Co2 or Fertilizer

[yoyohughes]

i am looking to boost my plant growth in my little 9 gallon flex but i can only buy either some sort of fertiliser (probably tropica) or a very cheap co2 system. which one fertiliser or co2?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Liquid fertilizers are better and easier IMO. Seachem flourish is the best IMO.

 

[yoyohughes]

examples

 

[yoyohughes]

Liquid fertilizers are better and easier IMO. Seachem flourish is the best IMO.

okay cool, thanks

 

[Byron]

Fertilizer (a complete or comprehensive) will provide more benefit than CO2 if it has to be one or the other. Light is still your primary factor; it has to bee adequate/sufficient for the plant species/numbers, then you ensure there are sufficient nutrients to balance.

 

[Colin_T]

Don't waste your time with CO2.

Buy an iron based liquid aquarium plant fertiliser like Sera Florena and dose the tank once a week after you do a water change.

If you buy an Iron (Fe) test kit, you can monitor the iron levels and dose more often, but without the iron test kit just dose once a week.

 

[AbbeysDad]

I agree with the previous posts. Adding CO2 only really works well with increased light AND fertilizer to push plants to their maximum growth... as in high tech tanks. You can grow a wide variety of plants really well (look at my avitar!) with just a modest addition of liquid fertilizer. I have used and like Seachem Flourish Comprehensive, although I have also used Aquarium Co-op's 'Easy Green' and I'm currently testing Select Aquatics 'Rapid Grow Aquarium Plant Fertilizer'.
As mentioned, I suggest that perhaps in spite of manufacturers directions, you only use enough fertilizer to support good plant growth without excess that may negatively affect your fish.

 

[StevenF]

Plants need the following elements to grow Nitrogen, potassium, calcium, mangnesium, phosphorous, sulfur, and chlorine, iron, manganese, boron, Zinc, copper, molybdenum. If just one is missing plants will not grow and will eventually die. No amount of CO2 will cause plants to grow if one of the above elements is missing. If you are misisingone or more of these elements in the water you will probably get algae growth and no plant growth.

Plants also Need CO2. Now there is CO2 in the air and your fish will exhale it. So depending on the number and size of the fish and aeration of the water you may not need to inject CO2.

Always start with fertilizer first.

 

[Colin_T]

Plants need the following elements to grow Nitrogen, potassium, calcium, mangnesium, phosphorous, sulfur, and chlorine, iron, manganese, boron, Zinc, copper, molybdenum. If just one is missing plants will not grow and will eventually die. No amount of CO2 will cause plants to grow if one of the above elements is missing. If you are misisingone or more of these elements in the water you will probably get algae growth and no plant growth.

I'm not sure about plants needing chlorine. It's a man made substance and does not occur naturally. It's also harmful to fish so probably not wanted in an aquarium.

 

[Essjay]

I presume when StevenF included chlorine in the list he meant the ionic form, chloride. Chloride is a chlorine with an added electron.

 

[Byron]

In his book, Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants, Peter Hiscock includes chlorine as a micronutrient. He has this information:

Chlorine is absorbed by plants in the form of chloride (Cl-) ions and is used for osmosis, ionic balance, and also in photosynthesis. Chloride is normally present in sufficient quantities in tap water (even after the use of dechlorinators), so should not present any nutritional problems for plants.​

Chlorine is an ingredient in Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement, and also in Brightwell Aquatics' FlorinMulti.