Fertilisers

[ksam]

I'm looking into adding some much needed fertilisers to my tank, but I'm completely lost as to which would be best So far I've looked at the Seachem range and the PMDD route but I'm still not sure, both have their good points. The main concerns I have are with cost & dosage, I'm going away in a couple of months so wont be able to dose it every day & the last thing I want is for a major algae attack whilst I can't do a thing about it, lol.

Tank details:

180 litres, been running for about 2 years
lighting, 1x Arcadia original T5 25W, 1 x Arcadia Tropical T5 25 W & 1x Interpet Daylight+ T5 55W
cactus compost base underneath 3mm gravel
Variety of cryptocorynes, sagatarria, vallis, swords, hygrophilia, nymphea stellata & some others which the name escapes my brain at the moment (will check my notes )
2x Nutrafin CO2 yeast unit things

pH 6
Ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
kH 1~2
GH 1~2 (very hard to read they're that light)

I don't have any other test kits at the moment, but can look into others

I've noticed that the swords at the back of the tank are looking a bit "worn", the hygrophilia grows like made and can be seen pearling, but I have a stupid clown loach who enjoys eating my vallis, nymphea stellata & a few other plants (he'll hopefully be getting rehomed soon ) I've also noticed a bit of algea creaping in the past few days, a bit on the glass & some on the hygrophilia which I've never had problems with before.

Any help & adivce would be greatly appreciated, if any other information is needed which I've left out just give me a shout

Thanks in advance

 

[kamel_007]

I found NPK from seachem is very good

 

[ksam]

thanks kamel_007 The only seachem stuff I can find is Flourish & Flourish Excel, would either of these be ok??


I really want to start from scratch with this tank once I get back from my holidays, so I think that i will go with the EI route then Can anyone recommend any further reading so I can really get my head round all the calculations?? Also places to buy the ingredients needed (also a list of ingredients ). When the tank gets redone Ill also be adding a heating cable to the substrate

Thanks again

 

[G_Sharky]

hey Ksam...the seachem stuff are good but will be expensive...I used to have the seachem ferts too until it's started to put a hole in my pocket..lol...If you want something really cheap go to your local hydrophonic store and ask them about dry ferts for aquatic plants and it will only cost you around $20 and it could last as long as 6 months to a year depending how big your tank is....good luck...

 

[pieman]

I use some Nutrafin sticks, you just stick them in underneath the plant and they last for around a year, well mine have only been going 2 weeks

 

[kamel_007]

thanks kamel_007 The only seachem stuff I can find is Flourish & Flourish Excel, would either of these be ok??


I really want to start from scratch with this tank once I get back from my holidays, so I think that i will go with the EI route then Can anyone recommend any further reading so I can really get my head round all the calculations?? Also places to buy the ingredients needed (also a list of ingredients ). When the tank gets redone Ill also be adding a heating cable to the substrate

Thanks again

you have to get seachem NPK, potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus.. plus florish,

Flouresh Excel is not necessary i think, it's contains CO2, but oy ucan get more with Cylinder,

I use them now, i'm getting an excellent result's trust me,..

 

[Discomafia]

The only seachem stuff I can find is Flourish & Flourish Excel...

Flourish Excel provides a source of carbon for your plants, instead of using CO2. It's definitely more costly, so I would just recommend injecting CO2.

Can anyone recommend any further reading so I can really get my head round all the calculations?

http/www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=653

Not really about EI, but important nonetheless, because it is a well written post that explains what the most important nutrients in planted tanks are.

HTH.

 

[Themuleous]

Hi,

Start off by reading the pinned EI article, that should answer all of your questions. If you still dont quite understand it all, post a few questions then.

HTH

Sam

EDIT - good luck with it, Im just about to start my first EI tank too

 

[ksam]

Thanks for all the help & suggestions

The plan of attack now is to get some Seachem stuff for the time being, since I'm going away pretty soon they'll be no one to dose the dry ferts every day & monitor levels.....................once I get back then I'll be switching over to the dry ferts, will most likely strip down the tank aswell & add some different plants.

I've got another 2 smaller planted tanks so I think once I've gotten used to using the ferts on the big tank then I'll switch these two onto it aswell.

Think I need to take some photos of the tanks soon

Thanks again, just one last question does anyone know where I can buy seachem products, no shop sells them roung by me