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osmocote, how much ?
- Thread starter eminor
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MrClockOff
Member
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.
Just follow directions on the package.
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,
When I googled to learn more about root tabs/osmocote, I was brought to the 55-page Barr Report 'Rotala Kill Tank' thread.
barrreport.com
not that I would try it for my main tank, but if I had a spare tank for running experiments.....
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.....
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
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,
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,
How high should the concentration be?
plantnoobdude
Member
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?
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.
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,
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.
