Someone suggested to me that I could use Osmocote in my tanks as fert for my plants. Has anyone heard of this? I would imagine if it were that easy, everyone would use it, as it is cheap and seems like it would go a long ways....
I was told to drop a few granuels into an ice cube tray and barely cover them with water and freeze, then stick down into gravel once frozen....
that stuff is fine to use. the reason it isnt mainstream is because buying NPK and CSM+B is way way cheaper and lasts way way longer and has different uses.
I use Osmocote and not Osmocote+ as commonly suggested. I feel the Copper in O+ puts my inverts at risk and regular O does not have any copper. I called Scotts to verify the ingredients.
I also make mine into ice cubes to push into the substrate. With having poolfilter sand as substrate, it buries easily and melts quite fast.
that stuff is fine to use. the reason it isnt mainstream is because buying NPK and CSM+B is way way cheaper and lasts way way longer and has different uses.
i see it as a very cheap alternative. very simple to use, also.
did the commercial tabs. takes me ~3 10 packs to do 2 tanks every month @ $7-$10 per pack. results, well... :silly:
did the diy tabs. man that's a lot of work just mixing everything up. still needs to be dosed monthly as they break down fairly quickly... :silly: they worked great though.
doing osmocote now. cheap, simple... best of both worlds... :headbang2: plus $5 at wally world gets me quite a bit of granules. 6-8 granules per fertcicle... tiny bit of water... in the freezer over night... take the cubes out and put them in a ziploc. 1tsp lasts a month or 3 plus on my tanks. nothing but praise, here. and obviously (for those that already know) i already have the dry ferts... and leftover red clay.
i see no reason to try stuffing pill cases, etc., etc. ... osmocote is just too cheap and effortless to struggle with other methods at this point.
excuzzzeme... good to know about the cu in osmocote+.
I keep seeing that lots of people are using Osmocote and think I may want to get some and try it. I saw it at Lowe's the other day, but there are a few different ones. Which do i get. Didn't see any of them list as Osmocote+, there was a regular plant one and one for vegitables/flowers.
Dundadundun - I believe you were the one that suggested it to me. Seemed too easy to be true, but I searched on here and it seems quite common.
I have regular gravel in my 10g and small pebble gravel in the 55g. I just ordered a plant package and started freaking out when I received the package - totally overwhelmed.
I am the farthest thing from a DIYer so Osmocote sounds like the path for me. I am going to have a go with DIY CO2 though... :eek3:
