Are ferts needed...

[Staffylover]

For a planted tank?

I'm just wondering if they are a necessity for all plants, even plants labelled as easy care plants?

 

[rebel]

Yes, but I guess the more relevant question is whether they can just come from fish waste. It depends on stocking, light, co2 and temperature.

 

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Light, CO₂ and fertilisation need to be in balance.

Too much light will cause algae. Too much fertilisation or CO₂ will not cause algae (although obviously the latter may cause problems for your livestock).

Too little fertilisation and/or CO₂ for the amount of light will cause algae.

 

[zozo]

Once a low tech tank is matured it can be relatively self sustaining depending on the plant spieces in there of course.. Easy plants will not nessecary say it aint a heavy feeder. I got a little 25 liter low tech running on akadama, not sure but i think it's about 8 months old now.. It rarely gets ferts and i use it as plant bin, so all the trimmings i do not want to dispose off end up in theis little tank. So it's pretty heavy planted. Even tho i do not fertilize it and it's very low light plants in there hold on pretty good and grow. Mainly there are java ferns in there some bolbitis, bacopa, Lilaepsis Brasiliensis, potamogeton gaiy, some others, a few floaters and a load of mosses. All grow relatively good the only one in trouble is the blyxa, but still alive.. It kinda runs on it's own debris providing ferts.. Even have to water change regularly because of the cyano developng on the surface. So it even provides an excess of organics.

So yes any plant needs ferts the same as we need to eat.. But a tank can provide it's own needs.

 

[Lindy]

I never use ferts in my shrimp tanks and they are lightly stocked. Moss, java fern and hygrophila pinnatifida all do well. The substrate is ada amazonia though.

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[rebel]

I never use ferts in my shrimp tanks and they are lightly stocked. Moss, java fern and hygrophila pinnatifida all do well. The substrate is ada amazonia though.

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You are cheating with the amazonia. That's a fert repository!

 

[Lindy]

You are cheating with the amazonia. That's a fert repository!

To be fair, neither the moss nor java fern are planted in the amazonia. I prefer to see it as an insurance rather than cheating! I think ada amazonia is the perfect substrate closely followed by ada africana as I prefer Africana colour.

 

[zozo]

ada amazonia is the perfect substrate

I was planning another low tech and with searching for a suitable colored substrate i ended up with ADA malaya as the only one so far. Reading further on this i red a lot about ADA not suitable for low tech setups because it's high organic contents. So i was in doubt if i should spend the money on it and give it a go..

But good to read somebody having rather good low tech experience with this.

 

[rebel]

To be fair, neither the moss nor java fern are planted in the amazonia. I prefer to see it as an insurance rather than cheating! I think ada amazonia is the perfect substrate closely followed by ada africana as I prefer Africana colour.

Not meant as an accusation etc.

Amazonia will leech nutrients etc to the watercolumn for a while though.

 

[Lindy]

But good to read somebody having rather good low tech experience with this.

Ada Malaya has the lowest amount of nutrients in it of all the ada substrates and buffers pH the lowest too ie pH 5.5 or less. I have very sot water and the africana buffers the pH at 5.6.

ot meant as an accusation etc.

No worries, wasn'taken as one!

Amazonia will leech nutrients etc to the watercolumn for a while

I find that after 3to 4 weeks the ammonia settles down and your filter is cycled too.