Making biochar root tabs infused with urea ++

[Hanuman]

I'm on a quest to making root tab clones of the APT Jazz root tabs. Why you ask? Simple, because I want to and because I need to find something to do in my boring life
I might be wrong but APT Jazz seems like biochar infused root tabs so maybe I'll fail, but we will all learn.
So I can find bamboo biochar, easy, and I have a stash of urea + other compound laying around that need to be used before I die.
So, the question is, how would you go about and infuse the biochar with those ferts? I was thinking of preparing a really concentrated solution of urea + potassium monophosphate + potassium chloride (or sulfate) and dump the biochar in there for a good several hours to make sure it's fully saturated. I have no clue if this is the proper way of doing it or if it would even work so I thought I would ask before starting this silly experiment and to see what the community has to say about it.

Roger, over and out.

 

[AlecF]

I like any recipe that says 'leave overnight'.

 

[Hanuman]

Just trying to get my head around you live a boring life😂

Living in the tropics doesn't mean it's summer holiday all year round. We do get bored having to drink coconut all the time. 😜

 

[JoshP12]

I can’t help but giggle as I larded about half a bottle of miracle gro into my substrate without batting an eye.

Had to look up bio char.

Why not just put a layer of biochar in the bottom of the tank (ps I wish I had this stuff), then add your solution on top, then cap it with aquasoil?

Not saying much but your approach @Hanuman is exactly what I would do.

And put some micro too. And maybe vinegar for acid?

 

[Hanuman]

I can’t help but giggle as I larded about half a bottle of miracle gro into my substrate without batting an eye.

Yeah you were a bit heavy handed on that one.

Why not just put a layer of biochar in the bottom of the tank (ps I wish I had this stuff), then add your solution on top, then cap it with aquasoil?

That would be too much and all the liquid fert would definitely leach in the water. I already have some old aquasoil. Just want to refresh it a bit with some slow release. I don't intent to grow some godzilla plant just plain old grass. This said I want to see if I can use this infused biochar in some future scape with more demanding plants. I really hate the osmocote colored prills. Bio char looks more natural and will blend better with the soil.

And put some micro too. And maybe vinegar for acid?

Yes was thinking that as well. Perhaps some bamboo vinegar and the cherry on the cake some humic acid.

 

[FISHnLAB]

A much simpler method might be to use a high CEC layer under one's Substrate that is periodically topped up with nutrients via a syringe.

This is what I will be testing on my new build(journal in the journal section). I am filling 1mm mesh zippered mesh bags with Aquasoil and topping it with a thick Play Sand cap(2-3inches). I will use a syringe like this to inject a NPK+TE solution instead of using root tabs(root tabs will initially be used in the mesh bags though)...

I will be planning the solution as soon as I am done with the build. I'm thinking of using a thickening agent like gelatin or something maybe but, need to do more research first...

 

[plantnoobdude]

NPK+TE solution

The thing is, CEC is well, just that, cation exchange capacity. it will only bind cations and not anions, meaning NO3 and Po4 will leach quickly into the column. It may be worth adding ammonia (cation) to the substrate via a syringe (In safe column amounts).

However, though I understand rich substrate is something you want to try, I still hold strongly that the vast majority of plants will grow perfectly fine in an inert substrate. In fact, I haven’t come across a plant that doesn’t grow in sand yet.

 

[FISHnLAB]

The thing is, CEC is well, just that, cation exchange capacity. it will only bind cations and not anions, meaning NO3 and Po4 will leach quickly into the column. It may be worth adding ammonia (cation) to the substrate via a syringe (In safe column amounts).

I would think a 3 inch sand cap would prevent or at least greatly slow leaching and confine the nutrients to the under cap area. This makes sense to me as even non-slow release Root Tabs seam to provide nutes for root intensive plants for a month or more before signs of deficiency. Maybe one day I will do an experiment with two identical tanks.

