Tropica Master Grow Plant Fertilizer

gregg604 · 10-07-2003, 1:19 PM

I put Master Grow Fertilizer in my 90 gallon and it made all the fish hide and swim really slow, for a couple of hours. Is fertilizer stressful for the fish?

TwoTankAmin · 10-07-2003, 2:46 PM

I have been using Mastergrow in 10 planted tanks for some time. Fish have 0 reaction when I dose, in fact sterbai corys are spawning right now in a tank where Mastergrow was dosed yesterday.

gregg604 · 10-07-2003, 3:55 PM

It's okay to use everyday? Wow, I guess it really does have no effect on the fish. I figured you were only supposed to use it every two weeks when you so the 25% water change.

TwoTankAmin · 10-07-2003, 5:49 PM

I dose most tanks weekly except for my 3wpg, co2 added tank. In that I dose daily plus a 3x times dose after the water change.

gregg604 · 10-07-2003, 9:32 PM

Sweet, I'll start using it more often. Do you find any algae problems?

Starry · 10-08-2003, 9:55 PM

Gregg - What do you mean by dosing every day? Dosing the full recommended amount every day? (or are there directions on what to do if you'd like to dose daily?)
In any case, overdosing can lead to lots of problems for the plants and fish. It contains metals, which are essential at a low concentration, but toxic when overdosed. It's usually hard to overdose traces, but if you add, say, 5mL daily and the instructions are for 5mL weekly, then you have a problem. You should do at least 35% water changes weekly IMO, to avoid build-up of anything. You can't test for traces, so water changes ensure that if you have too much, it gets removed.

The amount you dose also depends on how many plants you have, and your level of lighting and CO2. If you have low light/no CO2, or few plants, then you will need a lot less traces because your plants are growing slower and using less. If this is your case, don't start with the full recommended amount. Dose less and see how the plants response it. If it's satisfactory, dose that amount every week.

Your fish shouldn't notice it, unless you're overdosing. This can't happen from just one dosing, so I'm guessing it had something to do with your water change. But whater changes should never be stressful either, so you should look into that. Also depends on what kind of fish - some are more timid than others.

gregg604 · 10-09-2003, 2:01 AM

Thanks, Starry thats the info I was looking for. I figure I will do a weekly dose of about half the reccomended amount after I do my weekly water change.

gregg604 · 10-09-2003, 2:16 AM

I've also been told that I should take my carbon filter out when using the fertilizer. Is this correct?

Starry · 10-10-2003, 6:49 PM

You should not use carbon in a planted tank. Don't need it, and it will remove nutrients that your plants need. Only use it if you need to remove medications. Medications are a bad idea too, but sometimes you might want to try saving a fish at the cost of all your plants.