UK Source for dry ferts, recipe and dosing

[r2mahara]

Hi all,

I'd like to start mixing my own fertiliser for a 180L heavily planted tank. I've read loads of threads on here and elsewhere, but wanted something really simple:

1. I'm in the UK - what's the best place to buy the dry ferts (links welcome). By "best" I mean quality and value for money.
2. What proportions do I mix these in.
3. What would the dosage be? I can play around with this myself. (I know this depends on my own tap water etc.
4. Where do people get distilled water from for mixing, and how important is this?

So far this thread looks like what I might try (has anyone done that? if so, how did it work out?), but wondering if it's better to buy individual ingredients from the likes of eBay etc.

I also saw this thread which is useful, but got confused about what to buy and how to mix.

Apologies for any silly questions.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Welcome to UKAPS,

I'm in the UK - what's the best place to buy the dry ferts (links welcome). By "best" I mean quality and value for money.

In terms of <"value for money"> you just need to stay away from anything pre-diluted and / or <"aimed specifically at the aquarium market">.

I've always used a <"horticultural fertiliser">, but not very scientifically, @Happi has done all the hard work in <"Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination">.

What proportions do I mix these in.

It depends a little bit on the plants you have, and <"the amount of growth you want">. Have a look at <"Practical application of lean fertilizer dosing"> & the <"Orchid and Tomato"> dichotomy.

What would the dosage be? I can play around with this myself. (I know this depends on my own tap water etc.

We have the, incredibly comprehensive, <"UKAPS IFC calculator"> & <"Rotala Butterfly calculator">. If you want to <"buy all the dry salts">? These calculators will work out how much of each you need. If you use an "all in one mix" then you need to work out how much you want of one nutrient (<"I usually use nitrogen (N)">) and <"everything else"> follows from there.

Where do people get distilled water from for mixing, and how important is this?

You can buy it for use in irons, car battery top up etc etc. I think Sainsburys sell 2.5 litre for £2. At a pinch rainwater will do.

I also saw this thread which is useful, but got confused about what to buy and how to mix.

Buy the two fertilisers from Solufeed <"2:1:4 High K 1 kg"> & <"TEC Sodium Free">.

Then you can follow @Happi's recipe exactly for your 180 litre tank <"Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination">.

cheers Darrel

 

[hypnogogia]

So is your question about what to buy/mix, or where to buy it?

Where do people get distilled water from for mixing, and how important is this?

Any garage or supermarket. It's important to avoid any possible reactions between your salts and what's in the tap water, so best to use distilled.

 

[TrevC]

Hi. I am UK based and new to dry salts and I have been getting mine in relatively small sized batches so far from Aqua Plants Care . I have been following the EI approach for my 200L tank and their site includes recommendations for EI mixing ratios Estimative Index Fertilization Method EI in Planted Aquarium. I have been following their suggested recipe although increasing the Potassium Phosphate which seems to be helping with GSA. As far as distilled water is concerned, I have used RO water instead which I get for about 14p/l from my nearest Maidenhead aquatics.

Hope this helps
Trevor

 

[hasan66]

Hi. I am UK based and new to dry salts and I have been getting mine in relatively small sized batches so far from Aqua Plants Care . I have been following the EI approach for my 200L tank and their site includes recommendations for EI mixing ratios Estimative Index Fertilization Method EI in Planted Aquarium. I have been following their suggested recipe although increasing the Potassium Phosphate which seems to be helping with GSA. As far as distilled water is concerned, I have used RO water instead which I get for about 14p/l from my nearest Maidenhead aquatics.

Hope this helps
Trevor

Once upon a time, he always had GSA in his aquarium, even I added 15ppm of phosphate, but I still bought GSA. It makes sense to keep the phosphate low. Of course, when did the iron go above 0.1ppm? Even though I didn't take it in the aquarium glasses, I bought GSA in the plants. I think the main reason for GSA is dosing too much iron.

 

[hasan66]

Hi. I am UK based and new to dry salts and I have been getting mine in relatively small sized batches so far from Aqua Plants Care . I have been following the EI approach for my 200L tank and their site includes recommendations for EI mixing ratios Estimative Index Fertilization Method EI in Planted Aquarium. I have been following their suggested recipe although increasing the Potassium Phosphate which seems to be helping with GSA. As far as distilled water is concerned, I have used RO water instead which I get for about 14p/l from my nearest Maidenhead aquatics.

Hope this helps
Trevor

And the high level of phosphate gave me the GDA result.

