# Opinions for root tabs



## EA James (27 Jan 2020)

Evening all, 
My tropica nutrition capsules are nearly all gone so I need to stock up with some more. Ive been having a look about and have TNC make tabs, I use there liquid ferts so would like to give these a try.
Does anyone use them or have another recommendation? 
Cheers, James


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## Sammy Islam (27 Jan 2020)

I use the tnc root tabs and the seachem ones which are both great. The seachem ones have a lot of different nutrients on the ingredient list so tend to lean towards them.


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## EA James (28 Jan 2020)

Sammy Islam said:


> I use the tnc root tabs and the seachem ones which are both great. The seachem ones have a lot of different nutrients on the ingredient list so tend to lean towards them.


Perfect, cheers


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## Onoma1 (28 Jan 2020)

I have started to use osmocote. The results so far seem to be very positive. Its also a heck of a lot cheaper than branded stuff. Scatter it on the base or insert encased in icecubes for specific plants


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## Gill (28 Jan 2020)

Another vote for Osmacote, so easy to use.


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## Jayefc1 (29 Jan 2020)

Neo.plants by aquario there awesome phillipe oliveira uses them all the time


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## MWood (29 Jan 2020)

I'm another osmocote user, though always a bit unsure how densely to scatter on start up... I did intend to use the Seachem ones as i liked the idea of crushing them up for use in shallow foreground planting, but clearly not enough to remember to actually buy them and give it a try.


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## deeproots (12 Feb 2020)

We can't get the osmocote used in the hobby in the UK?  I think it's a US blend?  What product is everyone using if you are UK based?


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## dw1305 (12 Feb 2020)

Hi all,





deeproots said:


> We can't get the osmocote used in the hobby in the UK?


You can buy it from <"Amazon etc.">, you might struggle to find the <"slower controlled release formulas">.

cheers Darrel


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## deeproots (12 Feb 2020)

Thanks Darrel - as usual good info and links - I thought the NPK values were different in the UK ones or there was some other key ingredient issue (ammonia or something else).  I need to find the link again which showed this


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## dw1305 (12 Feb 2020)

Hi all, 





deeproots said:


> I thought the NPK values were different in the UK ones or there was some other key ingredient issue (ammonia or something else).


They may be, that is often issue with horticultural fertilisers, they use urea (CH4N2O ~ 46% N) or ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3 ~ 33% N) as a nitrogen source. Very useful for your plants but that makes them fairly dangerous to your livestock.

Have a look at @Barbara Turner's posts in <"Soil enrichment">.

cheers Darrel


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## Mark Nicholls (16 Feb 2020)

I have made my own root tabs which have proven extremely effective and economical and you only need two easily sourced ingredients!
I used:

Fullers Earth in my original experiment however, I am in the process of ordering some red pottery clay powder for my next batch. It's really important that the clay or fullers earth is the red variety as the redness is the cheated iron which is essential.
E.I. Complete Fertilizer salts. I bought mine from CO2 Supermarket as this is the mix I use for my liquid fert too. Instead of using salts, any liquid fert for aquaria would work.
Here's what I did:

Mixed in a measured amount of salts with the powder.
Added enough dechlorinated tap water (cold) to make up a stiff clay.
Rolled the clay into balls of various sizes. Small for foreground plants and large for background and greedy plants.
Allow to airdry overnight. Baking is not an option as I will destroy some of the chemicals.
Store in a cool dry cupboard until needed.
The advantages of this method are that:

The clay also contains nutrients and minerals which aren't in the fert mix.
The clay is easy to handle and to push into any substrate.
It slowly softens and releases it's contents over a period of approx a month and after that, it just becomes part of the substrate.
Most importantly, I know exactly what I'm putting into my tank and can very accurately place the clay balls near or under roots. As a final advantage, being heavy, the clay balls can't be uprooted by burrowing fish such as loaches and will therefore stay where they are put.




The image above shows the dried clay balls. They appear slightly grey as the salts do tend to crystallize slightly on the skin whilst they are drying. This was probably due to the fact that I dried these on a radiator as they were needed fairly quickly.
As an alternative, it is possible to go completely organic and use seaweednextract as the liquid feet instead. Apparently it is fairly effective however, seaweed contains a high content of iodine which can inhibit growth in large amounts.
Here's an easy to follow instruction.



By using these in conjunction with E.I. Liquid fertilisation, my swords and crypts are really really taking off and I have spare money which I can then spend on more plants!!!

As a final thought, red montmillorite clay, red fullers earth and red pottery clay can be used on their own as substrate certs as they all contain the essential cheated iron and minerals. However, they will be slightly less effective without the addition of extra salts.

Hope this helps!


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## dw1305 (17 Feb 2020)

Hi all, 





Mark Nicholls said:


> As a final thought, red montmillorite clay, red fullers earth and red pottery clay can be used on their own as substrate certs as they all contain the essential cheated iron and minerals.


That was the idea behind adding laterite to the soil layer that <"Dupla popularized in the 1990s">. 

There can still be some issues, the red colour is iron, but it is in the form of hydrated ferric oxide (Fe(III)O2, "rust"), so it isn't plant available all the time the <"substrate is aerobic">, there may also be problems with hard water.

