Got fertilizer... how often do I add?

[dwayne]

I picked up some fertilizer this weekend, did a good water change/gravel vac yesterday (almost 50% water change... it's been almost 2 weeks since my last change )

The bottle said to add 1 capful for every 10 gallons. I have a 29 gallon tank, and going on previous advice, I only added 1.5 capfuls...

I can't for the life of me remember the brand name, or what trace elements are in it (I vaguely remember iron, copper and cheleate?)...

How often do I add this to the tank? 1.5 capfuls every water change (which I do every week for the most part), or every couple of days, once a month? The label had no clear instructions of when to add, only how much to add...

As always, thanks in advance!!
~Tara

 

[TonyN]

Once a week should be enough for the plants you have, but twice a week probably wouldn't hurt. I've been adding ferts twice a week now for a year or more and my plants are flourishing and the fish dont seem to be affected by the ferts.
If you do twice a week, do one right after water change. You might want to put in some fert tabs in the substrate around the sword plant. They get most of their nutrients from the roots.
Have you read the sticky at the top of this forum? It tells you exactly what you need for ferts. The one type you are using might not be giving you everything the plants need.

 

[dwayne]

Thanks Tony... I'll read the sticky note too (read it a while back, but not recently)... I'll have to look at my fertilizer tonite to see exactly what I have.

~Tara

 

[TonyN]

Glad to help. I've been using the Flourish line of products. (Trace, Iron, and regular Flourish.) I also add No-Salt, and Fleet enema. Here's the results:

 

[dwayne]

Nice plants Tony!! I'm totally confused now, yet again, after reading that sticky... I'll bring my bottle of fertilizer in to work tomorrow (pc is down at home ) and try to make sense out of what I have...

~Tara

 

[djlen]

Bring the bottle with you and tell us the brand name and also what's in it. All 'ingredients'. They will have the % of each element next to the element. Knowing that will be a help as well.
The purpose is to determine what Macros and also what Traces, if any, you are dosing.
I'd advise dosing once a week after water change. Dose 1 cap and watch plants for their response. Better to under-dose than over-dose and end up with algae issues. You can always increase if necessary.
But we should see what exactly it is you're dosing. As Tony says, it may be just Macros, or Traces, or a combination of the two.

Len

 

[TonyN]

Yeah, it is pretty confusing at first, but it really doesn't take long to sort it all out. Make a list (from the sticky) of all the different nutrients that you need, then figure out what you are giving them, and if you are lacking something then just add it to your fert list.
You probably need to ask specific questions when you dont understand something, and listen to guys like Len. He's helped me out several times.
A year ago I used to buy plants, watch them dissolve and go buy some more. lol. Then I found this board and everything changed. I cant remember when was the last time I had a plant die.

 

[dwayne]

Good morning

Here's what I have:
Plant Gro Iron Enriched (Nutrafin, distributed by Hagen):

Here's the link:
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=121&PROD_ID=01076730020101

Label Information:
5ml (approx 1 capful) per 10 us gal provides the ideal amount (.3mg/L) of iron
note, my tank is 29 gallons -- I used 1 1/2 capfuls

Plant Gro Iron Enriched
.15 - 0 - 0
Total Nitrogen .15%
.15% other water soluble Nitrogen

Boron .0005%

Copper .0005%
.0005% Chelated Copper

Iron .26%
.26% Chelated Iron

Manganese .05%
.05% Chelated Manganese

Molybdenum .0007%

Zinc .003%
.003% Chelated Zinc

Other label info, not sure if it's important
Derived from sodium ferric EDTA, boric acid, copper EDTA, copper sulfate, maganese EDTA, manganese sulfate, sodium molybdate, zinc EDTA and zinc sulfate.

This product complies with the California Dept of Food and Agriculture regarding non-nutrient metal content. The maximum total Arsenic, Cadmium and Lead is less than .2ppm each.

I have to go back and look at the stickie note, but I think this is missing a few key nutrients... My plants are growing just fine, but I wanted to add some fertilizer figuring it can only help... 2 swords, java moss and 1 (puny!) java fern.

Thanks guys!
~Tara

 

[dwayne]

Len or Tony, any thoughts on my fertilizer?



~Tara

 

[TonyN]

Ok - sorry for the delay. It looks to me like you are all set for iron and some trace elements. But thats all.
I think for trace elements, you would be better off with Flourish or Flourish Trace.
You need Potassium, which you can get from No-Salt.
You might need Nitrates and Phosphates, but you have to test for that first. You may be getting enough of those from fish waste, plant decay, and stuff like that. If you find out that you need these you can get them from Green Light Stump Remover (for Nitrates), and Fleet Enema (for Phosphates).
You also need Carbon, which you can get either from injecting Co2, or using Flourish Excel.
Thats about all I can think of for now. Others may have other opinions, so wait untill you get more input before you run out and buy all this stuff. I'm just telling you what has worked for me.
I know this sounds like a lot, but once you get used to doing it and get a routine down, its really not that hard, and its well worth the effort.

Hope this helps,
Good Luck,