Plant Fertilizer.

[aks]

What kind of fertilizer you guys use in your aquarium? Are they safe for the fish? Or is there some thing you can make up in your garage :P?

[Nathan]

i use seachem flourish, its a broad liquid fertliser, its really strong so you only need 5ml for 200l i thnk (its something like that)

i dose it after each w/c. i think it works wonders, depending on where you are you could probly get a bottle
http://www.aquariumproductswholesale.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=993

[fish_r]

i use all seachem
flourish, nitrogen, potassium, phosphourus, iron and i dose NPK and iron @ waterchanges twice a week and flourish the day after the water changes.
no harm to the fish...

[anti-generic]

For my 680Ltr..
i dose Kno3 + K2SO4 powder coz its cheap
+ Seachem Floursi, Flourish iron, Flourish Phosphates and condition the water with Seach Equilibrium.

Dont over dose KNO3!!! or it'll kill your fish.

I'm gonna trial some ADA liquid ferts.
ECA, Brighty K and Green Brighty Step 3
figers crossed!!

[Phlipper]

Only use aquarium use fertilisers, it is possible to make some up in your garage.......but you really want to know what you are doing and have all the right measuring equipment and all the different ingredients, not that easy.

What fertiliser you use depends on what type of plants you wish to grow, and your budget. I have used Seachem Flourish products several times over the past year or so and I think maybe it is better ??? though in my experience only marginally if at all. The problem with Discus and planted tanks is that you still need to do the 40% water changes twice weekly to maintain the health of the fish and each water change you need to add more fertiliser, the costs get very high.

I have stopped using Seachem products for many months now, and now just use the cheaper Wardleys Plant food, I find it works just as well, maybe even better ? and goes a lot further. Wardleys products have been around for a very long time and their products are quite good enough for the average aquariast. The dose rate is 5 drops for 50 litres of water, I use double that as my tanks are thickly vegetated. The last bottle I bought was a 125ml size for $10 and that treats 1250 litres of water.

[Mulisha]

Well the Seachem range i find very good
One bottle of Seachem Florish 500ml treats 25,000L water and around the $25 mark from APW is very good value for money.
One bottle of Seachem Iron 500ml treat 20,000L water and around the same price as Florish.

I have been using florish for about a month now by it's self without any other ferts other then co2 and then thought i should try the Iron and jee what a difference it makes my tanks used to take like 10hrs before it would start pealing hard core now my tanks will pearl like sodawater in about 3hrs :shock:

I'm not sure if taks are ment to do this so easily also i use about 1 bubble per second.

[Proteus]

Whilst the Wardleys product is ok (I have not used it personally, but I know people who have used it in the past).

For a general fert I guess it would suffice, but for specific levels, I think you need to look elsewhere. Personally I use Seachem as they have pretty much the biggest range of products, all scientifically tested, and now quite well priced.

I have tried home made mixes, Dupla, Red Sea, Aq Pharm, etc and was not overly impressed by there offerrings

[Phlipper]

I think the term OK is probably about right, but for those on a tight budget sometimes OK is good enough 8-)

[Mulisha]

But why not have Seachem more conistrated so your saving money over buying the Wardleys one... :shock:

I like ur tank Phil so your do something right anyway ur tank is like a jungle LOL 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)

[Proteus]

I think the term OK is probably about right, but for those on a tight budget sometimes OK is good enough 8-)

Exactly.

If variety & choice was not available, then we would be in a little spot of bother.

My main point was it is a good general fert, just if you want specific elements, i.e. Iron, NPK etc, you need to look at alternatives.

There is the DIY option, but given the way some prices have come down over the past few months, some of the previously very expensive products are now within reasonable reach for the average Joe.

[fish_r]

i have really noticed a big difference since i started dosing NPK, iron and flourish comp. i used to just dose comprehensive, iron and excell, then tried dupla.
now my plants are much greener and a lot more heathy
aquarium products wholesale is the best iv'e seen for seachem prices and now most of the fert range is around the $21 mark for 500ml :)