1/4tsp+1/8tsp) or iron DTPA. one one milileater dose will achieve 0.1ppm of iron in a 10 gallon tank about 40 liters) after your weekly water change.

Note this recipe can be adjusted using:

Rotala Butterfly | Planted Aquarium Nutrient Dosing Calculator​

Planted Aquarium Nutrient Dosing Calculator
rotalabutterfly.com

Sources of iron DTPA
https://nilocg.com/collections/fertilizer-select-salts/products/na-iron-chelate-select-salts-fe
https://greenleafaquariums.com/products/dtpa-chelated-iron-0-5lb-jar.html

 

[Stan510]

Glad you posted. I had read that the red liquid iron is fine for hydroponics..but in an aquarium is toxic and even in small doses leaves a red tint. I used to buy dry granules Ironite in a bag..haven't seen it sold like that in years.

 

[Naughts]

If you go through the bottle faster than your budget allows? It's so concentrated you could dilute 50% and I'm sure get good results.
I ran out and needing iron I bought some liquid iron from Home Depot and it does not smell "Irony" like Seachem and it's also is lighter in brown color than Seachem. But,the plants are doing fine. And a gallon of it is $11. Cheap.
My public service moment of the day.

Good idea. When people have posted that the water goes cloudy after adding iron I feel that they may be overdosing so this would be a solution.
Thanks

 

[Stan510]

Liquinox Iron ( Home Depot) says its chelated Iron,EDTA 0.2.% Any problems? Seems to really green up Hygrophila species,Swords- known iron lovers. It might boost BBA. What doesn't?

 

[StevenF]

Liquinox Iron ( Home Depot) says its chelated Iron,EDTA 0.2.% Any problems? Seems to really green up Hygrophila species,Swords- known iron lovers. It might boost BBA. What doesn't?

Fe EDTA is unstable at a pPH of 6.5. At that point The iron corrodes. Frew people have tanks with a PH of lower than 6.5. Iron DPA is stable to a ph 7,5 to 8. Right now Fe DTPA is the best choice for aquariums.. 1/2 pound cost about $10 dollars (excluding shipping costs). That is enough to dose a swimming pool sized aquarium to 0.1ppm which is more than enough for a planted aquarium. So it would cost a lot less than the alternatives. (iron gluconate or Fe EDTA)

Too much iron in the water can be toxic to fish, can cuase a phosphate deficiency due to formation of iron phosphate which is insoluble and not available to plants. A Phosphate deficiency typically causes a hard green spot algae on the aquarium glass which can only be removed with a lot of scrubbing or a scrapper.

 

[StevenF]

Glad you posted. I had read that the red liquid iron is fine for hydroponics..but in an aquarium is toxic and even in small doses leaves a red tint. I used to buy dry granules Ironite in a bag..haven't seen it sold like that in years.

If it leaves a red tint in the water it is Fe EDDHA that is good up to a PH of 10. few people have tried this in an aquarium and most don't like the color tint. Many were also following old iron dosing guidlines that were from FE EDTA or iron gluconate which means people were dosing 1ppm some pushed the iron dose to 4ppm and at that point it probably is harmful. People used these higher doses because Theron didn't last long or there were other issues with their fertilizer.

At a dose of 0.05ppm Fe EDDHA might be usable with minimal to no color shift but my aquarium has a PH of 7 and have years of DTPA supply so I have never tried it. EDDHA is also harder to find and I have been told it costs more. If it didn't have color tinit problem it would probably be the best choice


I don't know what ironite has but in all likelihood it is some cheeps source of iron like iron sulfate, Fe EDTA, or Gluconate none of witch last long.

 

[Stan510]

Last I looked at their advertisement,the website that sells nutrients has run out of powdered iron! Or,I would have ordered. The price was so low. But "Not in stock"..

 

[Stan510]

So far so good with the liquid Home Depot iron. I will get an iron test kit soon. It seems to me all most aquarists need is iron and potassium. Those two really boost plant growth.

 

[StevenF]

Stan510​

Last I looked at their advertisement,the website that sells nutrients has run out of powdered iron! Or,I would have ordered. The price was so low. But "Not in stock"..

I looked at both of the links I posted earlier. I found the Nilocg.com link was not working and corrected that Both Nilocg and Green Leaf aquariums didn't have any out of stock notifications when I placed on in the cart. So as of right now it appears to be in stock at both sites.

 

[StevenF]

Most fertilizers have Fe DTPA or gluconate. Only recently has that started to change. So it is understandable people have a problem with it. Most fertilizers have plenty of potassium. But if your fish produce a significant amount of nitrogen it ia possible for a potassium deficiency to occur. Many people state lack of potassium creates holes in the leaves. But I have never sen that with the potassium levels I'm using. But I have seen that with a molybdenum deficiency and maybe a chlorine deficiency. Most people don't worry about these since tap water will have some. but if your fertilizer doesn't have it, it might become a problem.

 

[Stan510]

The Potassium seems to stop hole disease on Java fern and Hygrophyllas. I do feed 28 fish and including a herd of 4-6" Rainbow fish all they can eat as my aquarium also has a huge clump of Syngonium growing hydroponically along with with wall to wall aquarium plants.