Water Colum Fertz

Discussion in 'Planted Tanks' started by FishRMan, Feb 11, 2011.

  1. FishRMan

    FishRMan

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2010
    Messages:
    207
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Boksburg and Hatfield
    Hi guys I want to start using fertz in my tanks BUT I dont want to be adding nutrients I may already have too much of so what should I get the LPS to test my water for before I start looking at which products to get? SO far I think I should at least test phosphates and nitrates since I do have a cyano problem any other suggestions
     
  2. Guest




  3. OP
    FishRMan

    FishRMan

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2010
    Messages:
    207
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Boksburg and Hatfield
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  4. Rudi

    Rudi

    Joined:
    May 31, 2009
    Messages:
    765
    Likes Received:
    42
    Location:
    Kuils River,Cape Town
    You're not giving many details on your setup.
    You have a inert substrate?
    You need the following to grow plants,

    Macronutrients:

    Phosphates - from the fish food,how much we don't know as yet.
    Nitrates - from the nitrogen cycle,how much we don't know as yet.
    Calcium - depends on your tap water.
    Magnesium - depends on your tap water.
    Potassium - from ferts.
    Sulphur - from tap water or ferts.

    Micronutrients:

    Boron - ferts
    Iron - ferts or nails in the substrate
    Chloride - Depends on your tap water
    Nickel - ferts
    Copper - ferts
    Manganese - ferts
    Molybdenum - ferts
    Zinc - ferts

    Conclusion.... get yourself a KH/GH test kit to test your water hardness.
    Assume you have no micronutrients in your tank and your plants need them.
    Get a good micronutrient fertilizer,Seachem,Sera,Tetra,.....ect.

    If you can add more info on your setup,it could help.
     
  5. OP
    FishRMan

    FishRMan

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2010
    Messages:
    207
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Boksburg and Hatfield
    Thanks Rudi I have pfp with silica sand cap. Sorry for not adding that in at the beginning. All the test kits are a bit bewildering and Im not sure what is essential and what I would only require if a specific problem came up. Since posting this I have pmed the prof I think I will probably use his ferts
     
  6. Zoom

    Zoom Retired Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2009
    Messages:
    8,469
    Likes Received:
    119
    Location:
    Jhb- Fourways
    I swear by the professors fertz.
     
  7. Rudi

    Rudi

    Joined:
    May 31, 2009
    Messages:
    765
    Likes Received:
    42
    Location:
    Kuils River,Cape Town
    @FishRMan,
    To do this right the first time,you should try and "un-bewilder" yourself and do just a little bit of research.
    You can't test for every nutrient with our hobby-grade test kits.The important ones are GH,KH and Ph.Nitrate test kits are unreliable/inaccurate.Phosphate?I've never tested for it.

    If you have PFP with chemicult,why do you think you need water colum fertz?Isn't the substrate supposed to provide all the nutrients you need?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  8. OP
    FishRMan

    FishRMan

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2010
    Messages:
    207
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Boksburg and Hatfield
    @Rudi I am doing my best to unbewilder myself and its only thanks to people like yourself that noobs like myself learn. My reason for adding fertz is that when I compare the growth of my plants to the growth of many other peoples tanks even with an inert substrate the growth is seriously lacking. In 5 months I have had to trim my plants once. Very few new shoots have developed. Cyano has also developed to a small extent however I have managed to control this to some extent. From my understanding my lighting is adequate although I am in the process of upgrading the globes when I find a supplier. I can therefore only assume that my tank is lacking in available nutrients. Whether this is due to a mistake when I layed out the pfp or whether I have placed predominately plants which take up nutrients through the water column I can't say. Plants btw include amazon swords and a few others I can't remember the names of all stem plants tho
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016

Recent Posts

Loading...
Similar Threads - Water Colum Fertz Forum Date
Root feeding vs water column feeding? Aquatic plants Sep 10, 2020
Water column fert advice Planted Tanks Aug 24, 2012
Water Column Ferts? Planted Tanks May 14, 2012
Discover NT Labs | The Leaders in Fish Health and Water Testing Jungle Aquatics May 16, 2025
Freshwater vs. Saltwater Aquariums in SA: General Fish Discussions Mar 31, 2025
Recommended water changes ? Beginner Discussions Sep 12, 2024
Is buying RO/DI water a thing? Beginner Discussions Jul 9, 2023

Share This Page