dimka100
Sat Dec 16, 2006, 05:18 AM
Hi All,
I have been using this form of liquid fertilizer for quite some time now in my planted tank and have been very successful. I have managed to grow various plants from different regions having different needs, all growing healthy and strong. I have not been using any commercially available liquid fertilizers in conjunction with my liquid fertilizer all this time and I’m very happy with the results. My aquarium is always full or air bubbles coming out of plants, a sign of rapid growth, and I’m sick of trimming some of my fast growing plants.
This fertilizer is a mix of pure raw chemicals all necessary for successful plant growth. I simply mix them with water and bottle them. None of the chemicals contain Phosphate or Nitrate. This makes sure you don’t have a spike of NO2 and harm your fish. Excessive Phosphate can also lead to many algae problems as such its best not add any. Phosphate and Nitrate are both present in plenty in fish food and poo, having fish swimming in your planted tank will always provide you a constant free source of those nutrients.
I do not own a company as such this product does not have a name or any form of packaging. It simply comes in a plastic bottle from which you will be adding a measured amount of the liquid fertilizer to your tank regularly.
I have compared this product against various available quality commercial products on the market and found no real difference accept the price. Growing plants is much more than just fertilizers and as such relying on expensive commercial alternatives will never guaranty you great success. Lighting is extremely important and so is CO2. Which brings me to my next point of how much do you actually fertilize the tank. The best thing is to add small dosages regularly and monitor the health and growth of your plants, something the commercial products always fail to mention as they always quote x amount of mil per y amount of litters. Sounds great but the reality is that depends much more on the nutrient uptake of your plants rather than pure water capacity of your tank.
I suggest to start with 5 mil per 200 litters of water twice a week for a medium planted tank with decent lighting and CO2. If you have a lightly planted tank with no CO2 then 3 - 4 mil per 200 litters, for a heavily planted tank with a LOT of lighting and CO2 I would recommend 7 - 8 mil per 200 litters twice a week or maybe 5 - 7 mil 3 times a week. As you will continuously be monitoring the growth of your plants you will notice if adding more will help or should you maybe reduce the dosage, it’s all very tank specific and no one can ever tell you the exact amount.
I have found 500mil bottles to very easy and convenient to use. They can be stored anywhere and most importantly get used up before the chemicals have a chance to go of.
Just so that you understand certain chemicals can change their form after a certain period of time due to a number of reasons triggering chemical reactions, this happens with all products commercial or not. Sometime buying very large containers of a certain product may lead to the product losing some of its efficiency after a prolonged period of time.
It is always best to keep any liquid fertilizers in a cold, dry and dark area. Refrigeration is best.
I was thinking that $10 for 500mil is a fair price (quality commercial products are generally about $25 for 500mil, for $10 you will be lucky to get 100mil).
I’m open to any suggestions or questions you might have.
Thank You
Dimitry
I have been using this form of liquid fertilizer for quite some time now in my planted tank and have been very successful. I have managed to grow various plants from different regions having different needs, all growing healthy and strong. I have not been using any commercially available liquid fertilizers in conjunction with my liquid fertilizer all this time and I’m very happy with the results. My aquarium is always full or air bubbles coming out of plants, a sign of rapid growth, and I’m sick of trimming some of my fast growing plants.
This fertilizer is a mix of pure raw chemicals all necessary for successful plant growth. I simply mix them with water and bottle them. None of the chemicals contain Phosphate or Nitrate. This makes sure you don’t have a spike of NO2 and harm your fish. Excessive Phosphate can also lead to many algae problems as such its best not add any. Phosphate and Nitrate are both present in plenty in fish food and poo, having fish swimming in your planted tank will always provide you a constant free source of those nutrients.
I do not own a company as such this product does not have a name or any form of packaging. It simply comes in a plastic bottle from which you will be adding a measured amount of the liquid fertilizer to your tank regularly.
I have compared this product against various available quality commercial products on the market and found no real difference accept the price. Growing plants is much more than just fertilizers and as such relying on expensive commercial alternatives will never guaranty you great success. Lighting is extremely important and so is CO2. Which brings me to my next point of how much do you actually fertilize the tank. The best thing is to add small dosages regularly and monitor the health and growth of your plants, something the commercial products always fail to mention as they always quote x amount of mil per y amount of litters. Sounds great but the reality is that depends much more on the nutrient uptake of your plants rather than pure water capacity of your tank.
I suggest to start with 5 mil per 200 litters of water twice a week for a medium planted tank with decent lighting and CO2. If you have a lightly planted tank with no CO2 then 3 - 4 mil per 200 litters, for a heavily planted tank with a LOT of lighting and CO2 I would recommend 7 - 8 mil per 200 litters twice a week or maybe 5 - 7 mil 3 times a week. As you will continuously be monitoring the growth of your plants you will notice if adding more will help or should you maybe reduce the dosage, it’s all very tank specific and no one can ever tell you the exact amount.
I have found 500mil bottles to very easy and convenient to use. They can be stored anywhere and most importantly get used up before the chemicals have a chance to go of.
Just so that you understand certain chemicals can change their form after a certain period of time due to a number of reasons triggering chemical reactions, this happens with all products commercial or not. Sometime buying very large containers of a certain product may lead to the product losing some of its efficiency after a prolonged period of time.
It is always best to keep any liquid fertilizers in a cold, dry and dark area. Refrigeration is best.
I was thinking that $10 for 500mil is a fair price (quality commercial products are generally about $25 for 500mil, for $10 you will be lucky to get 100mil).
I’m open to any suggestions or questions you might have.
Thank You
Dimitry