Least Hassle Ferts ?

[moochy13]

im almost resigned to using ferts in my tank, despite earlier major success without them. however i dont want to be measureing and putting something in every day, that will do my head in. what is the best stuff to use with the least 'hassle' ? im using purigen in my filter if that matters. i dont think my lighting is particuarly amazing, but ive only got room for one bulb, i think ive got just over 1 WPG. i cant seem to ever find bulbs that are 40w+ do they exist ? also how long do bulbs last, and do they 'lose power' over time, and drastically affect plant growth ?

i cant even keep plants alive now, let alone grow them out like in my sig.

 

[SO19Firearms]

I think the absolute least hassle would be the root tabs - But complete ones like TPN+ Capsules or TNC Plugs. Not the clay balls or trace's that the big brands offer.
2nd would be E.I. or a version of it using spoons - While there would be effort involved, if you use measuring spoons you wouldn't have to mess around too much - even use a 7day pill box and just fill it once a week and tip out the right dose everyday....
3rd would be a complete liquid fert, but you'd have to measure it out...you could try once a week and see how you get on, but your plants would be better off with daily dosing.

 

[moochy13]

how mcuh liquid fert goes in roughly ? i appreciate it might be different for different brands/types. but is it the sort of amount you can just go "that looks about right" like i do with dechlorinator, or is it bad news to overdose ferts even a little bit ?

 

[SO19Firearms]

how mcuh liquid fert goes in roughly ? i appreciate it might be different for different brands/types. but is it the sort of amount you can just go "that looks about right" like i do with dechlorinator, or is it bad news to overdose ferts even a little bit ?

You'd be putting in about 13ml, there's no real problem overdosing ferts (except copper with inverts maybe, but unlikely)
Getting one with a dosing chamber makes measuring easier.

 

[stu40]

out of curiosity,have you always used purigen? In the past when you had good growth, with no ferts, did you have purigen then?

 

[moochy13]

No, but my good growth stopped before i used purigen, its only been in my filter a couple of weeks. Its been six months since a plant didnt die within 10 days of being in my tank. Another thread i read today does say purigen removes some stuff thats useful i think, i didnt read too closely.

 

[moochy13]

should i look at using liquid co2 aswell ? i've never ordered anything plant related online, wheres the cheapest place. i searched ebay for tpn+ but nothing came up. ive found something called TNC, but while researching im reading a lot about ferts that are for heavily planted, lightly stocked tanks. my tank is very heavily stocked, is this going to affect what i need to put in ?

ok scrolling a bit further down, tnc complete is for heavily planted lightly stocked tanks, and they do tnc lite for lightly planted heavily stocked tanks. my tank is certainly heavily stocked, but what counts as lightly planted ? i want something like whats in my sig again, what would you call that ? the difference between the complete and lite is that the lite doesnt have nitrate, phosphate (supplied by lots of fish), its not designe for co2 or e.i compatible, whatever that is.

tnc lite

the bottles look like they come with a seperate doing bit, i assume thats what it is ?

 

[SO19Firearms]

The heavily stocked phrase implies you have enough nitrate from fish waste and phosphate from the food. I'd guess you don't, so a complete fertilizer (with NPK) would probably be the one to choose.
When you check the analysis E.I. compatible means you could dose three times a week and hit E.I levels...but you'd need co2 for that.

If you do have enough nitrate and phosphate the lite just doses the extra potassium, magnesium and trace elements.