# Too much osmocote plus?



## scottward (20 Jan 2015)

Whilst "experimenting" with my new 100 gallon setup, I thought I'd try adding plenty of Osmocote plus directly to the tank floor, then topping it with my fluorite. By "plenty" I mean probably 60-70% coverage of the total floor area, but never more than 1 grain deep. Lighting, CO2, EI ferts all good, I've got quite a bit of experience in that department now. No algae issues etc. I've noticed a couple of things though that I haven't seen before. Vallisneria is not generating roots at all. A lot of leaf dieback. H.Wisteria, B.Caroliniana, lower leaves turning grey. Is it possible that I have made the substrate too rich?

If I have, I suspected there is no easy fix for this....?

I was under the impression that the Osmocote Plus is not too strong and being slow release sitting on the tank floor it wouldn't cause any issues. But now I'm not so sure....


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## dw1305 (20 Jan 2015)

Hi all,





scottward said:


> I was under the impression that the Osmocote Plus is not too strong and being slow release sitting on the tank floor it wouldn't cause any issues. But now I'm not so sure....


 Yes it could be ammonia, or just general fertiliser burn, you have at least x10 the amount of Osmocote you need. If you have a conductivity meter you could measure the tank water. If you have more than about  2000 microS (1200ppm TDS) your plants may be suffering from osmotic effects.

Nutrient release in "controlled release fertlilsers" is dependent upon temperature and water, release is fastest under warm, wet conditions when terrestrial
container plants will be growing more quickly.

cheers Darrel


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## John S (20 Jan 2015)

I did something similar and had the same issues. To be honest it only got worse even with large water changes. After about a month almost every plant was either dead or dying. I stripped it down in the end and used far less osmocote. That fixed it.


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## ceg4048 (20 Jan 2015)

scottward said:


> If I have, I suspected there is no easy fix for this....


Fix your CO2.

Cheers,


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## scottward (23 Jan 2015)

ceg4048 said:


> Fix your CO2.
> 
> Cheers,



Cheers for the help above guys.

Ceg4048, my reading between-the-lines with your response, are you suggesting that you see no problem with the Osmocote?  I use a Swagelok B-SS4-A with vernier handle to dial in my CO2 and have the system dialled slightly higher than I had with my previous setup where all conditions (e.g. lighting, circulation) were the same (and did not have any problems at all).


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## ceg4048 (23 Jan 2015)

scottward said:


> Ceg4048, my reading between-the-lines with your response, are you suggesting that you see no problem with the Osmocote?


Hello,
            The problem with using too much osmocote is that ammonia might leach into the water column and affect fauna, especially if you disturb the substrate with planting/rearranging and so forth. ADA Aquasoil has 100X EI concentration levels using ammonium salts and plants have no difficulty at all.



scottward said:


> I use a Swagelok B-SS4-A with vernier handle to dial in my CO2 and have the system dialled slightly higher than I had with my previous setup where all conditions (e.g. lighting, circulation) were the same (and did not have any problems at all).


Which means exactly nothing.
Plants do not care what you used to have. 
They only care about the now, and right now, leaves which are melting mean poor CO2. So instead of looking elsewhere, determine what the cause of poor CO2 is, whether that be poor flow or poor distribution or poor injection rate.

Cheers,


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## scottward (25 Jan 2015)

ceg4048 said:


> Hello,
> The problem with using too much osmocote is that ammonia might leach into the water column and affect fauna, especially if you disturb the substrate with planting/rearranging and so forth. ADA Aquasoil has 100X EI concentration levels using ammonium salts and plants have no difficulty at all.



The biggest problem with this hobby is the contradictory information that people give.  I posted my same question elsewhere, and also general reading, and Im getting advice that is the polar opposite of yours Ceg.

So somebody is speaking blahblahblahblah.  But who?

I take it you have personally used similar quantities of Osmocote Plus so you know first hand what might happen....



> Which means exactly nothing.
> Plants do not care what you used to have.
> They only care about the now, and right now, leaves which are melting mean poor CO2. So instead of looking elsewhere, determine what the cause of poor CO2 is, whether that be poor flow or poor distribution or poor injection rate.
> 
> Cheers,



It doesn't mean exactly nothing.  I spent $$$ on a good vernier handle and good needle so I could dial CO2 in consistently between set ups.  As I already pointed out, the system is otherwise the same - which means same flow, same distribution, same rate.


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## foxfish (25 Jan 2015)

scottward said:


> The biggest problem with this hobby is the contradictory information that people give.  I posted my same question elsewhere, and also general reading, and Im getting advice that is the polar opposite of yours Ceg.


 You are very right there, especially between the American & the English forums that I read!
 It can get really frustrating when folk quote from one forum to another.


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## ian_m (25 Jan 2015)

Osmocote Plus uses ammonium nitrate in a binder (soya based I think) as its source of ammonia, see contents, and will cause fertiliser burn if left soaking on plants. Also the release of ammonia will be toxic to fish. However many people had successfully used Osmocote, if you don't use too much and buried deep in the substrate.


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## scottward (26 Jan 2015)

Cheers guys.  This is a really challenging hobby and good consistent advice can be hard to find.

I'll keep doing water changes and I think I'll leave the substrate alone so as not to stir up what's deeply buried en masse....


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