Other Fertilisers?

[Nick16]

hi, i have read people use other fertilisers apart from liquid like TPN. i have some root tabs and tpn, and co2 but what other ferts are there? i have read about postassium or phosphate? i think i need someone like aaronnorth! anyway, what types are there, and what do they do, and where can i get them from, cheers.

 

[Truck]

you need NPK nitrates phosphates and pottasium in a good quality fert

 

[aaronnorth]

I just use TPN+

if you are talking about dry powders, then there are:

(potassium nitrate) KNO3 - source of nitrate
(Potassium Phopshate) KH2PO4 - source of phosphate
(potassium sulphate) K2SO4 - source of potassium although enough is usually added via the 2 above.
(magnesium sulphate) MgSO4 - source of Magnesium although enough is usually found in tap water anyway.
(Trace elements) CSM+B - source of all trace elements.

there are others but i have just listed the main ones used. All are available from aqua essentials, or Garden direct (higher quantity for lower price)

for another liquid option there is seachem flourish.

 

[Nick16]

is that in TPN? or is there any other product i can get? something that will make a good difference!

is it under garden care on garden direct website aaron? cheers, thats the info i was after!

 

[aaronnorth]

is that in TPN? or is there any other product i can get? something that will make a good difference!

well no (but they are probably in it, but in a differerent form), they are the powders you can buy seperatley that are used for EI dosing, or any other 'homemade' dosing regimes (PMDD etc) you can also make a DIY TPN & TPN+

TPN contains - NPK & trace

 

[Nick16]

whats EI dosing?

 

[aaronnorth]

[URL="http/www.gardendirect.co.uk/fertilisers-...i3sm8s9nung0lq3"]http/www.gardendirect.co.uk/fertilisers-...i3sm8s9nung0lq3[/URL]

they are here, but there isnt as much choice as there is at AE>

EI = Estimative Index

basically you dose nutrients in excess to make sure plants get everything they need then do a 50% w/c every week to bring the levels back down again, there is a pinned topic on here.

 

[RadaR]

Want a good difference then it's TPN + all the way.

If you really wanted to know what's in it then...

It's similar to this

48g Potassium Nitrate
2.2g Potassium Phosphate (monobasic)
17g Magnesium Sulphate Heptahydrate (Epsom Salts)
5g Aqua Essentials Trace Elements Mix
0.5g E300 Ascorbic Acid
0.2g E202 Potassium Sorbate
500ml distilled water

But Tropica's TPN+ uses an ammonium compound for some of the Nitrogen content instead of potassium.

 

[Nick16]

is there any difference between the trace elements mix between the 2 sites, as AE is alot more expensive!

 

[aaronnorth]

there might be minimal difference, you will just have to look at the figures if they provide them, but at the end of the day they will both do the same job.

 

[Nick16]

if i get some TPN+. can i mix that 50/50 in a bottle with normal TPN? or do i need a bit more of one than another? or will the chemical compounds bind together if i do this, resulting in the plants not being able to absorb the nutrients.?

 

[aaronnorth]

the only difference between the 2 is that TPN+ contains N&P, so you will be basically 'doubling' the amount of trace elements which is unecassary. TPN+ also conatins some other substances like ascobic acid which i am not totally sure will be fine if you do mix them together.

if you are wanting a DIY TPN+, then look here for the formula: http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/allinone.htm