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What Ferts?

Acrantophis

Member
Joined
31 Jan 2009
Messages
31
With so many different fert options out there I feel a little intimidated when deciding what/whom to go with. So if I may tap the knowledge base of the forum and get your recommendations. Or is it just a case of trying them all and seeing what suits your planting theme the best.
Any questions which need answering my end, please ask and I will do my best to answer them. ;)
T.I.A.
 
Hi,

Fertiliser dosing types and qtys. depend on several factors; the biggest being what type of set up you have and budget.

Dry ferts are by far the least expensive, but can be daunting for some newcomers to the hobby.

Here is a great article on dry fert and Estimative Index dosing - http://www.ukaps.org/EI.htm

Another option is to use off-the-shelf products. Tropica, Easy-Life, ADA, Dennerle, Seachem etc. all supply comprehensive products but they can work out relatively expensive, especially in larger aquaria.

As mentioned; Tropica do ideal all-in-one, including added nitrogen and phosphorous.

Finally, here is another great link that you should find useful - http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/dosing-methods.htm

What set up do you have?
 
George is spot on with his comments, and both of those url's have been invaluable to me over the last year or so. Just make sure that you read all the information and understand it before making you're decision on dosing methods, but just because you try one method doesn't mean you can't change direction and try another. This hobby is all about learning, and if you're not sure about some things, then ask plenty of questions :D
 
I agree with Tony.

There's easy ways out and good off the shelf ferts are available but at a price.

As George says:
Dry ferts are by far the least expensive, but can be daunting for some newcomers to the hobby.

I went in feet first with Dry ferts (then mixed to a solution for ease of dosing) and was pedantic about the amount of dry ferts added. This was to start with and then relaxed a biit after seeing almost instant results with plant growth. Now I just make sure that the quantites are consistant and a monthly mix takes me about 10 minutes to make.

Kind regards

Simon
 
George Farmer said:
What set up do you have?

George its still in the planning stages at the moment, but I'm going to be re-instating my old tank which I broke down a few years back as a result of moving.
But the basics so far are:-

Tank 48x15x12 (inches)
Lighting (new lamps, original T8 ballast units)
- Hagen T8 Life Glo 48in 40W (1 off) Plus reflector
- Hagen T8 Power Glo 48in 40W (1 off) Plus reflector
External Filter (old skool Fluval 303, still going strong so why change it?)
Substrate
- JBL Proflora AquaBasis (2cm base depth)
- Silver sand and 3mm gravel mix topping (4 cm depth)
Planting scheme and decoration is still TBA.
I'm also intending to purchase a CO2 as it is my intention to have a heavily planted tank with just the bare minimum of fish to act as points of interest.

Any suggestions or recommendations you guys have will be greatly appreciated.

T.I.A. :D
 
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