# Ideal Ferts for Low Stocked Tank



## Richard Dowling (16 Dec 2010)

Hi All,

This is probably one of the most commonly asked questions within this thread but I am looking for some advice based on my specific setup before I go spending any money on DIY Ferts.

I have a Rio125 with 13 White Cloud Mountain Minnows in it. I currently have DIY CO2 and dose Profito and Easy Carbo following the instructions of 2ml Daily for Carbo and 10ml Weekly for Profito. Some may disagree but I feel that this has been a complete waste of money (The ferts anyway), My Plants may be growing outwards (i.e. Valis are spreading runners and Amazon Swords are very slowly branching out) but non of my plants are growning upwards....at all!!  Would I be right in saying any problems with lack of plant growth is due to the tank being poorly stocked and Nitrates being low as a result? I didnt have this problem when I had a lot of larger fish.

I am going to be installing a new external filter this week which will resolve my main issue of poor filtration but I am struggling to resolve the poor plant growth, I thought the "Easy Life" products would have solved that one! I have been given brief advice in the past about Phosphates and Nitrates but I think I need to have full understanding before I go putting things in my tank. Can anyone advise, In a "Plant Ferts for Dummies" type way exactly what I need and whether The Easy Carbo and Profito are even worth dosing? Are there any books out there that can help me swat up on this?


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## Westyggx (16 Dec 2010)

What's your lighting?


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## Richard Dowling (16 Dec 2010)

2 x 590mm 18w
3pm-10pm


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## LondonDragon (16 Dec 2010)

I have the exact same tank, the dry ferts are the way to go, but you have very low light and the plants you have are slow growers, especially at that level of light. Also bear in mind that EasyCarbo kills the Vallis so it will melt away eventually.

Have a look at my journal in the sig below, lots of info in there for the exact same tank.


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## ceg4048 (17 Dec 2010)

dowheim said:
			
		

> ...Would I be right in saying any problems with lack of plant growth is due to the tank being poorly stocked and Nitrates being low as a result? I didnt have this problem when I had a lot of larger fish...


There are a lot of reasons for poor performance and certainly, inadequate nutrient dosing is an important factor. It's not a good idea to assume that low nitrates is the only reason though. It could easily be due to poor PO4 levels or poor CO2 levels or poor flow, or a combination.



			
				dowheim said:
			
		

> ..I thought the "Easy Life" products would have solved that one!


I believe that Profito only contains trace element and some Potassium. You would then have had to use their Nitrogen and Phosphorous products at sufficient dosing levels to avoid starvation.



			
				dowheim said:
			
		

> I have been given brief advice in the past about Phosphates and Nitrates but I think I need to have full understanding before I go putting things in my tank.


 Since you have not elaborated on the content of your briefing it would be difficult for us to comment on it's validity. However, most people are told to avoid Nitrate and Phosphate which, of course, is completely ludicrous, and which often results in the same syndrome currently being experienced in your tank.



			
				dowheim said:
			
		

> Can anyone advise, In a "Plant Ferts for Dummies" type way exactly what I need and whether The Easy Carbo and Profito are even worth dosing? Are there any books out there that can help me swat up on this?


Long version click==> EI DOSING USING DRY SALTS Short version click==> James EI Dosing Guide

Cheers,


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## Anonymous (17 Dec 2010)

Have you folks noticed that Profito after a wile when you shake the bottle it looks like mud? Never had this experience with other trace fertilizers. 



> I didnt have this problem when I had a lot of larger fish.



This is the same setup or a brand new one? You know that your ecosystem needs time to settle down, bacteria to grow, things to accumulate in the substrate etc. With a couple of mini fish this takes time, maybe a year or so and until then you should be dosing what plants need. You need all elements like macro (N and P and others) for good growth.


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## dw1305 (17 Dec 2010)

Hi all,


> Rio125 with 13 White Cloud Mountain Minnows


 These will produce virtually no bio-load, almost certainly  you haven't got a problem with poor filtration, the smallest internal filter would cope with this amount of fish. If you haven't bought the external filter and want more flow?, a power-head will do, either a diffuse flow Koralia type or I use a maxi-jet and sponge. Another option would be an "Eheim Aquaball" type internal <http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12412>.

It really depends what you want from the tank, others will disagree, but personally I'd dump the CO2, Easy Carbo and Profito and just dose something like James's "all in one mix" or a similar from our sponsors <http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=13795> at a fairly low level. 

Again it is my personal opinion but low bio-load, low nutrient, low light set-ups are very stable and easy to look after. You don't get the plant growth that you would get with EI and more CO2/light and you can't grow some of the most demanding plants, but you can grow Amazon Swords, _Cryptocoynes, Anubias_, Mosses etc. 

I keep all my tanks like this. 

For feeding you can just add a small weight of fertiliser every week, or I use the "duckweed index" for when to feed the plants, if the floating plants (Duckweed (_Lemna_) or Amazon Frogbit (_Limnobium_), _Pistia, Salvinia_ etc) are yellowing and vegetative spread has become negligible, I add a small amount of KNO3. If there is no apparent increase in greeness/growth after a week I dose some of the "all in one" mix. It is not very scientific, but it works very effectively. 

Have a look at Dusko's great tank in this thread <http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2422>, this used a nutrient rich substrate, but you can get the same sort of growing environment by adding a little more in the way of nutrient to the water column.

cheers Darrel


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