• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Tap Water and plant possibilities. Need advice

MMonis

Member
Joined
19 Mar 2021
Messages
123
Location
Aalborg, Denmark
Hi,

I am completely rescaping my aquarium. Setup info:
1. Size of tank : 54 litres (60x30x30)
2. Age of the system approximately : Complete rescape of old system (running since a year)
3. Filtration: Fluval 106 external filter containing sponges and 1 tub section filled with bio media.
4. Lighting and duration : Fluval Aquasky 2.0 LED
5. Substrate : Tropica Aquarium Soil (new) + Tropica Nutrition Capsules as additives.
6. Co2 dosing or Non-dosing : Pressurized CO2
7. Fertilisers used + Ratios : Brand is Begreenm8 (Denmark).
  • Aquaboost Compleat : All-in-1 complete fertilizer
  • Aquaboost Color & Strength : Fertilizer without nitrate and phosphorus (I use this for daily dosing in my existing tank as my nitrates in the tap water are already high)
  • Manufacturer's dosage :
4ml. ready-mix per. 100 L of aquarium water once a day at high plant cover​
4ml. 3 times a week at low plant cover​
Half dose for the first 10 days​
8. Water change regime and composition : 50% weekly (old system). Will start with 50% daily for first week after rescaping, 50% every 2 days for second week and so on.
9. Hardscape : Red moor wood and lava stone

My tap water parameters based on the report as of 24th Nov 2020 from the water company is as follows:
Total Hardness : 14 ° dH
Hardness, carbonate: 9.7 ° dH
pH: 7.6
Ammonia + ammonium: 0.009 mg / l
Calcium: 93 mg / l
Carbon, org, NVOC: 1.8 mg / l
Carbon dioxide, aggr.: <5 mg / l
Chloride: 37 mg / l
Fluoride: 0.19 mg / l
Hydrocarbonate: 210 mg / l
Iron: <0.01 mg / l
Potassium: 1.4 mg / l
Magnesium: 4.9 mg / l
Manganese: <0.002 mg / l
Methane: <0.005 mg / l
Sodium: 14 mg / l
Nitrate: 38 mg / l
Nitrite: 0.002 mg / l
Phosphorus, total-P: <0.01 mg / l
Sulfate: 24 mg / l
Sulfide-S: <0.02 mg / l

Inorganic trace elements
Arsenic: 0.92 /g / l
Nickel: 2.1 /g / l
Strontium: 710 /g / l

For my new scape, I plan to use the following plants:
Carpeting : Eleocharis sp. 'Mini'
Fore/Midground: Staurogyne repens and Alternanthera reinecki mini
Mid/Background: Rotala Rotundifolia, Ludwigia repens 'Rubin', Ludwigia arcuata, Cryptocoryne crispatula, Limnophila sessiliflora
Epiphytes: Microsorum pteropus 'Narrow', Anubias barteri var nana, Bucephalandra sp. 'Red', Bucephalandra 'Kedagang', Vesicularia "Christmas Moss", Hygrophila pinnatifida

At the moment I do not use any other chemicals other than the Aquaboost Color & Strength fertilizer mentioned above.

Based on my tank equipment, tap water parameters and the plants I have chosen, do you forsee any issues especially with some plants that will struggle based on the water parameters ?
Should I swap some plants with others that better fit my water parameters or should I dose something in the water to make the water parameters better ?

Regards,
Mel.
 
Hi Mel
Your tap water parameters won't cause any issues!
Stable Co2 is far more important.
You are aiming for a green drop checker colour before lights come on......6 hours light duration at the start.
Not sure of the fertilizer you listed can't find any information on that product!
Just dose an All in One as per bottle instructions....you may have to increase this dose as plant mass grows larger!
 
Hi Mel
Your tap water parameters won't cause any issues!
Stable Co2 is far more important.
You are aiming for a green drop checker colour before lights come on......6 hours light duration at the start.
Not sure of the fertilizer you listed can't find any information on that product!
Just dose an All in One as per bottle instructions....you may have to increase this dose as plant mass grows larger!
Thanks for the info :)

The fertilizer is a local brand in Denmark (Begreenm8), you will need to use google translate if not knowing Danish ;)

I think based on the tap water parameters I have the following concerns
1. Nitrates are at 38ppm out of the tap. Wouldn't this be an issue to get the red plants growing well and maintain/better the redness?
2. If I dose an All-in-1 fertilizer, wouldn't this add to the already high nitrate level ?
3. Do I need a dechlorinator to be added during water change based on the water parameters ?

Regards,
Mel
 
Thanks for the info :)

The fertilizer is a local brand in Denmark (Begreenm8), you will need to use google translate if not knowing Danish ;)

I think based on the tap water parameters I have the following concerns
1. Nitrates are at 38ppm out of the tap. Wouldn't this be an issue to get the red plants growing well and maintain/better the redness?
2. If I dose an All-in-1 fertilizer, wouldn't this add to the already high nitrate level ?
3. Do I need a dechlorinator to be added during water change based on the water parameters ?

