Decent Commercial Fert?

[SvenBoogie]

I'm just wondering if anyone can recommend a readily available, decent commercial fertilizer product as a temporary solution until I can get some PMDD/etc together? Preferably one that does not contain copper to avoid issues with inverts?

[ZooTycoonMaster]

Copper in fertilizers won't harm your inverts unless you overdose on it.

[SvenBoogie]

Originally Posted by ZooTycoonMaster

Copper in fertilizers won't harm your inverts unless you overdose on it.

Good to know, so any particular ferts you'd recommend?

[moose]

Seachem flourish fertilizers are sold in most lfs. I got the Plant Pack of 3 small bottles of Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorus, and the flourish complete for micros.

[lauraleellbp]

Why not just get the PMDD package from www.greenleafaquariums.com?

[SvenBoogie]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Why not just get the PMDD package from www.greenleafaquariums.com?

Yeah, I considered that, but I've been fairly baffled when it comes to finding any easy to understand info on exactly how to use it. I'm probably going to try to assemble my own pmdd in the long run, but just wondering if theres something widely available that I could pick up locally in the meantime to get started.

[Hoppy]

If your LFS are anything like those near me, the best you can hope for is a store that sells the Seachem series - Flourish Nitrogen, F. Potassium, and F. Phosphorous, plus just plain Flourish for trace elements. Again, you will be lucky to find those in anything other than the smallest bottle size, which makes them expensive to use on a big tank.

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by SvenBoogie

Yeah, I considered that, but I've been fairly baffled when it comes to finding any easy to understand info on exactly how to use it. I'm probably going to try to assemble my own pmdd in the long run, but just wondering if theres something widely available that I could pick up locally in the meantime to get started.

You only deal with 3-4 things:

KNO3
KH2PO4
Trace mix
Maybe.....Gh booster

Now you do have to read instructions for the Commercial brands no??????
And then figure out and compute the amounts to add based on your fish tank's volume no???????????????????

So how is it harder/more complicated than using commercial ferts?

This is just your own fear, nothing more.
Get over it, stop wasting your $$$$, and follow instructions, the chemical names are nothing more than names/jargon etc.

I've not met a single person to date who over dosed KNO4 or any of the others and killed their fish or got algae. that's about 15 years and thousand's of aquarists, and let me tell you, there are some really off the wall mistakes in there

www.Aquariumfertilizer.com

Buy those items listed above, ask once you get them how to dose on most any forum if it's something you are unsure about, there are many folks that will quickly help you, after 2-3x, it'll be boring and old.

You can send me 11.99$ for each dry fert instead and I'll tell you what to dose also(paypal me 4 x 11.99, I'll gladly tell you)



Regards,
Tom Barr

[paulrw]

i bought the green ferts package from green leaf with the same fear Mr. Barr was speaking of. and no idea how to use them. but after getting alot of great info from this forum and from Mr. Barr's forum, i found it very easy i dose e.i.ish. I have had good results and a huge $ saving. i got enough ferts for about a year I'd say, for 20 bucks and a set of measuring spoons from waly-world for $1.50. i now dose in a 30g community a 20g invert tank and a 2.5g snail only tank easy and cheap the only thing is i got kh2po4 i don't hear to many people talk about it in reference to e.i. and I'm not sure about using it?

thanks
Paul

[daverockssocks]

Well Tom you just convinced me to order up some dry ferts, thank you.

[Left C]

Originally Posted by SvenBoogie

I'm just wondering if anyone can recommend a readily available, decent commercial fertilizer product as a temporary solution until I can get some PMDD/etc together? ...

PMDD has fallen out of favor over the years because is doesn't contain phosphate.

Should you want to dose using a single solution of macros, there is a good one at the Barr Report. It uses KNO3, KH2PO4 and GH Booster just as Tom suggests. It is simple to make. You dose your micros from a separate bottle. For micros, you can either use Tropica's Plant Nutrition liquid (it used to be called TMG), Seachem's Flourish (comprehensive) or you can make a trace solution from the dry fert Plantex CSM+B .

The dosing plan at the Barr report is easy to follow and easy to do. Plus, you can easily adjust it by adding a little less or a little more per dose. In the above hyperlink to Plantex CSM+B shows all three dry compounds that Tom mentioned as well as Plantex CSM+B.

Here is the dosing plan: http://www.barrreport.com/estimative...ei-dosing.html


Many of us like to have separate solutions for each compound and some of us dose dry. I dose dry and I use EI that has been modified for my aquariums.
EI: http://www.barrreport.com/estimative...chy-folks.html


Since you are planning on using pressurized CO2, either of the plans should get you going. Both work well, but you may find that you need to custom tailor it for your aquarium(s).

[bradac56]

I use pfertz.com black "M" bottle for micro's it's allot cheaper than TMG and I reuse the bottle (nice locking squirt bottle) for mixing my own macro's like Tom suggests.

- Brad