# my crop of moneyworth



## cueball (May 24, 2005)

hello well maybe some might know my planted tank had a little turn for the worst the other week but with some trimming of the dead leaves and cutting back most of the stems to half i got the tank back in order( and just think i was going to trash the whole project)... but i decided to stick with it,,now for ferts i have all these from the flourish line of products

IRON
EXCEL
NITROGEN
POTASSIUM
FLOURISH COMPREHENSIVE

so far i put a half cap full of comprehensive and a half cap of potassium to help the dead and dieing lower half of the plants.. like i said ive used all these before and i never dare to use anymore than a half cap at a time because i always get over runed with algae,,,

hey whats a good fert to help boost roots.. because almost all these plants were just cut in half and have barely any roots,,


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## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

i use api root tabs they seem to work great you just stuck one in the gravel every square foot or so they supposedly last for a month


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

All that stuff is good to use.
How much you dose and how often would depend on how much light is over the tank


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

ok dip,,,

i got a 10g tank with 20watt grow bulb over the tank about 4 or 5 inch's above water level..i could put a little black tape over the bulb if i got to much light,, i am nerves because every time i dose i always get algae 3-4 days after i use ferts.. i bought 6 of some sort of chineese algae eater to try to help me out ,, they seem to be sucking a little big off nothing special but there helping..
ok dip let me know whats up i already croped off the lower dead stuff and iam starting again guide me bro thanks...


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

I would trim the bottom stems off that lost the leaves, and maybe add DIY co2

What are the nitrates at(ppm)? Plants absolutely need it to survive. If you get algea, 
I wouldn't dose what triggers it.

What do you dose anyway? 
the tank looks good as it is.. what is the problem again? Those plants don't grow super extensive root systems 
Use some root tabs if you want better root growth


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

i might have to make a order to big als right soon root tabs,,,and whats the cheepest co2 rig up..? i only got a 10g so i dont want to go big..

nitrates isnt a problem my last batch of fish died to nitrate poison i took half the water out and i only have sucker fish in there now so i am not using the amount of fish food i was for my breeding guppys,,the whole problem happen because i was not using ferts,, i had a alge over load when i used anything over a cap full but the last time ,,, a week ago i put in a half cap of comprehensive and a half cap of potassium to help with the rebound of the plants dieing,,,,, yellow leaves and dieing roots...when the root started dieing from a lack of ferts the nitrates hit and all hell broke open in my tank,,,your the expert dippy if u owned the tank what would you use for ferts and how often(saying you dont have co2 yet)?

thanks for the help


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Seriously, every tank is a bit different. Every tank needs the owner to tweak dosing as they observe 
the tank and what is happening in there.

I would use every fert u got, and Excell. I would dose excell according to the bottle. Then I would dose micros 
on a different day as I would dose macros (micros--F comprehensive, iron - Macros--potassium, phosphate, and nitrate)

I would start off with 1/2 cap comp & 1/2 cap iron. Then observe over the next few days how the plants react.
Did they get more color? Did they turn pale? Do they seem healthy?
Then, I would experiment with the nitrate and phosphate until I found how I could consistently keep
water params @ .5-2ppm phosphate, and 10-25ppm nitrate at all times.

I hope that helped Cue


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

helped a little thanks,,( how much excel and how often)? half cap at a time you think i should use?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

I'm almost certain it's on the bottle.. I can't remember what it said, but it's there


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> I'm almost certain it's on the bottle.. I can't remember what it said, but it's there


ya its on the bottle but all the amounts are in 30+ g tanks

EXAMPLE:1 capful for every30g <---potassium

1 capful for every 60g<---comprehensive
1/2 capful for every40g<---nitrogen

i got more fertz but there are the three bottles i happen to have in front of my,,, so i am not shure how much to use theres so many gallons over me 10g its hard to gage man,,,,,,


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

I would use the excell by the directions on the bottle, and use the other ones as I needed by observing tank params,
and the plants. (and algea) 
Then I would derive a basic dosing routine from doing that for a couple weeks. Then it's up to doing large water changes
and regular maintenance every week


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

ok dippy.. one more question,,, what fert helps the growth of roots..?

i noticed a lot of fresh new roots poping out,,


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

It can be many things.. water quality, good water params all around help. but I've heard potassium helps the stem grow strong and roots.. not sure tho


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

wow just like that almost over night i added a few fertz and all the alge is going..hey dip i though these fish are poor alge eaters.,,, what kind of sucker fish are these..?

that plants seem greener


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Glad to hear you are in business!! Great job

Those look like ottocinclus catfish. They are one of those must-have algea eaters for any and all planted aquariums. -Excellent algea eating cats

(not with piranha, of course..lol)


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