What To Feed My Plants - Tank Pics Included

[pippoodle]

i've been feeding my planted tanks tetrapond plantamin - cos i can get it cheap and have no money lol
the problem i have is my nitrates are always reading 0 after 30 hours after a water change and my plants are doing well but i think they could do better
i dont want / cant afford a pressurised c02 system - i have 2 nutrafin ones but only use them occasionally
SO am looking for a something cheap i can add that willl help them

Have listed the lighting in the tanks not got any really recent pictures as hubby has camera at work at the mo

Rio 180 1x30w t8 life glo 1x 30w t8 flora glo
ammonia 0 , nitrites 0 , nitrates 0 (after 30 hours - 10-20 from tap) , ph 7-7.2

20/09/08

29/09/08

12/10/08

23/10

16/11

LATEST PICS 01/01/09

aquaone 620t 130 ltr tall 2x 18W Triphoshor / Bio-Lux Mix 7.1K / 14K Tube - http/www.aquarium-parts.co.uk/acatalog/i..._AL_T18WTB.html
ammonia 0 , nitrites 0 , nitrates 0 (after 3 days) , ph 7.2

NEW PIC 12/2/09

55 ltr hex 10 watt light (single light from rena 30)
ammonia 0 , nitrites 0 , nitrates 20 , ph 7

juwel rekord 60 standard juwel light (childrens tank
ammonia 0 , nitrites 0 , nitrates 15 , ph 7

new pic 01/01/09

 

[Underwurlde]

Bung in a weekly pinch of KNO3 & KH2PO4. Buying it raw is the best & cheapest method! Oh & a weekly squirt of SeaChem Flourish wouldn't go amiss too... This will give your plants everything they need.

Andy

 

[theshadowinc]

Bung in a weekly pinch of KNO3 & KH2PO4. Buying it raw is the best & cheapest method! Oh & a weekly squirt of SeaChem Flourish wouldn't go amiss too... This will give your plants everything they need.

Andy

Careful with Florish with any type of vails, they tend not to like it to much and die if you do

 

[Underwurlde]

Careful with Florish with any type of vails, they tend not to like it to much and die if you do

I read with disbelief but I don't like to judge... can you refer me to where you source that info from?

I say this because Flourish is just a concoction of micro-nutrients...

Andy

 

[Renate]

Careful with Florish with any type of vails, they tend not to like it to much and die if you do

I read with disbelief but I don't like to judge... can you refer me to where you source that info from?
Andy

Andy it is true. My vals were melting until I stopped using flourish excel. Now in place of it I use hydro peroxide. This is just a temporary replacement until I get diy Co2 set up.


The plants seemed to be growing really great in January. Thus I don't understand why the thread?

 

[Nick16]

obviously a pressurized co2 system is the way to go, i love mine and by adding ferts you can only get so far. the best method is to:

1) get a nutritious substarte for the plants and then cap it with some gravel
2) get some tropica plant nutrition+ (or you could go diy but its not easy, i suggest tpn+)
3) perhaps some easycarbo or excel as it is an algacide (kills algae) but you will have to dose in very small amounts, 3-4 ml every couple of says.. if you do get outbreaks of algae you can spot dose it with these as well. it kills BBA really well.

oh and most plants grow much better if you plant them individually, such as crypts, when you get a pot, seperate them up and then trim the bottom couple of cm's of the roots. other polants such as stems (rotala, alternanthera etc) i plant in small groups like 2-4 stems. (bunches)

 

[Truck]

obviously a pressurized co2 system is the way to go, i love mine and by adding ferts you can only get so far. the best method is to:

1) get a nutritious substarte for the plants and then cap it with some gravel
2) get some tropica plant nutrition+ (or you could go diy but its not easy, i suggest tpn+)
3) perhaps some easycarbo or excel as it is an algacide (kills algae) but you will have to dose in very small amounts, 3-4 ml every couple of says.. if you do get outbreaks of algae you can spot dose it with these as well. it kills BBA really well.