 

[r2mahara]

Hi. I am UK based and new to dry salts and I have been getting mine in relatively small sized batches so far from Aqua Plants Care . I have been following the EI approach for my 200L tank and their site includes recommendations for EI mixing ratios Estimative Index Fertilization Method EI in Planted Aquarium. I have been following their suggested recipe although increasing the Potassium Phosphate which seems to be helping with GSA. As far as distilled water is concerned, I have used RO water instead which I get for about 14p/l from my nearest Maidenhead aquatics.

Hope this helps
Trevor

Do these quantities look OK to get started (attached pic). If I understand correctly that will make 1L of micronutrients - unsure how much macronutrients this will make as the guide refers to "tea spoons" rather than grams - would you be in a position to advise?

1L of micronutrients would last me 10 weeks roughly. Adding another CSM+B satchet would give another 10 weeks assuming I have plenty of other ingredients (if I knew how many litres of macronutrients I could make with the quantities I intend to purchase I could match them up and get more CSM+B). So say more than 5 months for an initial outlay of £28.

Also the linked guide says to use boiled then cooled water, but I understand from the posts above why distilled or RO water is preferable.

 

[r2mahara]

Hi all,
Welcome to UKAPS,

In terms of <"value for money"> you just need to stay away from anything pre-diluted and / or <"aimed specifically at the aquarium market">.

I've always used a <"horticultural fertiliser">, but not very scientifically, @Happi has done all the hard work in <"Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination">.

It depends a little bit on the plants you have, and <"the amount of growth you want">. Have a look at <"Practical application of lean fertilizer dosing"> & the <"Orchid and Tomato"> dichotomy.

We have the, incredibly comprehensive, <"UKAPS IFC calculator"> & <"Rotala Butterfly calculator">. If you want to <"buy all the dry salts">? These calculators will work out how much of each you need. If you use an "all in one mix" then you need to work out how much you want of one nutrient (<"I usually use nitrogen (N)">) and <"everything else"> follows from there.

You can buy it for use in irons, car battery top up etc etc. I think Sainsburys sell 2.5 litre for £2. At a pinch rainwater will do.

Buy the two fertilisers from Solufeed <"2:1:4 High K 1 kg"> & <"TEC Sodium Free">.

Then you can follow @Happi's recipe exactly for your 180 litre tank <"Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination">.

cheers Darrel

That's a mahoosive amount of reading, but I'm enjoying working my way through it!

For the Solufeed mix, initial outlay is £36 which makes about 15L of mix (with TEC Sodium Free left over). At 60ml a week that should last about 5 years unless I've miscalculated! This might be the way I go... although I appreciate this will give me less control over individual element changes.

Thanks everyone who replied so far - really great information!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Also the linked guide says to use boiled then cooled water

Boiling tap water will remove bicarbonate (HCO3-), also known as dKH or "temporary hardness", from the water, as long as it is strained into a fresh container while still very hot - <"Anyone have fert list to make 2hr aquarist APT Complete please.">. Depending on the calcium (Ca) content of the water it may not precipitate all of this, and some may remain as <"permanent hardness">.

cheers Darrel

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

At 60ml a week that should last about 5 years unless I've miscalculated!

That sounds about right, the mark up on <"aquarium fertilisers"> is eye watering <"TNC Complete">. This is from the <"IFC calculator">.

cheers Darrel

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

That's a mahoosive amount of reading

That is one of the (many) advantages of UKAPS. we have a number of in depth threads, on a <"wide range of subjects">.

Rather than just being an <"echo-chamber">, where <"facts"> are endlessly recycled, <"we've talked to scientists"> and we've <"developed techniques"> that make planted tank (and fish keeping) easier.

I'm obviously not an <"unbiased observer">, but I'm as proud of the <"Duckweed Index"> as anything else I've ever written.

cheers Darrel

 

[r2mahara]

I've gone with the Solufeed route - everything's on order, and I got some DI water from the supermarket. Think I'm all set.

I noticed that there's a dearth of journals using the Solufeed mix, so I might start one so people can see the results. Thanks all for the great information!

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

This is the recipe I use. There are several others further down the page.

James' Planted Tank - All In One Solution

 

[gcodrutv]

Anybody has any experience with these guys ?

Industrial Chemical Supplier UK B2B | Mistral Chemicals | Buy online

Top UK supplier of quality technical and industrial chemicals. Sizes 1Kg to 25Kg and bulk loads. Free delivery to the UK and Ireland.

mistralni.co.uk

They seems to have most of the salts for Macro ferts and GH/KH
Not to mention free delivery to UK and IE