# How to add nutrients without making a mess



## giggitygiggity (Sep 14, 2011)

So that soil/dirt looking stuff, idk what its called.


and idk if this is a dumb question lol, but...

How do I add this stuff without making a huge mess.


When I had my 36 gallon I added this stuff all at once and there was a huge cloud of dust inside the water and I could literally see no fish. Luckily all my fish survived.


I want to get more live plants and want to add more nutrients. How do I go about doing this in a clean manner lol


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

Woah first what product are you using? Sounds like some kind of dry fertilizer.


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## Aquarion (Nov 16, 2011)

As other poster said, you need to specify what you used. Hopefully something specifically for an aquarium and not just random soil/dirt. 

Most gravels or fluorite will need to be washed off. Some are worse than others about the dust and require you put it in a pillow case and hose it for as long as it takes to clear it out.


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

Yeah we will need more explanation then that. You can use soil/dirt.... but you don't just pour it into the tank.


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## giggitygiggity (Sep 14, 2011)

Ok im sorry lol, I just called the LFS and got the name. They said it was called black cinder.


Anyways, so yea, the last time I bought a bag of that stuff like I said it was soooo dusty. 


Anybody else here use this product?


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

Did a few quick google searches about this stuff and from what I found its not good. Sounds like it can raise your ph to 7.5 to 8+. In a planted aquarium that is bad. Scratch this product. I simply use regular Flourish plant food (fertilizer) and Flourish Trace Elements. Its more expensive than using dry fertilizers but less of a headache in my opinion. On the plus side Flourish products are very concentrated. 5mml treats 50 gallons and I dose the full amount daily because I have heavily planted tanks. With your tank I would do less because it isn't planted as heavy. Rather than 5mml every week do 1-2mml a day. It has been my experience that spreading the dose out provides stable nutrients for your plants. 

Lol it is at this point were a planted tank becomes a daily task, similar to a reef tank.


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