Regards,
Mel
The universe is crazy! I'm in the exact same boat as you, almost to the T. Thanks for asking the question 😀
 
Don't worry too much about Nitrate as I say Co2 is far more important.
Never found having high nitrate causes plant issues......I have similar Nitrate ppm tapwater and very, very, hard water!
Lower Nitrate can cause growth issues with some plants.
I would increase lighting to encourage the reddish colour in plants but you need to be aware of algae as your increasing lighting ;)
Yes, you need to add de-chlorinator
 
The fertilizer is a local brand in Denmark (Begreenm8),

I have googled and followed your links and I can not find any manufactures ppm yields or w/w% of the Aquaboost Compleat AOI fertiliser, which is typical of quite a few commercial fertilisers. This is not to say it isn't any good. I do like to find what the fertilisers yield ppms and it forms a database we have on the IFC Aquarium Fertiliser calculator, so we can see what it has (and has not) so we see if its lacking in anything, plus we can clone it then as well.

@MMonis if it does have a label on the back of the bottle its contains it could be very handy or you could always email the company and post their replay, and I'll add it to the data base ;)

With a 54l tank not worth the effort of doing DIY ferts IMO esp if your happy with the results of your products

Nitrates are at 38ppm out of the tap
I think the legal limit is 50mg/l (50ppm) If it gets close to 50ppm the water company will use a special filtration system (mine doses) or blending water form different supplies. If they are reducing the NO3 levels are certain times of year you can see quite a large variation in some of the trace elements ( I get a 100 fold variation) its nothing to worry about but you may see certain plants not do so well at certain times of year.
 
I have googled and followed your links and I can not find any manufactures ppm yields or w/w% of the Aquaboost Compleat AOI fertiliser, which is typical of quite a few commercial fertilisers. This is not to say it isn't any good. I do like to find what the fertilisers yield ppms and it forms a database we have on the IFC Aquarium Fertiliser calculator, so we can see what it has (and has not) so we see if its lacking in anything, plus we can clone it then as well.

@MMonis if it does have a label on the back of the bottle its contains it could be very handy or you could always email the company and post their replay, and I'll add it to the data base ;)
After a few messages with the manufacturer, the information they provided is :
Aquaboost Compleat (All-in-One fertilizer), with dosage of 4ml per 100 litres water per day, in ppm :-
Nitrates : 4.914
Phosphorus : 1.9068
Potassium : 29.005
Magnesium : 2.52
Boron : 0.03808
Copper : 0.0112
Iron : 0.2688
Manganese : 0.10752
Molybdenum: 0.0112
Zinc : 0.05824

Based on this data, do you think it is missing something or what can be done better ?

Regards,
Mel.
 
Aquaboost Compleat (All-in-One fertilizer), with dosage of 4ml per 100 litres water per day, in ppm :-
Nitrates : 4.914
Phosphorus : 1.9068
Potassium : 29.005
Magnesium : 2.52
Boron : 0.03808
Copper : 0.0112
Iron : 0.2688
Manganese : 0.10752
Molybdenum: 0.0112
Zinc : 0.05824

Think you have an error on that dose ,as when I try to clone it I am hitting a few solubility limits of a few salts, once I increase it 4ml/100l/day = 28ml/100l/week and that is what the yields are well it is all doable. So Just check what the weekly dose is and is that what the manufacturer advise/claim - looks a pretty decent fert - will post comparison once dose confirmed ;)
 
Think you have an error on that dose ,as when I try to clone it I am hitting a few solubility limits of a few salts, once I increase it 4ml/100l/day = 28ml/100l/week and that is what the yields are well it is all doable. So Just check what the weekly dose is and is that what the manufacturer advise/claim - looks a pretty decent fert - will post comparison once dose confirmed ;)
So the manufacturer came back with the following:
Dosage:
4ml. ready-mix per. 100 L of aquarium water once a day at high plant cover
4ml. 3 times a week at low plant cover
Half dose for the first 10 days

Does this suffice ? Let me know if you want me to ask them any specific details :)
 
So the manufacturer came back with the following:
Dosage:
4ml. ready-mix per. 100 L of aquarium water once a day at high plant cover
4ml. 3 times a week at low plant cover
Half dose for the first 10 days

Does this suffice ? Let me know if you want me to ask them any specific details :)
So the yields below are for dosing 4ml/100Litres ? (which I isn't possible to make an exact clone without issues) So I think the of 4ml/100ml per day and seven days dosing yeilds the ppms below- so that would be '28ml/100Litres/week'
Nitrates : 4.914
Phosphorus : 1.9068
Potassium : 29.005
Magnesium : 2.52
Boron : 0.03808
Copper : 0.0112
Iron : 0.2688
Manganese : 0.10752
Molybdenum: 0.0112
Zinc : 0.05824
So just check for me M8, plus how much does the fert cost you and the volume you get for the cost so I can add the price/litre :thumbup:
 
