Fertilizers: why potassium and iron?

vampie

vampie

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Oct 25, 2006
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Since I'm no expert when it comes to plant nutrients.. why do so many fertilizers contain only (or mainly) potassium and iron? eg. FloraPride, Leaf Zone, Jungle, etc. Is it because these two nutrients are generally not found in adequate enough amounts in most water sources? Or perhaps the average planted aquarium needs these nutrients more so than others?
 
i think in general, and *WARNING*, this is only any assumption, these ferts are designed to be used in a tank where there is a heavy bio load. the dosing depends on fish food/waste supplying the nitrate and phosphate to complete the macro trio, low to mid/low lighting and no/low co2 supplimentation(excel or DIY) ferts like this could be used in say an el natural set up, low tech, etc. i'm just taking a stab here.:)
 
Nitrogen is readily provided as Peanut alluded to, but a key ingredient to any life on Planet Oith is Iron. Iron is easily depleted from the water column and not replaced by waste like nitrogen is. Adding a supplement of iron helps to remedy that. Iron is used by plants in the nutrient uptake as a part of nucleosynthesis.

Potassium is likewise a valuable nutrient. Potassium is necessary for the function of all living cells, and is thus present in all plant and animal tissues. It is found in especially high concentrations in plant cells, and in a mixed diet, it is most highly concentrated in fruits.
 
potassium help regulate the plant growth- I believe the majority of life forms depend on potassium anyhow

without potassium (macroelement) just like oxygen and other main elements cells won't be able to function. plants would need major potassium to be able to function, the faster/stronger the plant is the more potassium it needs to be able to regulate its structure so I would say the more it grows or (repairs itself) it would need constant potassium supply

for the iron- its a microelement- and it aids in the plants ability to breathe and make its own food - it can be bad bad bad if given too much- they only need a little. too much is deadly for them as it destroys their cells. Just trace would make the plants happy got to be really careful about the doseage though.

hope that helps
 
To reiterate, what I believe most have alluded to, most of the fert formulations are set up for what the company's believe is the typical tank, high fish load, low plant, low light. Under these conditions nitrate and phosphorus will be adequately supplied by feeding etc. Potassium and iron on the other hand would normally need to be supplemented under these conditions.
 
to possiblly derail a fully answered thread. products like florapride are incomplete, in a way, and dont really allow for a change in aquarium parameters. that is why i will suggest to you, right now, that if you are looking for fertilizers go online and order - from aquariumfertilizers.com for e.g. - N P K and CSM+B and a bag of Iron. the total cost is going to be about double(including shipping) of florapride and the like, will last 5x as long, offers more fine tuning, and is much more comprehensive.

enjoy!
 
That has always been my assumption, though it's nice to finally get some confirmation. These products are generally targeted towards the casual fishkeeper (not even el natural, or even the casual planted tank keeper - just the casual fishkeeper), I can see why they would stick with just potassium/iron since they aren't created in the tank.

And yes, anytime there's a fertilization thread, you can expect someone to pop up and plug dry ferts.
 
don't knock the dry ferts till you try em. a 500 ml bottle of flourish phosporus costs about ten bucks and has maybe 1/2 teaspoon of mono potassium phosphate in it. a half pound bag of the powder costs about 5 bucks. you can make dozens of 500 ml bottles with that. check out the website that coach recommended. use the money you save for a good trace mix like tropica's or flourish comp.
 
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