However, though I understand rich substrate is something you want to try, I still hold strongly that the vast majority of plants will grow perfectly fine in an inert substrate. In fact, I haven’t come across a plant that doesn’t grow in sand yet.

Well, rich substrates, like the ADA method, always seam to produce the nicest tanks so I personally think there is merit to root targeted fertilization. Also, it is not labour intensive or costly to provide root ferts in addition to water column so I see only possible negatives to not including it. Even if it only provides 1% better plant health/growth it is worth it to me. I also like that one can target certain plants that are struggling vs blanket dosing the whole tank.

The real question to me is not if a plant will grow in just sand but, if it will grow better(nicer, brighter, lusher, faster, bigger) in sand with a nutrient enriched layer underneath it vs with inert substrate and column fert alone.

 

[Hanuman]

All this is nice and sweet, but what about my biochar?

 

[Hanuman]

I have some update. Well not really about my project but about the actual product that pushed me to start this project. I recently ordered some plants from Denis and he kindly included some of his new APT Jazz root tab for me to test. First thing before I even stabbed my tank with these tabs was to open up a capsule to examine what was inside. My findings:

There are 2 types of granules in these root tabs. The first one is a fert prill coated with something. I thought it was urea before looking at the sticker but the ingredients stated on the sticker say there is ammonium sulfate. There are also smaller sized grains, which look like biochar but again the sticker on the package indicates there is clay. Considering the color and the texture it's clear to me these grains have been heated. Here are some pics.

Large size granules is the (NH₄)₂SO₄. The smaller black ones seems to be clay.

Here I uncoated the prilled (NH₄)₂SO₄. The coating was fairly easy to remove and quite thin so I have my doubts if this coating is meant to be slow release. In fact I am wondering if the coating is impregnated with traces since Denis says these root tabs have traces. As a comparison, an osmocote ball has a rather hard shell.

Clay grain.

Clay grain crushed.

My 2 cents conclusion. I have the feeling these 2 different sized grains ((NH₄)₂SO₄ + clay ) work synergetically. The clay or whatever that is absorbing the ammonia once in the water and preventing it from being released in excess in the water column. I think the coating on the prilled ammonia is just a coating impregnated with traces as Denis advertises his root tabs to also contain traces. All this is just an assumption though. Could very well be wrong.

 

[Hanuman]

I carried out another test. I added one of the ammonia balls into a small shot glass with a small amount of water. It has been sitting there for 4-5 days. The coating has not deteriorated. I did an ammonia strip test. Bingo we got ~1ppm of ammonia. This suggests these are slow release balls else I would probably read much higher values.

I'm a bit disappointed at these root tabs. Not because they don't work, because they probably do work very well, but because I really wanted this to be some novel technology like biochar 😂

 

[FISHnLAB]

So, basically one could achieve a similar product with some cheap osmocote balls, Montmorillonite Clay, trace powder, and some gelatin capsules? It looks like there is a good chance Dennis is in fact ripping people off then like many assumed. With a price of almost 1 pound per capsule these Root Tabs are by far the biggest rip off in the aquarium root feeding world imo if that is the case.

You should be ashamed Dennis Wong🙄...

Thanks for your work Hanuman👍.

 

[Hanuman]

So, basically one could achieve a similar product with some cheap osmocote balls, Montmorillonite Clay, trace powder, and some gelatin capsules? It looks like there is a good chance Dennis is in fact ripping people off then like many assumed. With a price of almost 1 pound per capsule these Root Tabs are by far the biggest rip off in the aquarium root feeding world imo if that is the case.

You should be ashamed Dennis Wong🙄...

Thanks for your work Hanuman👍.

Well I wouldn't be too quick on shaming Denis. His root tabs are supposedly balanced and also it could be that these slow release coating are specifically designed to be used under water contrary to osmocote. I don't really know, just making assumptions, but he does claim they are designed for aquariums. I do agree with you on one thing though, the price is pretty hefty for what it is. The production cost of each capsule is perhaps sub 10 cents. At the end if there are people willing to buy....
I got them for free so I won't complain but yeah I wouldn't buy them for that price. It's just too expensive IMO. These root tabs have one merit though. Their color blends well with the substrate. I really hated seeing those yellow osmocote balls on my substrate.