So the yields below are for dosing 4ml/100Litres ? (which I isn't possible to make an exact clone without issues) So I think the of 4ml/100ml per day and seven days dosing yeilds the ppms below- so that would be '28ml/100Litres/week'
Nitrates : 4.914
Phosphorus : 1.9068
Potassium : 29.005
Magnesium : 2.52
Boron : 0.03808
Copper : 0.0112
Iron : 0.2688
Manganese : 0.10752
Molybdenum: 0.0112
Zinc : 0.05824
So just check for me M8, plus how much does the fert cost you and the volume you get for the cost so I can add the price/litre :thumbup:
Yes the yields are for dosing 4ml/100 litres of tank water informed by the manufacturer.
In terms of cost, 500 ml bottle costs 89 kr. (Danish Krones) translating to 10.5 GBP (British Pounds).
Also, they deliver only to Denmark and Sweden as of today.
 
Yes the yields are for dosing 4ml/100 litres of tank water informed by the manufacturer.
In terms of cost, 500 ml bottle costs 89 kr. (Danish Krones) translating to 10.5 GBP (British Pounds).
Also, they deliver only to Denmark and Sweden as of today.
Post updated and screenshot deleted as @MMonis got a 24ml/100l/week form manufactures

'Original Post' below without screenshots
The only way I could make a true clone of the product is 'if' I added 1.0dKH in Potassium Carbonate to make up the K levels- then I had the solubility limits at 100% as well for room temp
(screenshot deleted as we got a 24ml/100l/week form manufactures)
without adding 1.0dKH
(screenshot deleted as we got a 24ml/100l/week form manufactures)
We would be breaking the laws of physics
@28ml/100L/week it can be cloned easy
I do not believe what the product claims based on their ppm claims per dose, unless they are adding 1.0dKH as well
 
Last edited:
I do not believe what the product claims based on their ppm claims per dose, unless they are adding 1.0dKH as well
So I contacted them again based on this info, and this time another representative from the manufacturer informed me that the ppm information was indeed for 6 days @ 4ml per day.
Basically, 6 days x 4 ml per day = 24 ml/100L/week for high plant cover.
Hope this new information helps and apologies for the incorrect info they provided.
 
So I contacted them again based on this info, and this time another representative from the manufacturer informed me that the ppm information was indeed for 6 days @ 4ml per day.
Basically, 6 days x 4 ml per day = 24 ml/100L/week for high plant cover.
Hope this new information helps and apologies for the incorrect info they provided.
No Problem - Thank you for taking the time to chase the the details from the company 👍
1619611350309.png

(I will delete the screen shots from the Post #12, as they contain the wrong product regime for yields)

As for value
1619611732601.png


I would say excellent value for an AIO per ppm just 'Nilocg Thrive works' out cheaper and that price was for 500ml, a 5000ml would probably be even better value .
 
Hi

I've found that Ludwigia arcuata never adapted to my water (planted from and emersed plant). My water sounds similar to yours.
Give it a try, perhaps I was unlucky.

Alex
 
If not can you tell me how much should I dose for a 54 litre tank ?

Half the volume for a 100L tank and forget about the 4L discrepancy difference you probably have that as hardscape. The fert has decent amounts of micro elements and the loss of around 1/10th of the total dose due to not calculating for the 4L is negligible.

But if you want to be exact the manufacturer has made it easy for you by using 100L as their metric, divide the recommended dose by 100 and then multiply by 54 and you have your exact dosage.

:)
 
@Zeus. Has this fertilizer been added to the IFC Fert Calculator ? If not can you tell me how much should I dose for a 54 litre tank ? I am kind of lost in all the number crunching 😞

Not the release version, will be some time as we are both quite busy ATM.
But like @X3NiTH posted about half the dose recommended would be my starting point and watch the plants, so 4ml three times a week sounds good to me ;)
 
Hi

I've found that Ludwigia arcuata never adapted to my water (planted from and emersed plant). My water sounds similar to yours.
Give it a try, perhaps I was unlucky.

Alex
Hi,
Yes, you were either unlucky or did something incorrectly (or did not do something correctly).
Here is L. acuarta from the supplier (Tropica) newly planted in Thames water KH 20 and GH over 26.
L.acuarta emmersed.jpg



Here they are 3 weeks later, fully transitioned to submersed form.
L. acuarta, like 99.99% of our aquatic weeds. does not really care about water parameters.

8490676795_6d5e199f08_c.jpg


Cheers,
 
Back
Top