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Hi,
quick question for you all, after i start injecting co2 for the first time in my tank what fertilisers will i have to keep adding in my tank, eg Kno3, Epsamm salts etc to maintain good plant growth, can people please tell me what they add and how much of it
cheers tim

That all depends, my friend. What size tank do you have, how much lighting do you have, how heavily planted is your tank, what kind of plants do you have? We need more info to help you out.

Generally speaking, though, if you're adding CO2, then you've got at least decent lighting on the tank - I assume around 2WPG? Depending on your fish load (more bits of info we need...) you'll probably need to dose KNO3, and some sort of trace element solution, be it Flourish or what have you.

P.S. I don't think there's any good reason to specifically dose salt to a planted tank... correct me anyone if I'm wrong, but I think that may do more harm than good

Last edited by NowherMan6 at 15-Mar-2005 15:56

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Back in the saddle!

Really you should only add once you see a deficiency in your plants. When you simply add ferts without your plants activly needing them you can end up just feeding algae.

Have a look @ [link=this page]http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] . It lists comon issues and what you should add specifically .

^_^
[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

hi,
sorry about the lack of information but here we go. Mt tank is 70g with 3.2wpg and is going to be heavily planted with, crypts, ech vartities, anubias, java fern, vals, wisteria, gossi etc i just need to no if people add fertiliser on a weekly basis and if so what prodcuts and howe much do they use
cheers tim

isnt epsam salt just khno4 thats what i have been told so if you need khno4 in your tank you just add epsam salt correct me if im wrong

epsom salts are MgSO4 - 7H2O. I remember a discussion about epsom salts but I can't remember what . All I know is Epsom salts aren't for nitrates.

Mr Gudgeon

Epsom salts were discussed [link=here]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Planted%20Aquaria/55021.html?200503141146" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link].

When adding ferts it's generally suggested to add small ammounts evenly rather than a large ammount all @once. It's just like people with food. If you don't eat for a long time (say 12 hours or so) your body starts to slow down and cannot metabolize the food as well as if you eat small portions more frequently.
It's also important to know how your specific plant gets it's nutrients. For instantce many plants are root feeders, others get their nutrients thru the leaves, but that doesn't necessarily mean the roots should be neglected...:%)!.

^_^
[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

Unfortunately there's no 1 size fits all when it comes to fertilization. Every tank is an entity unto itself.

What we can do is give you a list of reccomended levels for good plant growth. Then you adjust your levels by adding accordingly.

Ideally what you will be aiming for is:

Light 2-3wpg for 10-12hours a day with a spectrum around 6500K.

Co2 20ppm.This can be adjusted by setting the ph according to your KH levels.

Nitrates 5-20ppm. Can be increased by the addition of Potassium Nitrate.

Phosphates 0.5-1ppm.Can be increased by the addition of Mono Potassium Phosphate.

Potassium 5-20ppm.

Trace Elements - most are near impossible to measure. But assuming other things above are in line and plant growth is decent you will most likely need to add agood liquid ferts to supply Iron and other micros.

If or what you need to add will be determined by the amount and type of plants, the stock of fish and your local water quality , i.e some people already have a decent amount of phosphate in their tap so don't need to add.

The nitrate and phosphate levels can be measured with a test kit.
The lights are given , just need a timer.
The Co2 can be calculated by measuring Ph and Kh and using a co2 calculation table.
Potassium is nigh impossible to measure. But if you find you need to add KNO3 or KH2PO4 weel there should be adding enough from there. If not adding those a bit of Potassium Chloride can be added each week. It's hard to have too much Potassium.

If you plan to add new plants it's best to try to add them all at one time. This makes it easier to balance the tank and get a feel for what you need. If you keep adding the plants bit by bit, everything keeps changing and so takes a bit longer to get a handle on what's needed.



Last edited by bensaf at 16-Mar-2005 00:31

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