# Using Regular Plant Fertilizer?



## Restricted-

I was wondering if it would be safe to use something like "Schultz All-Purpose Liquid Plant Food" or a water soluble plant fertilizer in my aquarium? Like the kind you can buy at kent and hardware stores.

http://www.kent.ca/kbs/en/product.jsp?skuId=7610725&navAction=jump&prdId=7610725&catalogId=1729


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## DiPpY eGgS

you never know, it just might be ok, but I think that food is for non aquatic plants, and I have no idea if it would work for your aquarium.

I use Flourish comprehensive, and F. iron for my micro nutrients, and I use dry potassium nitrate, mono potassium phosphate, and potassium sulfate for macro nutrients.

They are all separate, so I can dose what I need when I need it.

I wish I could answer your question better, but I just don't have any experience with using non aquatic plant fertilizer for aquatic plants.

That being said, I know that my dry ferts are just plain ole plant food, that most likely could be added to water to feed any plant, and even the flourish stuff for that matter, but like I said, I wouldn't know how to use it properly.

Maybe do some experimenting, and post back your results?


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## Restricted-

Well I am not too keen on experimenting if I don't know that its safe for my fish, I know you can dose dry ferts, and I could just buy the dry water soluble stuff, except it has a few diff things in it. You can't just buy iron only, or potassium only, unless I get it online and its much more convenient for me to buy local.

So its not separate like the stuff you dose, everything is mixed together.

The fertilizers in stores are expensive I find, and I would go through them quickly.

I really don't know too much about aquarium plants and all the different ferts, but I thought maybe this would be a good idea.


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## DiPpY eGgS

Restricted- said:


> Well I am not too keen on experimenting if I don't know that its safe for my fish, I know you can dose dry ferts, and I could just buy the dry water soluble stuff, except it has a few diff things in it. You can't just buy iron only, or potassium only, unless I get it online and its much more convenient for me to buy local.
> 
> So its not separate like the stuff you dose, everything is mixed together.
> 
> The fertilizers in stores are expensive I find, and I would go through them quickly.
> 
> I really don't know too much about aquarium plants and all the different ferts, but I thought maybe this would be a good idea.


The only problem I can see with it, is that my plants have specific needs that require me to dose separate things to keep a 'balance' in there.

For instance, my plants show signs of an iron deficiency a lot, so I have to dose a lot more iron than any other micro nutrient.
So having a bottle of iron handy really helps out.

Also, My nitrates bottom out in my tank, and that is about the worst thing that can happen for your plants, so I'm glad I can dose just nitrate at times.
Because I seem to have all the phosphate in the water I need, so I dose way less phosphate than even nitrate.
So it really helps me have a greater control over what I need.

Plus, if I dosed all nutrients every time my plants showed an iron problem, I most liekly get algea from having too many other nutrients in the water.

But then I have a higher lighted planted aquarium... For those with low light, it is less important to dose with such accuracy, although it helps


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## Restricted-

I see what you mean about the balance and what the plants need. I am not sure how to even tell if my plants have iron deficiency but I know that the there are pretty much no nitrates because there is only one baby rhom in there.

75gallon tank with 1wpg lighting, so very low. There is no way I am going to buy expensive bottles of ferts and dose each one as needed, so I may try the C-I-L blood meal. Its high source of nitrogen and good source of iron, but I need to look into it to see what else is in it.

Other than that maybe just do the all purpose stuff every week or so. But what I really wanna know is, is it safe for fish.


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## DiPpY eGgS

ok, now that I know that you have a low light tank and a rhom, I will go on a limb and say that

You don't really need to dose ferts.. Your nitrates produced from your rhom should be fine, unless you have a really well planted low light tank (optimum)

phosphates should be fine, for the same reason. 
You should only have to dose a small amount of micro ferts, in which case, I would point you to a 250ml bottle of Flourish Comprehensive dosed sparingly at water changes.

That should be all that you would ever need in that tank.


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## Guest

If you want to use something you can buy in the store, go with organic fertilizer spikes. Seeing that you have a low light tank there isn't a need to put more nutrients into the water column as your plants won't take full advantage of them and the excess nitrates will just play with your params. Also a lot of commercial fertilizers contain things like copper and a lot of phosphates which will cause an algae outbreak.

If you have swords (which I'm guessing seeing that you mentioned iron) you can get iron rich organic fertilizer spikes and place them around your plants at the root level.


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## Restricted-

Okay thanks I didn't ever think I needed alot of ferts I just wanted to see if it was possible to use store stuff. I use the iron+potassium because my plants are turning brown/yellow and I was told its most likely lack of iron.

All thats in there is hornwort(some very yellow) water onion which is slowly going yellow, and hydrocotyle which I just put in yesterday.

I don't think using root spikes is going to help hornwort because they are mostly floating and have no roots in the bottom.

I just wanted my plants to stop turning yellow and brown.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS

There are a few stump remover products that can be picked up at local hardware/home improvement stores that are 100% potassium nitrate and are safe for use in aquariums. The problem with most other fertilizers that you would buy for your garden is that there may be some unsafe chemicals packaged in with the ones that are safe for your plants.


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## Restricted-

JoeDizzleMPLS said:


> There are a few stump remover products that can be picked up at local hardware/home improvement stores that are 100% potassium nitrate and are safe for use in aquariums. The problem with most other fertilizers that you would buy for your garden is that there may be some unsafe chemicals packaged in with the ones that are safe for your plants.


That is what I was worried about


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