Have a look at @Zeus.'s, and @Craig Matthews's  threads about <"FeEDDHA">.  

cheers Darrel


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## Paul Willi (17 Jun 2020)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,You can buy it from <"Amazon etc.">, you might struggle to find the <"slower controlled release formulas">.
> 
> cheers Darrel


Hi , is one more suitable than the other to be put into ice cubes for diy root tabs, looking on amazon both are available.
Thanks
Paul


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## dw1305 (18 Jun 2020)

Hi all, 





Paul Willi said:


> is one more suitable than the other to be put into ice cubes for diy root tabs, looking on amazon both are available.


The slower release formulation is better, but it will still release nutrients much faster in the tank then it would in potting compost, so you need to use it fairly sparingly. 

cheers Darrel


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## Paul Willi (18 Jun 2020)

Thanks Darrel
Anyone tried 
Pinia Balls Root Tabs Fertiliser from Aquaplantcare ? Thinking these could be more suitable as I have plain gravel sub.
Cheers 🍻


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## Mark Nicholls (24 Jun 2020)

Hi Paul. I've used  Pinia and they are very very good but make sure that you plant them deep to prevent clay getting into the water column if you have fish that dig.


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## Regent (3 Jan 2021)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,You can buy it from <"Amazon etc.">, you might struggle to find the <"slower controlled release formulas">.
> 
> cheers Darrel


I'm looking at making some root tabs as I'm running out. Would you still recommend the preplant or is slower release always better? The 12-14 month osmocoat is available on the well known auction site!


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## Andy Pierce (4 Jan 2021)

If people are doing EI dosing, is there really any point to root tabs?  All the substrate will be saturated with the EI fertiliser anyway... never really saw the sense in root tabs unless fertiliser in the water is limiting, and even in that case in a tank with good water circulation I might expect the root tab fertilisers to very rapidly equilbrate with the bulk water essentially as soon as anything dissoves from them.  Full disclosure:  I've never used root tabs.


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## dw1305 (4 Jan 2021)

Hi all,


Regent said:


> is slower release always better? The 12-14 month osmocoat is available on the well known auction site!


Slower the better really. 


Andy Pierce said:


> I might expect the root tab fertilisers to very rapidly equilbrate with the bulk water essentially as soon as anything dissoves from them.


Yes, I think that is probably right, even the slowest release formulation of Osmocote will still go into solution fairly rapidly. Dependent upon the substrates CEC you may get retention of the ions with higher valency (Ca++ etc.) in the substrate, but potassium (K+) and nitrate (NO3-) are very lightly bound and will make their way into the water column.

cheers Darrel


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## zozo (4 Jan 2021)

Osmocote® is patented...  Made by ICL.


			About ICL
		


But there are trademarks such as Pokon, Substral, Miraclegrow and many others any country has its own tradenames going around that sell the Osmocote pellets or cones licenced under their own name and do not always (need to) reveal it actually is Osmocote.

Anyway if you see this product in a bag or a jar, whatever name is on it, it actually is Osmocote®.


















						Aquatic Plant Fertiliser
					

Aquatic Plant FertiliserOsmocote slow release fertiliser comes in easy to use cone shaped tablets that you simply push into the soil.  By feeding your aquatic plants this way it ensures you give each plant receives an exact dose and the fertiliser is contained within the soil, making application...




					plantsforponds.co.uk


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## DeepMetropolis (4 Jan 2021)

Why do people add root tabs at startup? I just started a new tank and had a big jar of osmocote by hand, but I did not add them as I thought there would be enough ferts in the aquasoil for the first months.. It makes more sense to add root tabs later on imo.


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## Regent (4 Jan 2021)

I used them under the swords and Lilly and have always seen a response...
Found a couple of interesting papers on temp and water column release from a sand bed:

The second one is more relevant as it covers newer generation products
www.plantgrower.org › etdPDF Influence of Temperature and Time on Nutrient Release Patterns

Macro‐and micronutrient‐release characteristics of three polymer‐coated fertilizers: Theory and measurements

It certainly doesn't appear that at 20deg it's all dumped into the water at once..
Personally I think there's merit in direct root feeding.


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## dw1305 (4 Jan 2021)

Hi all, 


Regent said:


> It certainly doesn't appear that at 20deg it's all dumped into the water at once..


That is a useful reference. 


> ....... Contrary to several studies, our data and model indicate that there is no significant difference in nutrient-release rates in water and amoist, solid substrate. This means that release rates determined in water can be used to modelbio-available nutrient concentrations in moist soil or soilless media where sorption/desorptionproperties alter concentrations after release. Across all PCF, the nutrients most affected by tem-perature were typically N, K, B, Cu, and Zn, while the least affected were P, Mg, and Fe..........





> _(1) (PDF) Macro‐and micronutrient‐release characteristics of three polymer‐coated fertilizers: Theory and measurements_. Available from: (PDF) Macro‐and micronutrient‐release characteristics of three polymer‐coated fertilizers: Theory and measurements [accessed Jan 04 2021].


cheers Darrel


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## Regent (4 Jan 2021)

I also found it interesting the difference rates of release from the different polymer coatings. They're not all the same thing! Some of the exact ranges have release graphs on the website.
The graphs in the paper also raise the question if it's worth washing/soaking the osmocote to wash out the initial rapid release and get to a steady state.

I wish I had the kit to measure these things.


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