# osmocote, how much ?



## eminor (20 Oct 2021)

Hello, there are tons of different tips of how to dose osmocote capsules, i have a ~15 gallons tank, lots of plants, how much capsules can i put ? thx 

and when add new ones ? thx


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## MrClockOff (20 Oct 2021)

I used to use Tropica and TNC which I believe both using some type of Osmocote. Tropica I’ve been replacing once every 3 month and TNC every 5 or 6 months 

Just follow directions on the package.


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## ceg4048 (20 Oct 2021)

eminor said:


> Hello, there are tons of different tips of how to dose osmocote capsules, i have a ~15 gallons tank, lots of plants, how much capsules can i put ? thx
> 
> and when add new ones ? thx


If you intend to dose the water column, especially using the EI method then I would advise against using osmocote, which is extremely high in toxic ammonia. You never really need to spend more money on root tabs as all you need to do is to prepare small ice cubes using water that you have added a high concentration of potassium phosphate and potassium nitrate to, then after freezing place the cubes in the substrate. In this way you avoid the danger of toxicity.
In any case, the substrate naturally builds levels of nutrients from all the uneaten food  and feces that make their way into the substrate. This is really not something you need to worry about. Too many people complicate their lives with all kinds of things that don't really matter, while ignoring the things that matter the most.

Cheers,


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## erwin123 (21 Oct 2021)

When I googled to learn more about root tabs/osmocote, I was brought to the 55-page Barr Report 'Rotala Kill Tank' thread.









						Rotala Kill Tank
					

As usual, fascinating update Vin.   Still trying to wrap my head around what is going on in there.  Maybe I missed it, but what is the lighting like in this tank (PAR, duration)??  And have you ever tested the water column? I would be curious to see what those levels are.




					barrreport.com
				





not that I would try it for my main tank, but if I had a spare tank for running experiments.....


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## DuyHung (24 Nov 2022)

ceg4048 said:


> Nếu bạn định định lượng cột nước, đặc biệt là sử dụng phương pháp EI thì tôi khuyên bạn không nên sử dụng osmocote, loại chất có hàm lượng amoniac độc hại cực cao. Bạn không bao giờ thực sự cần phải chi nhiều tiền hơn cho các tab gốc vì tất cả những gì bạn cần làm là chuẩn bị các viên đá nhỏ bằng nước mà bạn đã thêm kali photphat và kali nitrat nồng độ cao vào, sau đó sau khi đông lạnh, đặt các viên đá này vào chất nền. Bằng cách này, bạn tránh được nguy cơ nhiễm độc.
> Trong mọi trường hợp, chất nền xây dựng mức độ dinh dưỡng một cách tự nhiên từ tất cả thức ăn thừa và phân đi vào chất nền. Đây thực sự không phải là điều bạn cần phải lo lắng. Quá nhiều người phức tạp hóa cuộc sống của họ với đủ thứ không thực sự quan trọng, trong khi bỏ qua những điều quan trọng nhất.
> 
> Chúc mừng,


Chào Ceg.
My concern is: When the ice melt, dose it release lots of nutrient to water ? I use tropical aquasoil which I read somewhere high CEC but I still worry 😅 or do u have other method, I wanna try to rich my substrate because I only use aquasoil


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## ceg4048 (24 Nov 2022)

Wow, I speak really excellent Vietnamese!
Anyway DuyHung, the idea is that when you push the ice cubes deep into the substrate the ice melts and the nutrients are released into the sediment. If the nutrient content of the sediment is high then yes, some nutrients wil find its way into the water, but so what?  If your ice cubes have only KNO3 and KH2PO4 then this is not a problem. If your ice cubes will have Osmocote or some othr pellet high in ammonia, then you have to be careful to use only VERY small amounts in your ice cubes. Ammonia is toxic to fish and can trigger algal blooms, but KNO3 and KH2PO4 are not toxic and do not trigger algal blooms.

Cheers,


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## hypnogogia (24 Nov 2022)

ceg4048 said:


> high concentration of potassium phosphate and potassium nitrate to


How high should the concentration be?


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## plantnoobdude (24 Nov 2022)

May I ask the point of adding KNO3 if the nitrogen won’t be bound to substrate by cec? Surely it’d just leach into the collumn, and if so, why not just dose the water?


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## Happi (25 Nov 2022)

@eminor am sure you have read my thread


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## ceg4048 (25 Nov 2022)

hypnogogia said:


> How high should the concentration be?


Hi,
   The concentration can be anything you want, low, high, Astronomical - whatever you choose. Were you aware that ADA Aquasoil has approximately 100X EI concentration level? It just doesn't matter. This is not something to worry about. The idea of having a rich sediment is that you can be lazy (at least for a while) about water column dosing. You can go on holiday and not have to worry too much about missing water colum dosing.


plantnoobdude said:


> May I ask the point of adding KNO3 if the nitrogen won’t be bound to substrate by cec? Surely it’d just leach into the collumn, and if so, why not just dose the water?


Yes, ask away. The answer is in the paragraph above. We really do not care about nitrogen bonding in this regard. The sediment acts as a partial physical barrier. Naturally, osmotic forces slowly push the nutrients up into the water column. So what? this is good for plants that don't have roots, and as I mentioned if you are not home to dose or if you are lazy then this is a good thing. One may as well ask "What is the advantage of buying ADA Aquasoil?"

Cheers,


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## eminor (26 Nov 2022)

Happi said:


> @eminor am sure you have read my thread


Yes after the disaster 

My osmocote come in 3 kinds of pellets, macro slow delivery, macro fast delivery, micro fast delivery. i used the fast delivery, i had metal toxicity, the tank was algae immune, plant was so slow to growth lol

I rescaped it, i use 8-10 slow macro pellet every 2 months and everything is fine, if i follow the 1 per sq inch i could put 20+ in it, i'm in the safe side i think, the sand is 7cm thick, pellet is on the bottom glass.


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