Fertcicles, addign nutrients to sediment in an established plant tank

[plantbrain]

In advice to someone recently:

Osmocoat seems like a wise idea for DIY root tab solutions that has seen some revisiting lately(been used for the last 30 years by aquarist). Slow release, small etc, ice cubes filled with Osmocoat also would make adding it in spots very easy too. This is similar to soil mud ice cubes that can be added then melt in place without making a mess trying to insert it deep into the sediment.

Some folks had thought to use gel caps for pills to do this, but ice cubes are even easier. Different ice shapes can be made to add as much or smaller amounts as needed. Fertcicles

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[dundadundun]

well, seems there's lots of questions on this. i've been recommending root tabs to a lot of aquarists, sooo...

i'm guessing just under the surface is good?
what npk? there's different versions.
have you tried it? if so, with what results? (ecstatically awaiting a fantastic photo that's not already posted )
how much should be dosed at a time?
6 months between dosing, really? that would be awesome.

i'll break the ice for the scaredy cats, but unfortunately we need some answers. i'm very reluctant to try things until i somewhat understand them... even if it's something you recommend.

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Hmmm, never even thought of doing fertcicles.

 

[plantbrain]

i'm guessing just under the surface is good?
what npk? there's different versions.
have you tried it? if so, with what results? (ecstatically awaiting a fantastic photo that's not already posted )
how much should be dosed at a time?
6 months between dosing, really? that would be awesome.

i'll break the ice for the scaredy cats, but unfortunately we need some answers. i'm very reluctant to try things until i somewhat understand them... even if it's something you recommend.

Deep as possible on the bottom of the glass is best.
NPK or those 3 no# on the box, bag etc are the % of each. General ranges, say 3-1-3, 15-5-15 etc are fine.
I've used osmocoat, so have others for decades, see old APD post for older examples.

I go about about 5 grams worth per sq ft or so, you can go richer /leaner depending on how much you want to add, I do not think there is really any consensus here, better to under do it than over do it.

Adding a few for each sq ft once every 2 months till the aquarium sediment is fully covered with say 1' balls every 3-4" spacing for the most part would be rich............1/2" balls, not bad, 1/4" or smaller, leaner.

6-12 months, but fish supply some ferts, and adding ferts from above, dry powders etc...........will extend and enhance this method. It can be done for leaner lower light systems, or non CO2 systems as mostly the sole source(I'd do soil + osmocoat if I wanna go whole hog on the sediment method+ good daily feeding of a good sized fish load..........low light etc)

I do not consider it a replacement for water column ferts.
Both locations complement each other and take the demand stress off each location, ultimately resulting in a more flexible dosing routine for aquarist that is not so critical if you forget to dose the water column etc.
That is the goal, not going whole hog one way or the other.

It adds to the methods, and can/should be used in conjunction with.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Ever have issues with them wanting to 'float' back out of the substrate? I guess you could always just freeze a small rock in there with the ferts...lol.

 

[plantbrain]

Ever have issues with them wanting to 'float' back out of the substrate? I guess you could always just freeze a small rock in there with the ferts...lol.

Nope, if you bury it deep, this should never occur with osmocoat, they are denser than water.........soil and peat particles? This can happen, so if they are inserted to the bottom and you are somewhat careful later, then those are not much issue either.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[mysticmikie]

i was wondering, would it be ok to use the "potshots" version of osmocoat? they come in bags of 16 and the bags weight is 4.23oz. doing the math that comes to 7.5 grams. would this be too much?

 

[jmhart]

Excellent suggestion/idea Tom...it's definitely a lot easier to drop some osmocoat into an ice tray than it is to fill up gel caps...and cheaper too.