How often ferts? and maybe something about root tabs

im currently using easy green, and sometime i use root tabs occasionally

liquid ferts i get say 3 times a week. should it be like every day after another and like do nothing the rest of the week. like m t w only or does it matter, though my grass is covered in brown furry alge and so are the leaves of my anubias, and the lillies all have tears or holes in them. i dont know if the algae has anything to do with ferts(like the plants being too weak to fight off algae? i dunno)

also root tabs. i know why i need to use them but i hate using them. i dont really know how to dig these down very well before they just get squishy and trying to push then down through sand and then a layer of soil (that i dont know is or isnt active anymore) just squeezes its ferty innards into my water and defeats the purpose >.>

i appologize in advice if i sound crazy >.>

 

I use Thrive root tabs. I add one every 3 months, or when I remember.

I have a lot crypts and I see a lot more growth after adding root tabs.

 

The high tech fanatics only dose fertilizers via the water column. Hence, water column dosing only is fine, if you don't like to mess with the substrate.

A lot of fertilizers find their way into the substrate. You can test this yourself with a coloured substance, like beetroot. Perhaps I should make a short clip, but people are always surprised when I add some beetroot in a tank, how far the color penetrates in a sand substrate. The same happens with fertilizers dosed in the water column, some is passively and actively taken up by the stems and leaves, and some enters the substrate and will be taken up via the roots.

The frequency don't matter for (most) fertilizers. Plants are able to store fertilizers.

That said, a rich substrate / root tabs works fine for low tech also.

Combinations of a rich substrate + water column dosing works fine too.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Adult algae" (gametofyt) consume many of the same ferts as plants. Taking out waste and a blackout works best to combat algae.

But for sure you want to prevent algae in future. In which case fertilizers don't seem to play much of a role. Instead you need to prevent algal spores from germinating. Limiting ammonia and / or working with dimmed lights, seems to be key.

In low tech planted tech, this should be very easy to accomplish: dimmed lights benefits plant health, which limits ammonia.

Strong lights impair plant health, which increases ammonia. Combined with strong light, triggers germination.

 

The high tech fanatics only dose fertilizers via the water column. Hence, water column dosing only is fine, if you don't like to mess with the substrate.

A lot of fertilizers find their way into the substrate. You can test this yourself with a coloured substance, like beetroot. Perhaps I should make a short clip, but people are always surprised when I add some beetroot in a tank, how far the color penetrates in a sand substrate. The same happens with fertilizers dosed in the water column, some is passively and actively taken up by the stems and leaves, and some enters the substrate and will be taken up via the roots.

The frequency don't matter for (most) fertilizers. Plants are able to store fertilizers.

That said, a rich substrate / root tabs works fine for low tech also.

Combinations of a rich substrate + water column dosing works fine too.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Adult algae" (gametofyt) consume many of the same ferts as plants. Taking out waste and a blackout works best to combat algae.

But for sure you want to prevent algae in future. In which case fertilizers don't seem to play much of a role. Instead you need to prevent algal spores from germinating. Limiting ammonia and / or working with dimmed lights, seems to be key.

In low tech planted tech, this should be very easy to accomplish: dimmed lights benefits plant health, which limits ammonia.

Strong lights impair plant health, which increases ammonia. Combined with strong light, triggers germination.

i use injected co2. so im afraid dimming the lights would reduce the amount of cuz used and maybe suffocate my fish. i mean i could easily adjust the amount of co2 , but i guess thats how it works?

heh. when i planted the lilly bulb way back when . i dont know if i was able to split it up and have it grow in different spots, and just planted it as a whole. so it all grows out of one spot *shrug

 

The most dangerous situation is steering on basis of the drop checker, while CO2 diffusion and distribution are impaired and biofilm is allowed to occupy the water surface.

Diffusion and distribution are just as important as the CO2 source.

A tank normally has up to 3 ppm CO2. If you could double or tiple the amount, it would already serve your plants big time, whereas the drop checker most likely still shows blue.

If you have biofilm (CO2 bubbles getting trapped a little at the surface), I would use a very modest air bubbler to break the water surface. As a matter of fact, I'd use a modest bubbler in any case.

How is CO2 diffused and distributed? Is it via a diffuser that produces bubbles racing to the water surface? Ideally, the bubbles are completely diffused and distributed via your filter (for instance, via the venturi).

Raising CO2 actually allows light intensity to be reduced even further. I don't think most people are aware of this.

Healthy planted, algae free tank: reduce CO2 source a bit (nothing wrong with less than a bubble per second) / improve diffusion and distribution / lower light intensity / ensure the water surface is broken with an air tube positioned just below the water surface.

 

The most dangerous situation is steering on basis of the drop checker, while CO2 diffusion and distribution are impaired and biofilm is allowed to occupy the water surface.

Diffusion and distribution are just as important as the CO2 source.

A tank normally has up to 3 ppm CO2. If you could double or tiple the amount, it would already serve your plants big time, whereas the drop checker most likely still shows blue.

If you have biofilm (CO2 bubbles getting trapped a little at the surface), I would use a very modest air bubbler to break the water surface. As a matter of fact, I'd use a modest bubbler in any case.

How is CO2 diffused and distributed? Is it via a diffuser that produces bubbles racing to the water surface? Ideally, the bubbles are completely diffused and distributed via your filter (for instance, via the venturi).

Raising CO2 actually allows light intensity to be reduced even further. I don't think most people are aware of this.

Healthy planted, algae free tank: reduce CO2 source a bit (nothing wrong with less than a bubble per second) / improve diffusion and distribution / lower light intensity / ensure the water surface is broken with an air tube positioned just below the water surface.

i use a co2 diffusor and a 5 gal tank connectied to a rugulator. so liquid injection i guess. i make sure my drop checker is in the green. dark green , green or bright green. i cant really tell sometimes, but i aim for bright green.

in order to keep it "greenish" i think its 2 bps for me. maybe more since like i said i cant tell the type of green it is

i have an air pump connected to two air stones that turn on when the lights go out for increased oxegin extchange. but i figured if i had them on when the lights and co2 were on would just gas the co2 off before the plants got a chance to use it. thats what i read at the time anyway

 

If you worry about fish, perhaps this is worth a read:

Surface agitation & gaseous exchange in CO2 injected tanks

 

If you worry about fish, perhaps this is worth a read:

Surface agitation & gaseous exchange in CO2 injected tanks

unfortunately after reading that my brain is melting. but basically what i gathered is increase co2 injection and surface adjitation at the same time? it doesnt mention air stones. does that make it inferior? i dunno

 

You don't need an air stone to keep the water surface clean.
Besides, I can't stand the noise.

 

I dont have a miracle answer but I don't use any ferts or root tabs and algae has trouble growing in my tanks

Before adding ferts, look up Liebig's law of the minimum. A plant can only grow as fast as the scarcest resource (limiting factor).

For example, if your plant is limited by potassium, adding a bunch of N or P or increasing light/co2 is not going to help. All that extra will become fuel for other organisms not limited by potassium (ie algae). All you have to do in this case, is just dose potassium.

Find out what your plants are limited by, I think that should be the first step, and then add that fertilizer in a form that plants can uptake