 

[FISHnLAB]

Well I wouldn't be too quick on shaming Denis. His root tabs are supposedly balanced and also it could be that these slow release coating are specifically designed to be used under water contrary to osmocote. I don't really know, just making assumptions, but he does claim they are designed for aquariums. I do agree with you on one thing though, the price is pretty hefty for what it is. The production cost of each capsule is perhaps sub 10 cents. At the end if there are people willing to buy....
I got them for free so I won't complain but yeah I wouldn't buy them for that price. It's just too expensive IMO. These root tabs have one merit though. Their color blend well with the substrate. I really hated seeing those yellow osmocote balls on my substrate.

Well, his liquid fert is also super expensive compared to similar high quality options so I already think he is a shiester pretty much. Just my opinion though.

If you look at NilocG, just for instance as it's a similar high end aquarium AIO liquid fert, where I live it is less then half the price per liter vs APT. So, you get 2 liters for less then half the price of 1 liter of APT. That is ridiculous imo and greatly hurts Dennis's credibility. I mean, some of that may be import fees on Singapore vs USA but, that doesn't even come close to justifying the price difference.

Even with Tropica Specialized or Premium you get almost 1500mL for the same price as 1000mL of APT and it has to be shipped from the EU vs Singapore. And, it is already one of the higher priced options on the market.

So, at the end of the day, I personally think Dennis needs to rethink his pricing as all of the guides and pretty pictures on his site, nor some possibly more suitable to aquatic environment osmocote coating, justify his pricing(price gouging imo). All they do is drive customers away and hurt his credibility imo. I'm using his APT 3/E right now(bought a 200mL bottle of each before I knew what I do now) and they will be my last products from him personally. If his pricing was more reasonable I would have bought 2 litres more from him...

 

[FISHnLAB]

I do agree their colour blends nicely with dark Substrate though but, so does the blackish/green ones I am currently using from NilocG. They were $24.99CAD for 60 capsules vs $26.90CAD for 18 APT Jazz capsules...
Now, they don't have fancy osmocote balls in them but, people seam to be happy with them(I can't weigh in yet as I only started using them a couple of months ago at most).

 

[FISHnLAB]

So, with all of this said...

When will your new Biochar infused root tabs be available Hanuman? If the price is right I'll try a bottle😁.

Seriously though, thanks for your work on this topic. It has been interesting and informative. Maybe one day someone will do a test of different root tabs in controlled conditions similar to the ones MJ Aquascaping does on YouTube. His one on aquasoil was interesting and somewhat proved Fluval Stratum is better aquasoil then it gets credit for imo.

 

[Hanuman]

Well, his liquid fert is also super expensive compared to similar high quality options so I already think he is a shiester pretty much. Just my opinion though.

If you look at NilocG, just for instance as it's a similar high end aquarium AIO liquid fert, where I live it is less then half the price per liter vs APT. So, you get 2 liters for less then half the price of 1 liter of APT. That is ridiculous imo and greatly hurts Dennis's credibility. I mean, some of that may be import fees on Singapore vs USA but, that doesn't even come close to justifying the price difference.

Even with Tropica Specialized or Premium you get almost 1500mL for the same price as 1000mL of APT and it has to be shipped from the EU vs Singapore. And, it is already one of the higher priced options on the market.

So, at the end of the day, I personally think Dennis needs to rethink his pricing as all of the guides and pretty pictures on his site, nor some possibly more suitable to aquatic environment osmocote coating, justify his pricing(price gouging imo). All they do is drive customers away and hurt his credibility imo. I'm using his APT 3/E right now(bought a 200mL bottle of each before I knew what I do now) and they will be my last products from him personally. If his pricing was more reasonable I would have bought 2 litres more from him...

I feel you. I guess it has to do with the fact that in SG all is more expensive?, I don't know. In the meantime it just costs me 2.26USD to make my 1L DIY fert, so that's that 😂 - But I know not everyone is inclined to do DIY ferts or they just can't justify buying all the dry salts and hardware because they don't have enough tanks etc. That is understandable.
As I said though if people want to buy at those prices then I guess everyone is happy. Truth it only Denis is in a position to know if it's hurting him or not. My guess though is that his business is doing well, but that's just my opinion. I mean look at ADA, their prices are just insane yet people buy them.

I do agree their colour blends nicely with dark Substrate though but, so does the blackish/green ones I am currently using from NilocG.

What color are the balls inside? The capsule itself is irrelevant as it will melt away.

They were $24.99CAD for 60 capsules vs $26.90CAD for 18 APT Jazz capsules...

Yeap large difference. Please open that capsule. I'd be interested to know what's in them.

When will your new Biochar infused root tabs be available Hanuman? If the price is right I'll try a bottle😁.

- I'll just post a recipe and leave all the cooking to you all.

Maybe one day someone will do a test of different root tabs in controlled conditions similar to the ones MJ Aquascaping does on YouTube.

Honestly I think Denis' root tabs have a lot good points except the price of course. Other than that I'm pretty sure his root tabs would be at the top of the list.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

the clay or whatever that is absorbing the ammonia once in the water and preventing it from being released in excess in the water column.

The ammonium ion (NH4+) is <"quite lightly bound"> (it is a monovalent ion), but you can replace other ions, with NH4+, if <"you add enough of it">.

........ Though the ionic radius of Na+ (97), K+ (133), Ca++ (99), Mg++ (90), Li+ (68) is smaller than NH4+ (143), the ionic radius of hydrated cation of Na+ (300), K+ (450), Ca++ (600), Mg++ (800), Li+ (600) is much higher than NH4+ (250) in pm. Among the ions of same valence, the ion with smallest hydrated radius is preferred. But, in case of ions with different valence the polarization of ion plays important role in preferential adsorption........

That is the weirdest ingredient list, I'm still trying to work out why you would want that chemical composition for any fertiliser. Ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4 would be acidic, which would help keep the TAN as NH4+, but I'm really struggling after that.

cheers Darrel

 

[Freshflora]

I feel you. I guess it has to do with the fact that in SG all is more expensive?, I don't know. In the meantime it just costs me 2.26USD to make my 1L DIY fert, so that's that 😂 - But I know not everyone is inclined to do DIY ferts or they just can't justify buying all the dry salts and hardware because they don't have enough tanks etc. That is understandable.
As I said though if people want to buy at those prices then I guess everyone is happy. Truth it only Denis is in a position to know if it's hurting him or not. My guess though is that his business is doing well, but that's just my opinion. I mean look at ADA, their prices are just insane yet people buy them.


What color are the balls inside? The capsule itself is irrelevant as it will melt away.


Yeap large difference. Please open that capsule. I'd be interested to know what's in them.


- I'll just post a recipe and leave all the cooking to you all.


Honestly I think Denis' root tabs have a lot good points except the price of course. Other than that I'm pretty sure his root tabs would be at the top of the list.

The NilocG root tabs are unfortunately just powder inside. If you have a sand cap then maybe they wouldn’t leech, but otherwise because they also contain just standard potassium nitrate as their no3 source they would just leach no3 into the water column.

 

[X3NiTH]

That is the weirdest ingredient list, I'm still trying to work out why you would want that chemical composition for any fertiliser. Ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4 would be acidic, which would help keep the TAN as NH4+, but I'm really struggling after that.

I’m going to take a guess that the ingredients list states source compounds and the final product may actually be the precipitate Magnesium Ammonium Phosphate (white interior) coated in traces. Magnesium Ammonium Phosphate is micro-soluble in water, so very slow release of nutrient, acid conditions speed up the release.