# What type of Fertilizers/Additives



## chevyboy_0 (Oct 29, 2010)

Hey guys

I was curious if there are any specific types of additives/fertilizers I should add to my planted tank? IIRC I shouldn't use Iron supplements if I keep Shrimp right? My current tank setup is in my sig if that helps.

Thanks 
Andrew


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## smurfette1175 (Dec 17, 2010)

I am no plant expert but I use the fertilizers tabs when I clean the tank. Then every couple of days I add different liquid fertilisers such as flourish excel and trace. I think it is important to dose the correct amount though. I don't know about how sensitive shrimp are though maybe another member can confirm.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

A warning before saying what fertilizers to use - you really don't need fertilizers unless you've got powerful lighting and CO2. Otherwise, you run the risk of over-fertilizing and causing an algae bloom. With that being said, there are 2 main methods to fertilizing:

1. Liquid supplements. These include things like Excel Flourish, Leaf Zone, and others that come in a bottle in liquid form. They are sold at most if not all pet stores with fish sections. They are expensive, but the easiest to use.

2. Dry fertilizers. These include chemical compounds like KNO3 (for nitrates), K2SO4 (for potassium), KH2PO4 (for phosphates), and Plantex CSM+B (for traces and iron). These are by far the better bang for your buck, however they are much more involved to use. Most of us that use dry fertilizers use a dosing method known as EI, or Estimative Index. It basically means we estimate how much our plants will need then we overdose slightly, and get the excess out with a weekly partial water change.

A site for a good dry fertilizer seller is here:

Fertilizers For The Planted Tank | Ferts

Instructions on EI dosing come in the shipped package.

Root tabs also classify as fertilizers, but I make the assertion that they are necessary no matter what. Others are welcomed to disagree or agree.

Personally, I dose potassium, phosphate, iron&traces, and chelated iron (the liquid stuff). My fish produce enough nitrate that I don't need to add any more. I dose only because I'm running a 48 Watt T5HO light and use pressurized CO2. On the contrary, my newly revived 10 gallon uses a 40W T8 fixture (pretty much a standard hood light), no CO2, and therefore no fertilizers.

Hope this helps!

-Edit: I dose my tank with 2 forms of iron and carry RCS and Amano shrimp in there. They are healthy and breeding, so I would say iron is fine. It's copper you want to stay away from with invertebrates.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Depends on the plants you have...if they are doing well then I wouldn't change what you're doing.

I have 4 planted tanks with only one of them having pressurized CO2 and one has a DIY. I dose EI style on all 4, but only do so about twice a week on the ones without pressurized CO2. Don't have a problem with algae.


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## knownothingfishowner (Feb 22, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> Depends on the plants you have...if they are doing well then I wouldn't change what you're doing.



I second that. Getting too creative with ferts can lead to surprise aggravation.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I third that motion. EI dosing is fun, but easy to overkill.


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## knownothingfishowner (Feb 22, 2010)

"Don't f*** with the formula"


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

I've never used fertilizers with my plants and I have great Sag, Val, Java Fern, Duckweed and Cabomba. I do give them plenty of light (12 hrs plus).


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Well, you don't need fert per se with those plants. But then again, adding them (or CO2) doesn't hurt them either. Dry ferts is definately the best route to go expense wise. Them Florish products can get rather pricey.

If you want to start with dry ferts, I would highly recommend starting out on the easy route with a complete PMDD mix. This is an all around mix that contains just about everything but in pre-measured amounts. You have no control on the dosing but the amounts aren't such that they will cause you problems.

Once you get the hang of dry ferts and feel comfortable, you can then graduate to EI (Estimated Index) method. This is where you will actually break down each element and dose seperately. You can adjust these how you see fit once you learn what your plants and tank does with them. Turns out it is fairly simple actually.

I get all my ferts from here:
Aquarium Fertilizer

Good luck and have fun with it!


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