Aquarium Plant Food UK Closing Down

[Zeus.]

Hi all,

I'd guess that any-one <"who uses tap"> (or rain) water will not need a nickel (Ni) supplement. I also think that organisms with the <"urease enzyme"> will have pretty efficient mechanisms for sequestering any nickel ions (Ni++).

cheers Darrel

I did the maths based on my water companies water report and it was at a very acceptable Ni level with a water change. I did dose Ni for a short time with my 500l tank and did not notice any improvement in the plants so I concluded Ni levels was fine

 

[Happi]

Hi all,

I'd guess that any-one <"who uses tap"> (or rain) water will not need a nickel (Ni) supplement. I also think that organisms with the <"urease enzyme"> will have pretty efficient mechanisms for sequestering any nickel ions (Ni++).

cheers Darrel

That is correct Darrel. It appear as Urea also convert into NH4 in the solution that was made with pure Distilled water where Nickel or any enzyme would be lacking. This is why we had mixed opinions on it

 

[MichaelJ]

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in the field, have absolutely no authoritative standing in the community and ugly tanks with dying fish and plants.

Darrel, for us to help with your fish and plants we will need a bit of information first... just the basic facts...

Please read the guidelines for plant help!

Dear Member Please give as many details as possible regarding your aquarium set-up, when requiring advice/help! The above should be posted at the start of each help request. Why do we ask these questions? It will reduce posts by members asking for the information below, also advisers don't...

www.ukaps.org

Happy New Year!
Michael

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Darrel, for us to help with your fish and plants we will need a bit of information first... just the basic facts.......

......... But you are assuming that I would, both

• listen to the voice of reason and
• not show you a photoshopped image I'd "borrowed" from this forum.

Cheers Darrel

 

[MichaelJ]

Hi all,

......... But you are assuming that I would, both

• listen to the voice of reason and
• not show you a photoshopped image I'd "borrowed" from this forum.

Cheers Darrel

Happy new year Darrel, you will listen to this feller at least (well, I know you will!):


Maybe it's a generational thing, but for for me Richard Feynman still nails it 😉
Cheers,
Michael

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

but for for me Richard Feynman still nails it

I nearly wrote,

"I've no idea what he is on about, and what would he know anyway? You would imagine he'd invented the atom bomb or had a Nobel prize or something, give me the Biohome man any time, he makes much more sense..........

but I just can't do it, Richard Feynman, he really is both the definition of genius and a man who could explain fundamental processes in terms that you could understand.

cheers Darrel

 

[Zeus.]

31.545 Gram Solufeed 2:1:4 mixed in 500 ml solution, 20 ml per 50 gallon (Micors/Fe/Macros)

N 1 (Contain Urea-N and NO3-N)
P 0.2
K 1.766
Fe 0.01166
Mn 0.004
B 0.0014
Cu 0.000666
Zn 0.005
Mg 0.1266
Mo 0.000333

5.721 gram Solufeed Sodium Free TEC Mixed in 500 ml, 20 ml per 50 gallon (Micros/Fe)

Fe 0.1
Mn 0.02418
B 0.0111
Cu 0.00278
Zn 0.014
Mo 0.001813

Just a cross check on @Happi figures (Plus it checks mine 😉)

 

[Happi]

View attachment 199533
Just a cross check on @Happi figures (Plus it checks mine 😉)

the main difference is i have used 189.27 liters instead of 189.0 liters for calculation, so you might find some minor difference by Decimals. anyway, for the Micros (Solufeed Sodium Free TEC) i get 6.798 gram (almost 6.8 gram) to reach 0.119 ppm Fe target range for 189.0 liters. with 6.70 gram it would give 0.11728 ppm Fe to be exact, again the difference is very minor.

 

[Zeus.]

the main difference is i have used 189.27 liters instead of 189.0 liters for calculation, so you might find some minor difference by Decimals. anyway, for the Micros (Solufeed Sodium Free TEC) i get 6.798 gram (almost 6.8 gram) to reach 0.119 ppm Fe target range for 189.0 liters. with 6.70 gram it would give 0.11728 ppm Fe to be exact, again the difference is very minor.

It was just a quick check to check the results that the alpha addition to the IFC fert calculator was in the right magnitude of order.
Also trying to do it so other commercial AIO salts can be added with little effort. Plus adding them also lets us see all the ppms so we can see how suitable the AIO salt is. Have four Solufeeds AIO salts added ATM.
Much depends on what you can get your hands on in your neck of the woods.

 

[Zeus.]

I've been playing around with the IFC Calculator to integrated Solufeeds AIO line up, then had a quick look at ICL line up of fertilisers. Getting the right N: P:K of the product is tricky. So I made my own imagery product ' Zeus 7:1:7' and that seems to hit the sweat spot for IE dosing for NPK, the Mg and Ca are easy to get your hands on.