oh and most plants grow much better if you plant them individually, such as crypts, when you get a pot, seperate them up and then trim the bottom couple of cm's of the roots. other polants such as stems (rotala, alternanthera etc) i plant in small groups like 2-4 stems. (bunches)

i find easy carbo more forgiving than excel with the vallis, i dose 5ml a day of Easy carbo and 5 ml a day of TPN+ all available from:

www.aquaessentials.co.uk

order tonight and it will be with you saturday morning, AE are brill!!!

the thing is with the tetra product is it contains no N or P because somewhere a not so wise man once said, nitrates and phosphates cause algae and they dont! lol

 

[Underwurlde]

LOL

I said SeaChem Flourish... NOT SeaChem Flourish Excel. Two different products.

 

[Truck]

LOL

I said SeaChem Flourish... NOT SeaChem Flourish Excel. Two different products.

i know lol, but with seachem you have to buy 4 different products where as TPN+ is all in one

 

[Nick16]

yeah, but she doesnt want to overdose truck in a sense that why i rekon to start with 3 or 4 ml of each every other day or so and then adjust accordingly. rather that than go full wack and upset the balance of the tank and either kill the flora and forna or cause a huge algae outbreak.

 

[Underwurlde]

Woa... where did I say use 4 SeaChem products? I only mention one: SeaChem Flourish that I suggest to provide the micro-nutrients.

You can buy KN04 & KH2PO4 raw online & dumping a pinch each of those two in will supply all the N P & K macro-nutrients.

Simple & cheap. And this is what the lady wants. She wants a low tech tank with good growth, so:

1) No CO2 needed, be it Excel, pressurized or one of those crappy yeast kit things...
2) ...HENCE: Keep the lighting LOW (i.e. not EI levels)... below 2WPG or thereabouts.
3) If you encourage emergent growth, CO2 will come FOC from the air.
4) Get a good substrate in there as suggested above.
5) Grow weed-like plants, their immenent growth will stave off algae. Plant choice will be critical. (Expect a dusting of algae).
6) Tape up the substrate, do NOT allow light to hit the sides of exposed substrate.

Bingo, low tech, low maintenance, good growth. If you want EI explosive growth, high maintenance, then spend $$$.

Andy

 

[Truck]

yeah, but she doesnt want to overdose truck in a sense that why i rekon to start with 3 or 4 ml of each every other day or so and then adjust accordingly. rather that than go full wack and upset the balance of the tank and either kill the flora and forna or cause a huge algae outbreak.

personally i would do 3ml a day, which would be just under the recommended dose, seeing as there are lots of plants. personally i also think that if the tank is still running there is no need to change the substrate, as plants will just as easily utilize nutrients from the leaves.

 

[Underwurlde]

Indeed plants can & readily absorb nutrients through the leaves, but not all set ups are suitable for this approach, an EI set up certainly does, a low tech one I would be wary of this assumption without the onset of the obvious problems.

From my experience, excellent plant growth lies in the substrate. If you don’t have a suitable and balanced substrate your plants will not thrive the way you would like them to. The substrate is not only a means of providing necessary nutrients, but also a retaining capacity to hold nutrients for the use of plants over a period of time. i.e. buffering. This naturally leads to a balanced set up.

Nitrogen, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus are in ample supply in the aquarium, and also sufficiently available in tap water. Other nutrients and trace elements such as iron, zinc, copper, etc. are present in the substrate and need to be added from time to time to ensure proper plant growth.

What I am getting at is to me the use of a good substate is fundamental. Yes, you can grow plants in lifeless gravel, but this is just making work for yourself & is not easy to create 'the balance'. I dose the water column as a 'top up' if you like, but little & not very often, just to back up the substrate. Everything else comes from the fish, which is why I rarely, if ever vac the substrate.

Andy

 

[pippoodle]

Thanks for all the replys - will any of these be safe with dwarf shrimp - so sorry should have mentioned i have them

 

[Truck]

Thanks for all the replys - will any of these be safe with dwarf shrimp - so sorry should have mentioned i have them

easy carbo and TPN+ is fine