Hey everyone! I am new and I just started my 20H planted tank WITH RCS in it and a few tetras(it will be dedicated to RCS mainly). So, I have a 2.5" layer of black flourite and a t5 HO lamp (will be getting new bulbs when I can find them in 18" anyone know anywhere that carries 18" FW bulbs?). Right now I have a few plants. An amazon sword, micro sword, some moss, and a few others I don't remember what they are. I don't really want to do CO2 if I can avoid it since I am on a budget. I want to know what a simple, yet effective fertilizing regime would be for my tank and also that would be safe for my shrimp. I use RO/DI water since I already have it for my reef tank. If anyone could point me in a good direction that would be great! And if you could try to tell me what your abbreviations are if you use them, that would be good too. lol. Thank you!
You should probably consider a box of root tabs to put in around the base/roots of those sword plants since they prefer to feed via the roots (and can be heavy root feeders).
From the plants that you have listed you may not need to do heavy ferts. Maybe even a liquid macro fert and a liquid micro fert like what Rootmedic offers.
You could probably toss in root tabs (they have some good ones from Seachem I think that Petsmart carries) and then just wait and see how the plants do before investing in fertilizers or making things overly complicated.
I second the suggestion of root tabs, particularly under the swords. With a lightly planted tank, I think I would start with root tabs, and perhaps, a low dose of Flourish Comprehensive weekly. I have used this routine on a couple of my tanks, with good success.
its best to hit on all areas, so root tabs are a good idea.. I make an easy to use, one bottle per day micro and macro mix, I have a super cheap special going on right now too, check out my sig for details.. I dont use root tabs, but root medic makes good ones, also you could use osmocote capsules, they work well also..
Thanks everyone! My tank won't be lightly planted as I ordered some plants yesterday but I will try the root tabs and see how that goes. If I need more I will also dose with something but I'm not looking for insane growth or anything. Just want to see the plants grow a bit.
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