# Fertiliser regime for newly planted tank



## johnjo (20 Feb 2012)

I finished planting up my first ever tank yesterday (started on Saturday) and and am now not sure what to do with regards to nutrition. I have been reading lots and its trickling into my intellect but i don't want get things wrong so thought i'd ask you guys first, and until i understand how nutrition works i'm sticking to all in one off the shelf fertilisers. I have some Aqua Nourish & Aqua Carbon from aqua essentials (not sure if i actually need the Aqua carbon with my set up but i have it if i ever need it) which i was planning on using.

35L tank (reckon there's only 30l in tank at best due to substrate and plants)
Amazonia new
11w T5 lamo
Tetratec EX600 filter
Heater

Water has been in the tank for 2 days now. No fish currently in tank. Added mulm from my dad's tank to help cycling.

Plants:
Anubia nana bonzai
Narrow leaf Java fern
Crypt wendii
Crypt...not sure?
Pogostemon helferi
Stem plant unknown
Corkscrew Vallis 
Vallis
Christmas moss
Cladophora ball

Not planning on

Should i add these ferts from the word go or is there enough nutrition in the aquasoil to sustain the tank?
Do i need to add any carbon?
Will Aqua nourish be enough? (I don't have the aqua nourish +)
Will 1 25% water change a week be enough?

Tank pic if needed: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/198/35l8.jpg/

Cheers in advance.
John


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## johnjo (20 Feb 2012)

Can anybody advise or is it a silly question?


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## hinch (21 Feb 2012)

get this
http://www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk/fert ... s-dry.html

add between 5 and 10ml a day (depending on how frequent you do water changes and how heavily planted the tank is) 
do a 50% water change a week on a 30l tank its roughly one full standard bucket a week takes about 10 minutes 

you don't need to add carbon although co2 injection will work wonders.  don't use liquid carbon because you have vallis which doesn't seem to take well to liquid carbon

start adding ferts immediately

for first couple of weeks you'll be wanting to do daily water changes while the aquasoil leeches out all its ammonia 

think that covers the basics / what I did when I first setup my similar sized tank


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## johnjo (21 Feb 2012)

Cheers for the link , definitely a few quid to be saved there!

I tested for ammonia last night and it was looked over 8PPM so did a 50% water change. I managed to get a used filter sponge which i added to the tank on Sunday and was hoping the bacteria would colonise quickly and get the ammonia down real quick with aid from the plants but i can see i will still have to do daily water changes until it settles down and the bacteria in my filter multiplies....like you said it only takes 10 mins max.

I will start dosing today after the water change. Is there a preferred time to do a water change as in before the tank light comes on or straight after or doesn't it matter so much? Same with dosing, is it better to dose after lamp has been on or before? I have the lamp on for 6 hours betwnn 6pm and midnight. I think there may be a little algae creeping in so might drop it by an hour for the moment.

Thanks for the reply mate.   

John


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## hinch (21 Feb 2012)

i do my water changes on a saturday morning then fert up straight away and the lights come on at 3 but i'm no longer doing the daily water changes.

I think for starters I used to do the change then fert and leave it an hour before flicking the lights on. also didn't have a very long photo period for first couple of weeks to avoid algae while it was getting its self sorted i would go with just a 3 or 4 hour max lighting period for now


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## Greenview (21 Feb 2012)

As Hinch said. 
Aquasoil let's out huge amounts of ammonia for up to 3 weeks so you will need lots of water changes (or else the plants will suffer and you could get algae). I recommend daily 50% changes for a week, alternate day 50% for a week, and 2X a week for a week or two. You are using some mature filter material, which will help, and the plants will help deal with the ammonia too. Aquasoil is great for cycling filters! You should be able to get life stock in after week 3, but check parameters first.

Don't do water changes with the lights on, do them a little while before lights on (to let things settle) and add fertiliser before lights on (it does not matter how much before); the plants need all their ferts present as soon as the lights go on. Vallis is sensitive to liquid carbon, but only in overdose (as far as I am aware); if you use it, it will help the plants to adapt to submerged life and reduce the effect of the fluctuating CO2 levels that the big water changes will bring, but it is not essential.

It is always a lot of work for the first month, but aquasoil is such a top choice for the tank.


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## johnjo (21 Feb 2012)

Thanks Guys, just the information i wanted to hear, i know where i stand now.   

Cheers,
J


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