# Basic Fert?



## j-man the skater-man (Apr 4, 2005)

I have a 29 gallon aquarium planted with common crypts, java fern and aponogetons. I will be recieving a 55watt AHsupply kit soon which will give me 1.9 wpg and i know that i need to be fertiliing better. My tank is stocked with 1 dwarf gourami, 6 cherry barbs, 6 rasboras, 5 cories and 3 otos. i have 16ppm of CO2 in my aquarium on average at .7wpg and have no measurable iron. My question is what needs to be dosed to assist my plants? Does anyone have experience with dry ferts? i have read they are cheaper in bulk and that would be great if anyone can give me person experiences with them.


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2007)

I use some dry ferts....the ones I use are KNO3 and KSO4. You can buy them at http://www.gregwatson.com. Thats where I ordered mine from. He also sells a micro fert that is called CSM+B.

I like using the dry ferts because they last longer. I just put some tank water in a little cup (used only for ferts) and then mix in the ferts...then pour in the tank.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

With your current setup you can go with Tropica's Mastergrow or Seachem's Flourish. Adding Seachem Flourish Excel in conjunction with either of the other 2 listed would be ideal.


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## j-man the skater-man (Apr 4, 2005)

i just recieved the kit today and will have it assembled in a day or so. will the jump from .7 to 2 wpg light have any major affect besides the plants needing more nutrients? also is anything needed besides the flourish, KNO3, and KSO4? Like the CSM+B?

Also ive read about the Estimative index...is this an idea setup?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

You should still be fine with the ferts I listed earlier.


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## k-dawg- (Feb 2, 2006)

i agree with damon you should be fine w/out the macros since you have a pretty good bio load from the fish, we ran a similar set up with a 65 watt bulb over a 29 with excel/flourish/diy co2 and we had pretty good growth. we had a small problem with green spot algae but a lil bit of PO4 helped it out


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

If gsa does become a problem and you need PO4 like stated above, you can order it online in bulk for about $5.00 or get fleet enema to dose with.


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

j-man the skater-man said:


> I have a 29 gallon aquarium planted with common crypts, java fern and aponogetons. I will be recieving a 55watt AHsupply kit soon which will give me 1.9 wpg and i know that i need to be fertiliing better. My tank is stocked with 1 dwarf gourami, 6 cherry barbs, 6 rasboras, 5 cories and 3 otos. i have 16ppm of CO2 in my aquarium on average at .7wpg and have no measurable iron. My question is what needs to be dosed to assist my plants? Does anyone have experience with dry ferts? i have read they are cheaper in bulk and that would be great if anyone can give me person experiences with them.


How do you know you have 16ppm of CO2? If your solely using the Gadds chart then you are not getting an accurate reading. It may be as off as 15ppm. Because of other buffers/minerals in the water, that chart is merely an estimate under perfect water conditions ie RO water. Are you using a drop checker for CO2?
No matter what the setup, large small, it will always be cheaper to use dry ferts rather then buy Seachem products. However if you're leary about learning how to properly mix your ferts, then Seachem provides the best solution. Don't forget to dose FE as well as trace. Your Macs will be somewhat taken care of by your fish, however you will not get ample K, and your PO4 will most likely come from your tap, waste ect. But you will still need your mics ie trace, FE if you want your plants to fully thrive with your lights and CO2. also even with NO3 at levels of 20-40ppm from bioload, the plants use the dosed NO3 better from dry/commercial ferts. 
If you are truly serious about getting right into aquatic plants, I'd say go with the dry fert route. It gives you a better idea as to how the plants react, and you can control doses, and overall feel for whats happening in the tank. I like to compare it to a car. You can bring it to a mechanic for a tuneup, or you can do it yourself. both methods work, but you get a better sense of satisfaction and sense of purpose when you did it yourself!  I do anyhow.

cheers.

Zig.


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## k-dawg- (Feb 2, 2006)

i would say if you have the time go w/ dry ferts and use EI dosing. It's the most cost effective, and IMO gives the best growth. however without large weekly water changes using the EI method you may run into algae problems. I bought a lifetime supply of ferts from gregwatsob for like $30. here's a great website for the EI method and how to dose dry fertshttp://www.rexgrigg.com/


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## j-man the skater-man (Apr 4, 2005)

Thanks alot for the advice. I am going to use the dry ferts after i read some more and know what im getting into. I based the CO2 amount off of a CO2 test kit my friend let me use. thanks again your advice and website referals have been very helpful.

jason


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