# Good Plant Supplements



## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

So I don't want my tank to end up the way it did before, aka all my plants dying and turning gross. I kind of don't want to use a CO2 cycle as well only because I really don't have the room for it. What's the best type of fertilizer/supplement/plant food would you guys recommend? I'm looking for something that's convenient in terms of a small amount of pollution but great results. Thanks in advance!


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

Well do you have good lighting? You could use flourish excel to help the plants grow.


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

I have a 120 volt, 20 watt, 60 hz fluorescent bulb in there at the moment. Is that too low of light to be growing amazons, anubias, crypts, and java ferns?


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

You should get atleast a 40 watt light fixture for that size of tank. 1 watt per gallon rule works best.


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

Alright, next time i drop in I'll pick one up. Other than the light fixture, what should I do about supplements? However I will look into Flourish Excel when I go to get the bulb. How much does that usually go for?


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

If you have good lighting suppliments arent usually neccessary. As for the price I have no clue my lights were about $85 (for a 24'' T-5 double linear stip lighting)


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

I'll probably get some sort of a discount anyway when I go in tomorrow, so it really shouldn't be TOO expensive....let's hope not =/


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

bump

ive already gotten some decent info from blue cray, but hopefully someone like JustOneMore20 could possibly help me out since shes amazing with planted tanks ;D


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2008)

What tank are we talking about?

If you have 20 watts over the 38g, then thats your issue. Fertilizers won't help the plants survive. If its the 20g, then fertilizers could possibly help, but the lighting is still low and could be the issue if you aren't choosing low light plants.

20 watts over the 20g is fine for Anubias, Crypts, and Java fern, but Swords need more light. 20 watts over the 38g and you'll be lucky to grow Java fern.




Blue Cray said:


> If you have good lighting suppliments arent usually neccessary.


Not true. All plants need nutrients. The more lighting you have, the more you need to supplement nutrients because they use them up faster.


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

Yeah it's the 38g, the 20g is just a tank full of guppies so I'm not really worried about the lighting situation. I think I'll pick up either a 40 watt or 60 watt at my buddy's pet store since I can get a discount and it really isn't too expensive, maybe 22 bucks at the most. But other than that, what do you recommend as a fertilizer, and how can a properly plant it?


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2008)

I suggest the 60w if you want to have more than just Java fern. 40w is low for that size tank.

Then, you could pick up some regular Flourish to use 1 or 2 times a week. You really don't need more than that with that lighting.


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

alright cool, thanks a bunch! btw, do you have any updated pics of your tanks? i was really interested in your betta setup and one of your planted tanks a while back and i just wanted to see what it looks like now.


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## Guest (Jul 19, 2008)

I'll get some pics posted of my 29g and 40g this weekend. I'll try to clean up the betta tank and take a pic of that as well.  It looks the same though, plus some algae.


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

haha...that darn algae ;D


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

remember...god never heard of fluorish...fish poop is the number one aquatic plant fertilizer in the world...
while a 40 watt light would be ok on the 38 with a fair number of plants;there are some that just wouldn't do as well as others.so the extra wattage will help for plants like swords.
but if you want to become a plant wizard;then you best get out the big bucks..about a grand for your 38...


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

now when you say a grand, you mean $1000 in supplies needed to get the best out of my tank? that is, if i DID want to just make a whole planted 38g which would look rather awesome done correctly that is.

i plan on going down to my LFS to pick up a 60 watt bulb tomorrow or tuesday, as well as a few more cories and some rasboras possibly. ill keep you guys updated.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Flourish excel is supposed to allow you to do plants without CO2 because it supplies carbon. It is about $12 for a 500mL bottle and you are supposed to use a capful 5 mL every day or twice a day. Seachem has a lot of plant products that everyone says works, but the costs add up quick. I can see how getting the cylinder might be cheaper in long term. Personally, I love java fern and java moss and I use flourish excel for a couple weeks whenever I can't stand the algae anymore. It really does help with some types.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Flourish excel WILL melt Anacharis and Vallisnerias, however.


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## Good Wolf (Mar 5, 2008)

trashion said:


> Flourish excel WILL melt Anacharis and Vallisnerias, however.


That is good to know. I've been using it in my 30g that has anacharis in it. So far I don't see any damage but I haven't used very much.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Yeah, haha, I learned that the hard way.


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

trashion said:


> Flourish excel WILL melt Anacharis and Vallisnerias, however.


good thing i dont have those plants ;D good call, thanks for the heads up

i think im heading out today to grab the bulb, ill let you guys know the result later on. i think i might also pick up some flourish excel as well. woohoo! =P


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

so i picked up a 'power-glo' 24 inch bulb today, unfortunately though, it's still 20 watts, but according to my friend who works at my LFS, it should be a better choice for growing plants, even if you can't tell the difference. i've got seven days before i can return it, so if i don't see somewhat of a difference, or more brown on the leaves, ill just take it back for a different brand with more wattage. what do you guys think?


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

would it be possible for a mod to turn this into a user journal instead? i think by this point it sounds a little more like a user journal anyway, and i was going to add to it. if a mod cant do this, ill just remake a user journal about this sometime tomorrow when i get the chance. thanks ;D


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