To Fert Or Not To Fert

[elmo666]

Hi. Have a 250 ltr set-up, well planted with pressurized co2 , twin t5 plant tubes, eheim pro 350, just added a nitrate reactor. Having problems with high nitrate reactor. Just started using R/O water mixed with hma filtered water, pro discus mineral used to make good minerals and kh.
From other threads its been suggested that fertilizer is adding too much nitrate. So, ferts or no ferts??

 

[KirkyArcher]

If you have nitrates naturally forming in your tank you need not add Nitrogen containing ferts, so buy separate Phosphate and Potassium for Macro, and dose micro's with iron that are N+P free

 

[elmo666]

Thanks. Are these readily available in stores or would I need to shop online? Could you recommend any in particular as this area of fish keeping is new to me.

 

[KirkyArcher]

Seachem do....... http/www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/FlourishPotassium.html
http/www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/FlourishPhosphorus.html
http/www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/FlourishNitrogen.html
http/www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/FlourishIron.html

http/www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/FlourishTrace.html

they also do..... http/www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Equilibrium.html that may be of interest to you

Easylife do...... http/www.easylife.nl/en/freshwater/nitro
http/www.easylife.nl/en/freshwater/potassium
http/www.easylife.nl/en/freshwater/fosfo
http/www.easylife.nl/en/freshwater/ferro

http/www.easylife.nl/en/freshwater/profito

Usually the Easylife stuff is cheaper even taking into account the higher concentration of the Seachem products, plenty of similar ferts both Macro and Micro can be found online much cheaper.

 

[daizeUK]

I've used EasyLife Fosfo before but Easylife Kalium is much harder to get hold of.   You could consider getting packets of dry ferts which works out cheaper and you only add exactly what you need.

 

[elmo666]

Thanks lads. Has anyone used Lush trace and micro, a powder preparation? I've been using lush max and Aquagro nutrafeed, not realising the implications of adding nitrogen. As I said, I'm a novice when it comes to the more high tech approach.
Ooohh, just had a thought..... Forgot I set the tank up with 2" of tetra complete planting substrate underneath my top substrate. Could this be leaching nitrates into the water??

 

[KirkyArcher]

There are no Phosphates or Nitrates used in the make up of TetraPlant Complete, in your case you just need to cease dosing Nitrogen containing ferts.

 

[elmo666]

Thanks Kirky. Do you know alot about the planted tank? I set my co2 up a while ago. Rightly or wrongly I adjusted the flow until my drop counter, and ph test, steadied out at 6.5. I did this over a month. Don't really have any algae issues, hygrophilia, bacopa, swords all fine. But on my anubis, java fern and other low lying dark leaved plants there's a very dark algal covering and some hair algae. Do you know why that would be? Could it be extra nutrients low down coming from some detritus? Thanks

 

[SO19Firearms]

Nutrients don't cause algae

 
...and I'd always add Nitrate to a planted tank  because you have no way of knowing what is already in the tank, so by adding a measured amount you can be sure you have at least that much - that coupled with it not being a problem and you're good to go.....
 
EDIT: Hair Algae is likely to be low CO2, low nutrients - or poor flow causing this to be the case.

 

[elmo666]

Ok. Well that confuses me as drop tester indicates correct level, I dose regularly with full and trace ferts and have 1800lph directed down and across through a spray bar. As I said, only seems to be dark leaved slow growth plants affected

 

[SO19Firearms]

1800 in a 250 gives you x7.5 turnover which is a little short of the x10 ideal but that might not be it - if it's the slow growing plants there's a chance they're trying to grow too fast for the conditions, so may need a shadier spot?

 

[elmo666]

Maybe that is it as they're all in the open foreground with no shade at all. I'll look at a little rearrangement later, thanks. Just out of curiosity, what makes the algae form on their leaves and not on the leaves of the faster growing plants up at the surface, directly below the lights? Is that to do with oxygen levels?

 

[SO19Firearms]

Basically because that's where the problem is so the algae takes advantage - triggered by hormone release and feeding off the ammonia.....
 
...as I understand it.

 

[KirkyArcher]

Your 1800 l/h filter will be lucky if it's actually circulating any where near that amount and is more than likely only half that amount when filter media is added unless of course it's a Ehiem Filter, in which case you may need to upgrade in filtration or add a power head or wave maker to improve flow. I don't vac my substrate ever in my planted tanks, and in my case my nitrates only ever rise above 20ppm if I've overfed my fish with frozen food, I've recently simplified my ferts dosing to 10:1 Nitrates/Phosphates so for my 20ppm of naturally occurring Nitrates I dose to get 2ppm of phosphate, and just run my Co2 to get roughly 20mg/l and weekly dose micro's with an added extra dose of Iron and Potassium. All is doing well growing strong and algae free.
Over feeding although you may think you aren't as all your fish eat every morsel within a couple of minutes means nothing, fish are pigs and will eat and eat if given the opportunity, so the extra feed will just lead to extra poop that in turn will contribute to additional Nitrate production.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Anubias are slow growing and algae grows much faster. Other high light growing plants grow faster than algae. That means if you subject the anubias to the same light levels as the fast growers, that is where the algae can take hold.
 
As a result, anubias should not be used as an open foreground plant in a high light tank. So as suggested above either shade them or else find a more appropriate foreground plant for your tank.