Is It Worth It?

[Rlon35]

To fertilize to the enth degree when you have gravel and no substrate....just curious!?!?

 

[fozziebear]

well how else are the plants going to get nutrients without root feeding? Lldjma keeps her plants in plain pea gravel with water column dosing and they thrive, basically you can do it but a nutrient rich substrate is a good fallback if you miss out a dosing, or if you want to grow very difficult plants that like high light, high co2 and a nutrient substrate.

 

[Ian H]

well thats what im doing and about to up the dosing even more!

Alot of plats take in their nutrients from the leaves so yes it is worth it

Also you can use root tabs for some of the heavy root feeders

 

[Renate]

If you have no substrate then get plants with rhizomes, like java fern. They don't need anything but nitrogen, which can be supplied with seachem flourish excel.

The java fern are the only plants that have lived through the many errors I have made.

 

[Colin_T]

you can put the plants into pots with some laterite and lawn fertiliser. A thin layer of each with some gravel over top. Then put the plant into the gravel. Its roots will grow into the fertiliser and the plant will take off. Then put a rock in front of the pot or bury the pot in the gravel in the tank.

 

[Wolfenrook]

If you have no substrate then get plants with rhizomes, like java fern. They don't need anything but nitrogen, which can be supplied with seachem flourish excel.

The java fern are the only plants that have lived through the many errors I have made.

Afraid you have things a bit wrong there. First off Seachem Flourish Excel is a liquid carbon source, and does not contain nitrates, phosphates, potassium or trace fertilisers. Normal flourish however does contain tracer fertilisers, and is often adequate in tanks with just slow growing plants as they are able to obtain the nitrates etc that they need from water changes and fish waste.

Secondly ALL plants require nitrates, phosphates, potassium and trace fertilisers (such as iron etc) to live and grow, the only thing that changes is how much of these they need. Fast growing plants tend to require a lot more of these to stay healthy than slow growing plants, light also has a large impact on requirements as it is lighting levels that set the speed of use.

In an aquarium with NO plant substrate, water column fertilisation is actually more important as the plants can not obtain the nutrients that they need from the substrate, so need you to add them (incidentally water column dosing DOES provide nutrients to the routes as well, in the same was as substrate fertilisation provides nutrients to the leaves via the water column). Even in low light, low maintenance, planted tanks it can be beneficial to have a regular fertilisation regime using a trace product. In higher lit tanks, especially those driven by high lighting (keep in mind that CO2 is a source of carbon, which is another form of nutrient) it becomes even more important to have a regular dosing regime usually with the need to add extra nitrates and phosphates, and sometimes potassium as well.

Ade

 

[Renate]

If you have no substrate then get plants with rhizomes, like java fern. They don't need anything but nitrogen, which can be supplied with seachem flourish excel.

The java fern are the only plants that have lived through the many errors I have made.

Afraid you have things a bit wrong there. First off Seachem Flourish Excel is a liquid carbon source, and does not contain nitrates, phosphates, potassium or trace fertilisers. Normal flourish however does contain tracer fertilisers, and is often adequate in tanks with just slow growing plants as they are able to obtain the nitrates etc that they need from water changes and fish waste.

Secondly ALL plants require nitrates, phosphates, potassium and trace fertilisers (such as iron etc) to live and grow, the only thing that changes is how much of these they need. Fast growing plants tend to require a lot more of these to stay healthy than slow growing plants, light also has a large impact on requirements as it is lighting levels that set the speed of use.

In an aquarium with NO plant substrate, water column fertilisation is actually more important as the plants can not obtain the nutrients that they need from the substrate, so need you to add them (incidentally water column dosing DOES provide nutrients to the routes as well, in the same was as substrate fertilisation provides nutrients to the leaves via the water column). Even in low light, low maintenance, planted tanks it can be beneficial to have a regular fertilisation regime using a trace product. In higher lit tanks, especially those driven by high lighting (keep in mind that CO2 is a source of carbon, which is another form of nutrient) it becomes even more important to have a regular dosing regime usually with the need to add extra nitrates and phosphates, and sometimes potassium as well.

Ade

Sorry!! Reading at 3 am I thought nitrogen and carbon were similar. Java fern are low light, and hardy plants. Had them growing without any ferts. Just dosed with the flourish excell. Mainly used it for I like the smell and helps keep some algae in check.

 

[darklady]

i have all my plants in gravel and i dont add any fertiliser once i have added fish to my tank. i do add a fertiliser once i have planted my tank and i am happy with the way it looks. i then add a general plant food for fish tanks weekly untill i am ready to add my fish which is about 6 weeks later and then i leave it alone.

i also make sure that my tank gets a minimum of 10 hours light and at times this is 14 depending on what shift i am working

so far i have had no problems but i am sure that many will not agree with the way i do things.

in my case i stick to what i know works for me. my plants are green and growing well and very healthy.