Hey Wizzy, with the Osmocote Plus as Tabs, all you have to do is place one gel cap filled with about 12 -14 granules every 6 cubic inch in your tank. As long as your substrate isn't fine sand you should be able to push the gel caps to the bottom of your substrate and it should be good. For the Azomite, just use the instructions described above as mentioned 1/4 teaspoon for every 55 gallons. If your sketchy of that measurements use half - 1/8. As long as you dose your water colony you should be fine.

Also if you don't wanna use Azomite, you could use Thrive, not Thrive+. I use it to dose my water colony 2 x per week for my low tech tanks and 3 x a week for my High Tech ones.

THRIVE www.nilcog.com @ $17.99 for a 500ml Bottle. Use All-in-one fertilizer.
Super concentrated
Both micro/macro nutrients
For low/high-tech setups
Easy to dose pump design
500mL treats 2500 gallons

Thrive is an easy to dose, super concentrated all-in-one liquid fertilizer. It is based on an effective EI dosing method with all essential micro and macro nutrients designed to help aquatic plants truly Thrive. It eliminates the need for multiple products to manage the planted aquarium and includes an easy to use pump design for simple spill-free dosing. GH booster may be added in cases of soft, mineral deficient water.

1 x 2mL pump per 10g will add 7ppm NO3, 1.3ppm PO4, 5ppm K, and 0.25ppm Fe

Analysis: N 3%, P 0.8%, K 9.4%, Fe 0.47%, Mg 0.062%, Cu 0.009%, B 0.023%, Co, 0.0002%, Mn 0.06%, Mo 0.0018%, Zn 0.016%


Store at or near room temperature, no refrigeration necessary

I just started a tank that has a layer of eco-complete with half the area I have Oscmocote buried for comparison. It's just the second week and I already can tell the difference.

This is my first tank. I was so hurry to start without a comprehensive understanding or at least get some knowledge of substrate. I selected the eco-complete just because it has a very good picture on the bag that potentially tells me how great it can grow plants. LOL.

This is the second week since my first does. It's great. I like it. and I will does another half tank later this week. plus DIY CO2.

Just hope the water will be fine. I have a little fish in that tank to help and tell me if I'm too crazy.

My current nano tank is my 5th tank where I've been hard headed and used eco complete despite all the knowledge I have gained here. It's a pain to get plants to thrive in it most of the time. However, once I again see the light and bury a bunch of osmocote plus in the substrate, both in gel capsules and individual "balls" one at a time with tweezers, my plants explode with growth in a few short weeks.

Eco Complete has little to no built in fertilizer, but has the ability to hold a lot of nutrients. So once I get the osmocote into the substrate and roots start feeding on it, my plants exploded with happiness again.