I've been fertilizing outside of my aquariums, as well as lightly fertilizing in them, for the past couple of years. I rotate crops from the fertilizer into my fish tanks, where I use a simple fertilizer like Leaf Zone or Aqueon Plant Food a couple times a month. I do this because it keeps down on algae, fish and plant toxicity, and chemical instabilities. I do this because I have no 'planted' plants. Instead I stick with floating plants or those that can be weighed down and sit on top of a coir mat substrate fashioned into hills and valleys for interest.
https://aquariumexperiments.com/2016/04/25/i-hear-a-harp-angels-singing-when-i-look-at-this-tank/
I've also been doing this because it's taken me this long to gather enough information in order to make the right choices and hopefully not kill anything.
So here is what I have so far:
As of today I have added:
pH has remained at 6.6 - 6.8. @76 degrees F
The coir in my tanks can bind up calcium. Since I live in a soft water, low GH area, adding calcium should be a good call. I don’t think adding calcium in hard water areas would be necessary in most cases, but maybe? I’ve noticed that many of the aquatic plant foods have little or no calcium. It probably needs to be considered for some of us.
*I believe potassium nitrate would be the right choice for those with harder water.
So as of today, I’ve added epsom salt(magnesium sulfate) and potash(Potassium Chloride) with the Ca(NO3)2. I added them all dry and just swished the water around. I played with the Ca(NO3)2 in a jar of water first, to see how quickly it dissolves. I believe the water got a little warm while it dissolved. Then I looked further and found it does have a thermal reaction. Interesting.
Pictures from Today:
https://aquariumexperiments.com/2016/04/25/i-hear-a-harp-angels-singing-when-i-look-at-this-tank/
I've also been doing this because it's taken me this long to gather enough information in order to make the right choices and hopefully not kill anything.
So here is what I have so far:
As of today I have added:
- Minuscule Amount of FeEDDHA (I need to get a mg scale to know exactly how much. I stir in a pinch a little bigger than the tip of a ball point pen. The water turns slightly tannin colored.)
- 1/2 tsp of each to the 10g’s. 1.5tsp and 2 tsp each in 29g and 55g.
- epsom salt
- potash
- Calcium Nitrate - I think this killed some fish, so I will cut the dose by quite a bit.
pH has remained at 6.6 - 6.8. @76 degrees F
The coir in my tanks can bind up calcium. Since I live in a soft water, low GH area, adding calcium should be a good call. I don’t think adding calcium in hard water areas would be necessary in most cases, but maybe? I’ve noticed that many of the aquatic plant foods have little or no calcium. It probably needs to be considered for some of us.
*I believe potassium nitrate would be the right choice for those with harder water.
So as of today, I’ve added epsom salt(magnesium sulfate) and potash(Potassium Chloride) with the Ca(NO3)2. I added them all dry and just swished the water around. I played with the Ca(NO3)2 in a jar of water first, to see how quickly it dissolves. I believe the water got a little warm while it dissolved. Then I looked further and found it does have a thermal reaction. Interesting.
Pictures from Today: