What types of ferts are required

[ANIM4L]

I currently have my planted tank in 4 inches of flourite, with the use of seachem flourish liquid every 3-4 days and I have the flourish tabs every 4 square inches in my tank. I have between 20-40 ppm (adjusting ot 30 ppm gradually) of co2 running in the tank. Some of my plants are doing GREAT and others seem to be barely making it by. I have fixed this and everyone is oding better, but i know with gf225's post about chemicals needed, i was wondering what i needed, well what is required! I told you what i have, and i am wondering, should i buy the seachem phosphorus, potassium, nitrgen, excell, iron, or trace? What should i use in my tank??? thank you very much for your help!

 

[houndour]

I'm using dry ferts to dose phosphates and nitrates. And then I use Kent Fe for iron, and Kent Grow for other micros.

Read zigs EI (estimative index) pinned topic.

 

[ANIM4L]

ya i read that ei thing, that is why i am looking into what i need to add to my tank and what i can get away with to save money. I couldnt get my manager to order the seachem stuff so i gotta order it all online i guess. what do i need to order?

 

[houndour]

well in the long term, for dosing nitrates and phosphates then EI is cheaper. For about £12 you get 500g of each and it goes a long way.

There is also a dry form of micro nutrients too, I forget what it's called now. It might be referenced to in the EI article not sure.

 

[ANIM4L]

Ok at this link, what should i get?

Dry Ferts

and what should i get from this site?

Seachem Ferts

Please help me out!

 

[houndour]

OK, I'd like someone else to confirm what I say...

Mono Potassium Phosphate 1 lb.
Potassium Nitrate 1 lb.
Potassium Sulfate 1 lb.

And I think for micros it would be: CSM+B Plantex 1 lb

You may not need Potassium sulphate, but at those prices you may as well pay $2.17 for it ( I cant believe how cheap everything is in america - so unfair). The idea is that potassium is provided when you dose nitrates and phosphate. The problem with potassium is there are no test kits so you cant measure it. I think, but not sure a sign of potassium deficiency is holes in leaves?

That gregs watson seems to supply everything you need in dry ferts, so I wouldnt bother with the seachem florish at all. The dry ferts will probably go a much longer way and if you compare the prices you can see the dry ferts will be cheaper.

You just need to get hold of some RO or distilled water to mix it with. But I only paid 50p for about 2 gallons from my LFS and ND even got his for free!

 

[zig]

hondour is correct what you need is......

Mono potassium phosphate 1lb
Potassium nitrate 1lb
Potassium sulphate 1lb

The above are for your macronutrients

And if you want to save money get the CSM+B (1lb) for your micronutrient dosing, you should also order Iron chelate (1/2 lb) and thats all you need, the above 5 items will cost 30 Dollars + shipping but they will last a very long time, the CSM+B and the Iron chelate will save you buying bottles of flourish, so you will recoup your setup costs within a few months and still have enough ferts to do for probably a couple of years if not longer.

 

[ANIM4L]

ok so those 4 things, but not the iron thing cuz i have tjhe seachem flourite substrate, or do i still need it. I cant get my hands on distilled water, i even work in an lfs !!! So those 4 things and i will be ok? How do i dose them?

 

[pseud]

Isn't the water you can buy in 1 gallon containers for a dollar at the supermarket distilled water?

 

[ANIM4L]

o then i have access lol. Can you explain how to does the dry ferts and stuff, i dont wanna waste my money or kill off anything, im still learning!!!

 

[zig]

o then i have access lol. Can you explain how to does the dry ferts and stuff, i dont wanna waste my money or kill off anything, im still learning!!!

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Read the EI article pinned at the top of this page it explains things in detail.

 

[ANIM4L]

i printed it out, so i will be reading it to make sure i understand it all.