need recommendation on fertilizer for plants

H

hmt321

AC Members
Nov 21, 2005
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In my 40 gal tank i bought the following plants:

1 Anacharis
2 Blood Stargrass
3 Japanese Fans
1 Dwarf Lily Plant
4 Dwarf Onions
1 Ambulia
10 Tall Sagittaria subulata
1 small red-spot Ozelot sword
8 Crypt Walkeri
3 Java Ferns
Fertilizer

my substrate is 3" of small pea gravel
my light is 40 watts or 1watt per gal

my water temp stays between 70-74 (its been warmer now, i will not let it get below 70)

test readings

ph =7
ammonia = 0
nitrite = 0
nitrate = less than 10

the plants showed obvious growth for the first 6 weeks then i had an algae prob, bought some Otto's and now it is algae free.

but plants are looking sorry,

What type of pellet fertilizer could i push into the substrate to give them a boost?

thanks
 
My advice is to not buy any in-substrate pellets/spikes/tabs. They can cause more issues than they solve if disturbed before they are spent.
You have two easy options depending on how involved you want to get.
The easy option is an all-purpose plant food like Kent's, available at most LFS's. It has a reasonably balanced amount of most elements and would be perfect for your circumstance.
The other option is to pick up Seachem's Flourish products and dose them at 1/2 strength and watch plants for growth/color to determine if more is required. The Flourish line has N, K, and P and there's also the regular Flourish for trace elements.
Since you don't have a lot of light, your plants won't require a lot of nutrients. What ever you start with, go lightly initially and if needed you can always increase amounts.
Just remember that if you dose too heavily you are usually feeding algae.

Len
 
djlen said:
My advice is to not buy any in-substrate pellets/spikes/tabs. They can cause more issues than they solve if disturbed before they are spent.
You have two easy options depending on how involved you want to get.
The easy option is an all-purpose plant food like Kent's, available at most LFS's. It has a reasonably balanced amount of most elements and would be perfect for your circumstance.
The other option is to pick up Seachem's Flourish products and dose them at 1/2 strength and watch plants for growth/color to determine if more is required. The Flourish line has N, K, and P and there's also the regular Flourish for trace elements.
Since you don't have a lot of light, your plants won't require a lot of nutrients. What ever you start with, go lightly initially and if needed you can always increase amounts.
Just remember that if you dose too heavily you are usually feeding algae.

Len
Click to expand...


thanks for the reply,

im gona pick up the flurish, im very new to plants should i see a result in a week or so or will it take longer?

thanks
 
At one wpg everything will take longer to improve. Be patient with your plants. They can only grow as fast as their condition permits.
Be sure, if you go ahead and buy the Flourish products, to get all of the elements to balance them or you'll likely end up with algae issues. You will need Flourish N, P, and K and also plain Flourish for traces. Don't buy Flourish 'Trace'. If you compare Flourish with Flourish Trace you will see a difference in the element content. Get the full strength Flourish.
For your situation, I would dose all of them at 1/2 strength and give the plants time to respond. It's easier to correct mistakes from the low end than to over-feed and cause algae issues.

Len
 
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