# Dry ferts and moving away from Seachem



## clep.berry (Mar 4, 2012)

Don't get me wrong, Seachem's great! but in our neck of the woods, availability is not the best and the cost isn't that small.

Sure, there are a number of sites that help you out with dosing dry ferts but at the end of the day, it's not always directly applicable to your situation - there are TONS of variables... CO2, Lighting, Traces, Minerals, NPK, iron...

Now I'm trying to source economically viable alternatives that are more widely available. Here's what I've found.

Nitrogen: Saltpeter from the pharmacy - not tested, used or dosed yet.
$2 for over a year's supply

Seachem Equilibrium: Promoted rapid leaf growth in my tank with Melon sword leaves reaching 5" wide now - but leaves look a little anaemic and not lush green. - need to cut with epsom salts.
$10 for over a year's supply.

Epsom Salts: now using 10 ml per day of the following solution: 1 tsp epsom salts to 1/2 tsp Equilibrium in 100ml water in 15g. Might have to reduce dose later. That's 1/10th tsp epsom salts and 1/20th teaspoon Equilibrium per day. 

$2 for over a year's supply.

Chelated iron from hardware/nursery: Not tried or tested yet but others have good success with this. Will be using once seachem iron runs out. 

$4 for over a year's supply

Phosphates and Potassium: Waiting to get dry chemical versions of these from chemical supply.
$20 for over a year's supply.

$38 total.

Bottles and equipment to mix and measure it all is more expensive.
So far I've spent over $60 on the seachem range in the last year - and even more on other products that didn't really do much in the way of fertilization.

I need to get this all together because I'm dreaming of a bigger tank and quite frankly, $180 per year on Seachem sounds a little scary as a proposition.

Any other pointers out there?
cb


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

Chris

I have some links for you, but i need to try to get my other laptop fired up as they are saved on there. I do have one on this one though

Aquarium Plant Fertilizer | Green Leaf Aquariums

I use the green fert pack. All the ferts you will ever need and should last you a very long time on your 15 gallon. Im dosing a 50 breeder with it and its lasted a long time and im only 1/2 way through the ferts.

My suggestion would be get stuff thats already been tried and tested..they dont cost any more than if you get stuff at pharmacy that hasnt been tested.
$19.99 isnt bad for a year supply of ferts, and no mixing bottles required. I dry dose my tanks..If you ned help on that let me know.i think i have a dry dose calculation around here for a 15 gal tank.

good luck

Rick


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

There is really only one variable - the light. It drives your need for ferts and CO2. Higher the light, higher the need. I agree with using dry ferts it is the cheapest way to go and is much simpler than some would imply. If you have low to low med, I would only dose once per week. It's when the light gets higher that you have to worry about PPS or EI dosing methods and amounts.


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## clep.berry (Mar 4, 2012)

Rick,
I prefer to buy locally as I'm not on the same continent 
The fact of the matter is that it costs me about $200 per year for my 15 gal with high light.
Reducing that so I can plant a 55g with high light and CO2 for less is my only option if I want to go bigger.
cb


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## wet_and_wild (Jul 19, 2012)

cb-

Good for you! It doesn't hurt to look into cost-effective alternatives. It's amazing how many things out there are the same as the lost-cost, but with at least a 100% markup. Some experimentation never hurt anybody, and with the horrid economy it makes sense.

You go!


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

cb - I think it's a wise approach too. I am not a big plant ferts user, but very few aquarium products can't be homemade. I use garden centre chelated iron all the time, and epsom salts are a standard product in my fishroom. 
You've inspired me to look into dry ferts based on what you are suggesting - I am going to start exploring. Thanks. 

BTW - for fish from iron rich waters, chelated iron can be am amazing spawning trigger. I found that out by mistake when some of my Anubias sp started looking pale. It got me nicer plants and spawns from a few West African species...


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

i agree experimentation is great..but if you experiment with the wrong stuff.it could be diasterious. when i experiment i do it on a tank with plants and no fishat all, that way if i screw up im not killing anything. ifi see the pants going south i pull them, give them a good rinse and place them in a known healthy tank. I can see the cost effectiveness, but dry ferts has to be cheaper to send to you than seachem products. Liquid is alway heavier than powder. I wanted to go the route you want to go with a hydrophonic store 1/4 of a mile from me but could'nt find the right ferts.

whatever you decide good luck..your tank always looks great

Rick


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