Greengeek
Member
Hi everyone.
Can anyone recommend a cheaper way to dose trace and macro fertilisers, maybe mixing my own for example with dry ingredients? A ready made dry mix or a receipt to make my own 2 part dosing mix? Plus where to buy?
Basically I’m spending a small fortune every month on pre made fertiliser for my tanks. I contacted a dry ferts company asking for recommendations but unfortunately they said without CO2 I’d just be risking algae? Can you really not use dry ferts etc on a low tech tank?
I don’t have algae issues currently, all tanks are mature and lighting adjusted so algae is not a issue. I do use fertilisers that contain both trace elements and macronutrients ie Tropica Plant Growth Specialised or Neutro+ plant fertiliser etc, I use the ferts with NPK as I have low no3 and PO4 issues probably due to using RODI water, low stocking levels, high plant loads and weekly water changes.
But my plants in all my tanks high tech and low, look like they are still not at there best, a yellowish tone to them. I think in part because the no3 and PO4 is still practically unmeasurable?
I think maybe dosing the trace elements separately from the macro so I can increase NPK without increasing trace might be a solution to try?
I don’t want to run CO2 on my 1,200l tank as it’s gravity fed sump drives of CO2 incredibly effectively, even with the pipe entering the sump 12 inches under water it’s like a jacuzzi. I tried over 18 months running CO2 using 2 x fire extinguishers and was replacing them nearly monthly even with inline diffusers and reactors…I gave up the CO2 as my wallet was moaning almost as much as my husband at the money I was spending on refills.
Tanks look like this at the moment, plant growth is slowish and can you see the leaves are yellowish?
1,200l (display + sump volume combined)
Some of my other tanks:
Can anyone recommend a cheap way to dose trace and macro, mixing my own for example with dry ingredients? A ready made dry mix or a receipt to make my own 2 part dosing mix?
Can anyone recommend a cheaper way to dose trace and macro fertilisers, maybe mixing my own for example with dry ingredients? A ready made dry mix or a receipt to make my own 2 part dosing mix? Plus where to buy?
Basically I’m spending a small fortune every month on pre made fertiliser for my tanks. I contacted a dry ferts company asking for recommendations but unfortunately they said without CO2 I’d just be risking algae? Can you really not use dry ferts etc on a low tech tank?
I don’t have algae issues currently, all tanks are mature and lighting adjusted so algae is not a issue. I do use fertilisers that contain both trace elements and macronutrients ie Tropica Plant Growth Specialised or Neutro+ plant fertiliser etc, I use the ferts with NPK as I have low no3 and PO4 issues probably due to using RODI water, low stocking levels, high plant loads and weekly water changes.
But my plants in all my tanks high tech and low, look like they are still not at there best, a yellowish tone to them. I think in part because the no3 and PO4 is still practically unmeasurable?
I think maybe dosing the trace elements separately from the macro so I can increase NPK without increasing trace might be a solution to try?
I don’t want to run CO2 on my 1,200l tank as it’s gravity fed sump drives of CO2 incredibly effectively, even with the pipe entering the sump 12 inches under water it’s like a jacuzzi. I tried over 18 months running CO2 using 2 x fire extinguishers and was replacing them nearly monthly even with inline diffusers and reactors…I gave up the CO2 as my wallet was moaning almost as much as my husband at the money I was spending on refills.
Tanks look like this at the moment, plant growth is slowish and can you see the leaves are yellowish?
1,200l (display + sump volume combined)
Some of my other tanks:
Can anyone recommend a cheap way to dose trace and macro, mixing my own for example with dry ingredients? A ready made dry mix or a receipt to make my own 2 part dosing mix?
