Should I add a fertilizer tab?

Hey guys and girls

so i ordered some plants and was wondering should I add a fertilizer tab as soon as I put them in or do they have to adjust a bit first.
Also this is my first time having plants do I just plant them into the sand like a normal plant in a pot?

 

Hey guys and girls

so i ordered some plants and was wondering should I add a fertilizer tab as soon as I put them in or do they have to adjust a bit first.
Also this is my first time having plants do I just plant them into the sand like a normal plant in a pot?

Well, it depends. Can u list the plants u are talking about?

 

A couple things will influence both questions.

Some plants really need fert, others not as much, which plants?
I wouldn't be able to grow my plants without fertilizer without the fish. That said, what is your average nitrate accumulation over a week? If you can build 20+ weekly and have some decent minerals in your water you can grow allot of stuff without ferts.

Next, some plants get the roots put in the sand, some don't. The basic differences are stem, rosette, and rhyzome. Stems can usually be put in the sand for anchor, or left to drift. Rosette plants like to be planted roots under with the crown exposed, and rhyzome plants can be picky, but almost always need the rhyzome above the sand to avoid rot.

 

Well, it depends. Can u list the plants u are talking about?

A couple things will influence both questions.

Some plants really need fert, others not as much, which plants?
I wouldn't be able to grow my plants without fertilizer without the fish. That said, what is your average nitrate accumulation over a week? If you can build 20+ weekly and have some decent minerals in your water you can grow allot of stuff without ferts.

Next, some plants get the roots put in the sand, some don't. The basic differences are stem, rosette, and rhyzome. Stems can usually be put in the sand for anchor, or left to drift. Rosette plants like to be planted roots under with the crown exposed, and rhyzome plants can be picky, but almost always need the rhyzome above the sand to avoid rot.

I got dwarf sag and golden nesaea
Also I get around 25 nitrates a week. Mostly because I have some in my tap

 

Dwarf sag is a rosette plant, just put the roots in the sand and you should be good. Dwarf sag will run babies (runners) around it and "carpet" out unassisted (kind of a spaced out grass look). If it goes where you don't want it, cut the baby off the runner and replant it. You can gently pull up on the younger plants and you will see how they are chained together, that is where you cut.

The nesaea is a stem plant, just shove the root end in the sand and it will grow. When it gets too tall, you can cut it in the middle and shove the trimming in the sand, and that will grow. Some stem plants have tricks of where to cut them to make them look better faster, I do not know what that will be with nesaea.

Unfortunately I do not believe I could grow nesaea without ferts, and you may not be able to either. It is mineral sensitive and requires a ton of light. Stem plants do most of their absorbing in the water column and liquid fertilizer would be recommended.

An iron rich root tab would keep your dwarf sag happier than nothing, but it might do just fine without it.


*If* for some reason you cannot get these to grow, I would recommend narrow leaf dwarf chain sword to replace the sag, and rotala Indica to replace the nasaea. These two options are quite a bit less demanding and have somewhat similar appearance. The root tabs may still help with narrow chain sword, but the rotala would require no additional ferts in the water column.

The cool thing with sand, it makes root tabs go allot further for root feeders, but don't expect a root tab in the sand to help with the water column.

 

thanks! That was really informative so basically if I’m understanding it right the nesaea needs liquid fertilizer? Does liquid fertilizer cause ammonia/nitrate spikes?

 

thanks! That was really informative so basically if I’m understanding it right the nesaea needs liquid fertilizer? Does liquid fertilizer cause ammonia/nitrate spikes?

Most liquid fertilizer does not cause an ammonia spike. Most liquid fertilizer will raise the nitrogen content which is usually seen on the nitrate test. Fertilizer is also going to raise a ton of other parameters that you may or may not actually need.

I cannot offer much advice on this topic as I believe in controlling my tanks intake so specifically and precisely that I have not found a pre made fertilizer that matches my tanks deficiencies.

That said, there are a huge following of aquarium co-op easy green. Also the niloc products seem to be more specific on their make up. I will recommend we get a second opinion from a realist about which to choose if it's needed, but maybe first a search on the subject could solve it.

 

Most liquid fertilizer does not cause an ammonia spike. Most liquid fertilizer will raise the nitrogen content which is usually seen on the nitrate test. Fertilizer is also going to raise a ton of other parameters that you may or may not actually need.

I cannot offer much advice on this topic as I believe in controlling my tanks intake so specifically and precisely that I have not found a pre made fertilizer that matches my tanks deficiencies.

That said, there are a huge following of aquarium co-op easy green. Also the niloc products seem to be more specific on their make up. I will recommend we get a second opinion from a realist about which to choose if it's needed, but maybe first a search on the subject could solve it.

There are a lot of different fertilizers out there. Plants need a combination of macronutrients and micronutrients. The macros are nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. Normally, nitrogen is supplied from the fish waste unless you are a heavily planted, lightly stocked tank. Normally, fish foods will contain enough phosphate. If you get too much phosphate, you can favor the growth of algae. Many aquariums are deficient in potassium. If you starting seeing evidence of potassium deficiency, there are fertilizers that contain potassium chloride as the primary ingredient. I use Seachem Potassium.

Technically, calcium and magnesium could also be considered macronutrients, but unless you have extremely soft water, you should have enough of them in your tank.

Micronutrients include a long list of things that are necessary, but only at trace concentrations. Some fertilizers like Seachem Comprehensive, provide these trace elements, but little else.

Some fertilizers like Easy Green and others provide a balance of macro and micro nutrients. They are "all in one" fertilizers. The theory is that if you overdose nutrients that you do not need, water changes will eliminate them.

Commercial root tabs tend to be quite expensive. Some people make their own using Osmacote slow-release fertilizer, but you can also purchase these DIY root tabs from fellow hobbyists online.