No Nitrates

[@ombomb]

What is the best thing to do to keep my plants healthy?

I have been adding Nitrate Free plant food at wtater changes, is there anything I can do to make sure they get all the nutrients they need?

 

[guppygirl]

ooof....
Go ahead and read the pinned topics on this forum, and browse around on the web. Some other members might be able to describe, but you've asked a pretty big question there.

 

[iggy01]

As guppygirl said, that's a pretty big question, which would take a long time to answer in any great depth.

Have a good browse around Steve Hamptons site. You'll find some good information on most aspects of keeping a planted tank, including nutrition.

Good luck!

 

[Nospherith]

First of all, tank specs are needed.

If you have under 2wpg then fertilizing probably isn't all that necessary. If you have between 2.5-3.5wpg (suggested range) and then that's when you need to start fertilizing as well as adding at least 15ppm (closer to 30ppm the better) of CO2 via addition. NO3 should be at around 10ppm.

You can get Seachem's liquid N, P, & K or powdered ferts such as KNO3, KSO4 (K+, SO4 doesn't do anything in the aquarium), and KPO4 for the macro dosing and Seachem's Flourish for the trace dosing. It also helps to have a nutrient-rich plant substrate such as Flourite or Eco-Complete.