Jeremy S
12-19-2003, 4:58 PM
I am going to make my own fertilizer tabs but before I make them I was wondering if the plants like certain ferts put in the substrate or if I should just make up something that has the same fertilizers that I dose in the water column. Thanks.
Slappy*McFish
12-19-2003, 5:16 PM
It depends on the plant, not all plants are root feeders and many take up nutrients mostly through the leaves. The most common root-feeders are mainly Swords(Echinodorus), Crypts, and Aponogetons, just to name a few. They'll draw their nutrients through the roots if the water, itself, is defencient in nutrients. This gives them an advantage over stem plants in that they have an alternate means of obtaining their nutrients. Iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphate, and nitrogen are just a few of the nutrients that the plants obtain through root feeding. Some ferns even absorb CO2 through their roots and are exclusive root feeders...though the name escapes me.