Still think using solufeeds trace elements alongside 'Zeus 7:1:7' is the way to go esp seeing thats what APFUK used. So if any one care to look for a fert with an NPK of 7:1:7 that would help, obviously we will have the issue of urea unless your auto dosser will allow to do many doses a week. For many EI dosing KNO3 is the safer salt to use 'if' you can get you hands on it , without paying lots for commercial liquid ferts for larger tanks.

 

[Phil Govier]

@Happi
@dw1305
@Zeus.

Please forgive me again for copying/pasting some answers you have kindly given in this thread (I still cant quote!!). I have been following this thread over the last week or so and several questions have popped into my mind......

Happi quoted the following in reply to my request for help.....

"31.545 Gram Solufeed 2:1:4 mixed in 500 ml solution, 20 ml per 50 gallon (Micors/Fe/Macros)

5.721 gram Solufeed Sodium Free TEC Mixed in 500 ml, 20 ml per 50 gallon (Micros/Fe)

Above is just to give you an Idea how it would look like in ppm. you can further enhance this if you feel that the Micros/Fe is low in Solufeed 2:1:4 by combning it with Solufeed Sodium Free TEC

500 ml solution, 20 ml per 50 gallon
Add 31.545 Gram Solufeed 2:1:4
Add 5.721 gram Solufeed Sodium Free TEC"

@Happi - can you please clarify if the dosage per gallon you refer to is Imperial Gallons or US gallons as that will affect the dosage ( I have dosed as if UK Imperial gallon but now have doubts)

My tank is nominally 340 litre so thats roughly 75 Imperial gallons - I have been dosing 30ml of Solufeed 2:1:4

I have today ordered the Solufeed Sodium free TEC as I intend to have this available should I need it as I plan to plant additional Alternanthera variants which I believe require an iron rich fertiliser.

If needed, I intend to dose on alternative days (to mirror my previous dosing using the EI regime/Aquaium Plant Food) and not as combined as mentioned elsewhere in this thread.

I have downloaded from Welsh Water / Dwr Cymru the drinking water compliance report for 2021 for my Water Quality Zone 1034 G17 Dafen (Felindre) - amongst all the other parameters it lists Total Iron as an average of 13.3333ug/l with a max value of 65ug/l out of the 36 compliance samples taken for 2021., I have uploaded this 2021 report as a PDF hopefully

Could I please ask (as I feel a complete noob) that you as the vastly more experienced/knowledgeable members please cast your eyes over the above and enclosed water quality report for my zone and let me (and the others on this forum) know if you can foresee any pitfalls that I may be heading towards with my intended approach (especially @Happi regarding the imperial/US gallon issue)

Thanks again for taking the time to read and reply to this noob!!.....it is appreciated
Phil

 

[Zeus.]

@Phil Govier Based on your dose and tank size and @Happi mass of the relative products

If you rounds the masses to 32grams and 6grams for ease we can see they is little to no difference in the dose, and a dry dose of just under 2 grams of Solufeeds 2:1:4 is about the same as making a solution

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I have downloaded from Welsh Water / Dwr Cymru the drinking water compliance report for 2021 for my Water Quality Zone 1034 G17 Dafen (Felindre) - amongst all the other parameters it lists Total Iron as an average of 13.3333ug/l with a max value of 65ug/l out of the 36 compliance samples taken for 2021., I have uploaded this 2021 report as a PDF hopefully

The water looks good. You can actually ignore the iron (Fe) reading, it is in micrograms / L and a very, very small number. Milligrams / L is equivalent to ppm, so even the 65 ug / L is less than 1 ppm.

From the report:

....... A milligram per liter is the equivalent of two granules of sugar dissolved in a liter of water. A microgram per liter is the equivalent oftwo granules ofsugar dissolved in one thousand liters ofwater (about four bathtubs full).....

The values we are interested in, that are listed, are the conductivity, nitrate (NO3-) and phosphorus (P), and they are all pretty low.
Conductivity max = 140 uS, NO3- max = 4.87 ppm, P max = 0.62 ppm.

Your drinking water hardness is a measure of the amount of naturally occurring calcium and magnesium salts that are present in your water. Your drinking water supply is classified as soft

Please enter your postcode into the water quality section of our website to see the hardness value for your area displayed in different units.

Would define "soft" in terms of dGH and dKH.

cheers Darrel

 

[Dave Edwards]

Hi thanks for info so far in post. I'm new to DIY fertilisers, and also planted aquarium. I have set up a 300l tank plus external filter. I have used TNC complete and was looking at reviews which somehow brought me to this forum. I intend to add fish once cycle is complete and I have got used to co2 system. I would like to know if Solufeed is safe for fish & also which would be safer for fish 2:1:4 or sodium free. I have aquavitro propel so can supplement Fe. Water here is soft

 

[John q]

Sodium free is simply micro nutrients, safe for fish
2:1:4 is urea based, so could be harmful to fish if one didn't know what they were doing with it, if you are familiar with urea then 2:1:4 is harmless.

 

[Dave Edwards]

Sodium free is simply micro nutrients, safe for fish
2:1:4 is urea based, so could be harmful to fish if one didn't know what they were doing with it, if you are familiar with urea then 2:1:4 is harmless.

I read article mentioned earlier in thread about urea, a bit over my head in parts but my ph out the tap is around 6.8-6.9. I do add kh to maintain 5 - 6 dkh as out the tap it is less than 1 dkh which brings pH to 7.2-7.4 depending on amount of Co2(time of day) so urea should be less toxic and remain as amonium... I think. Also I'm not looking to dose as high as 6x as mentioned as I'm assuming that fish will supply extra nutrients once established.

 

[John q]

Ammonium starts to convert to ammonia at a ph above 6, in small amounts, once we get to 7 the change accelerates. At your ph I would not dose urea, unless it was small daily doses.

Pictures always tell a better story.

 

[Dave Edwards]

Think I was getting confused with this, but this is level that ammonia gets toxic to fish not the point at which ammonium converts to ammonia. Probably will try sodium free initially until I get a better understanding of it all... Then maybe mix

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I would like to know if Solufeed is safe for fish & also which would be safer for fish 2:1:4 or sodium free. I have aquavitro propel so can supplement Fe. Water here is soft

Probably will try sodium free initially until I get a better understanding of it all... Then maybe mix

It is like @John q says, the two fertilisers do different things. Plants need all of the <"~fourteen essential mineral nutrients"> for plant growth, just in widely differing amounts.

Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), are the macro-nutrients, the elements that plants need most of, the other eleven nutrients are micronutrients, nutrients that plants need less of. Plant growth is <"like an assembly line">, you need all the components to get a plant. <"I'm not a CO2 user">, but I always have floating plants which have <"access to 420 ppm of atmospheric CO2">.

2:1:4 is urea based, so could be harmful to fish if one didn't know what they were doing with it

Same again, plants can only take up nutrients as "ions", charged particles in solution. Aquarium fertilisers often contain potassium nitrate (KNO3) as their nitrogen and potassium source, because it is very soluble and disassociates into NO3- and K+ ions. Nitrate is <"harmless to aquatic life"> (until you get into very high numbers), but ammonia (NH3) and nitrite (NO2-) are both toxic at very low levels. Urea (CO(NH2)2) contains a lot of nitrogen and that nitrogen is converted to ammonia by plants and microbes with the <"urease enzyme">, and that is where the potential issue lies.

I'm new to DIY fertilisers, and also planted aquarium. I have set up a 300l tank plus external filter. I have used TNC complete and was looking at reviews which somehow brought me to this forum. I intend to add fish once cycle is complete and I have got used to co2 system

I' start with "cycling", in terms of the traditional view it doesn't exist and this particularly true for planted tanks. Plants are <"much more efficient at removing nutrients"> than most aquarists realise . Have a look at <"Bacteria revealed"> and <"Seasoned Tank Time">

in thread about urea, a bit over my head in parts but my ph out the tap is around 6.8-6.9. I do add kh to maintain 5 - 6 dkh as out the tap it is less than 1 dkh which brings pH to 7.2-7.4 depending on amount of Co2(time of day) so urea should be less toxic and remain as amonium... I think

I like to <"get rid of any TAN ammonia/ammonium"> as rapidly as possible.

You can also add a lot less alkalinity (dKH) than you do at the moment. You can ignore <"pH stability"> it is a term made up by people who <"want to sell you buffers etc">. and the "filter bacteria" don't need it, because they don't actually occur in our filters. Have a look at @Roland 's <"tanks and water parameters">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Happi]

@Happi - can you please clarify if the dosage per gallon you refer to is Imperial Gallons or US gallons as that will affect the dosage ( I have dosed as if UK Imperial gallon but now have doubts)

My tank is nominally 340 litre so thats roughly 75 Imperial gallons - I have been dosing 30ml of Solufeed 2:1:4

the above is calculated based on US 50 gallon or 189.27 liters. it is not based on Imperial gallons.

please cast your eyes over the above and enclosed water quality report for my zone and let me (and the others on this forum) know if you can foresee any pitfalls that I may be heading towards with my intended approach (especially @Happi regarding the imperial/US gallon issue)

after looking at your water report, it seems like PH is bit on the higher end. Darrel has already given you a great answer regarding your water report. if you had a acidic soil, your PH would be lower than 7.

anyway, some member are still comparing the Urea and Ammonium being the same thing and seems to be creating a fear about using it, i repeat that Urea and Ammonium/Ammonia works in a entirely different manner. you can successfully use urea even in a PH that is higher as 7, but it is advised to use it in lower PH where Ammonia will stay in its less toxic form Ammonium.

the best way i could put this is, think of Urea as a osmocote pellet, where the Ammonium is released very slowly. it does the same thing in the solution, as it slowly start to convert into NH4.