# using urea in planted aquarium SAFE OR UNSAFE!!



## rikeshpatel85

Hay man as I am new to this field, I have tried so many types of liquid fertilizers, plants and many mote thing and now I got to known that if you are making plants with fishes you need to be very careful.

Now I have some queries

As I am making aquascape with foreground plants and moss I want to know howmuch lights I need to give them my plants are HC cuba, monte carlo, Christmas moss. I have planted my tank with only 3-4 types of plants. THERE IS NO FISH IN MY AQUARIUM, I HAVE 80W OF LIGHT, COMPRESSED CO2 SYSTEM, CANNISTER FILTER WITH BIO FILTER, 63 GALLON OF WATER

Now the questions are
1. How much light I need to give?
2. For howmuch time I need to turn on light?
3. Howmuch co2 I need to add?
4. Which fertilizer I need to use?
5. Can I use urea fertilizer? If yes then howmuch for a week?
6. After howmuch time I need to change the water and howmuch?
7. As I have planted my tank on 22/08/2014 what I need to do for batter development of roots and leaves of plats?
8. Which element is working for root development? 


Please reply as soon as possible.

Thank you,
Rikesh Patel


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## rikeshpatel85

Today I have added 1 tea spoon of urea in Mya 63 gallon tank. No issues found. Hoping for the best...


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## JeffyFunk

Urea is safe to use as a nitrogen fertilizer. That said, u should be aware that compared to KNO3, or nitrates in general, that Urea (CON2H4) is a more concentrated form of nitrogen. 

In the PPS-Pro formula, you dose 1 ppm nitrate per day. To make the stock solution, u dissolve 65 g KNO3 in 1 liter of water. To make an equivalent nitrate solution using Urea, u dissolve only 19.4 g Urea in 1 liter of water. 

If we assume the densities are the same (which is probably a bad assumption, but I don't have my notes in front of me to double check), that means that Urea is roughly 3 times stronger than an equivalent amount of KNO3. In other words, dose ~1/3 the Urea as u would KNO3...


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## rikeshpatel85

Thanks for the wonderful reply man. Because of heavy foreground plants an Christmas moss, I dilute 1 tea spoon of urea in 100ml of water and then drop it down to tank. Every 3rd day 20% water change as I have done today, its just 2 days gone and I found shocking growth of plants. Still hoping for the best.

4ft X 1.5ft X 2ft tank
80w tube light
63 gallon of water
1.5inch Wormy composed fertilizer for base
1inch River sand 
2inch jbl aqua soil
300 gallon per hour cannister filter
3 bubbles per second CO2
1 tea spoon of urea every 3rd day
20% water change every 3rd day
I DO NOT HAVE A SINGLE FISH IN MY AQUARIUM 
Plants :- HC Cuba, monte carlo, Christmas moss.


This is what I have and I do..
Awaiting for suggestions and replies..

Thank you
Rikesh Patel


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## nickmcmechan

I would have thought your base would have provided enough N to cycle your tank

Your canister gives you 5x turnover, ideally your looking for 10x


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## rikeshpatel85

Okay man so I will change my cannister with 1000 gallon per hour.

I thought till roots of newly stucked plants needs more N to grow till they reach to bottom layer of Wormy composed fertilizer so till all plants settle down I thought urea will help them out. 

Is this okay or do I need to change anything? 

Thank you
Rikesh Patel


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## nickmcmechan

rikeshpatel85 said:


> Okay man so I will change my cannister with 1000 gallon per hour.
> 
> I thought till roots of newly stucked plants needs more N to grow till they reach to bottom layer of Wormy composed fertilizer so till all plants settle down I thought urea will help them out.
> 
> Is this okay or do I need to change anything?
> 
> Thank you
> Rikesh Patel


A good point, I tend to add fertiliser in the first week until the roots become established. However, Urea only provides N, there needs to be a source of P, K and micros. These would soon be provided by the compost in any case.

I think the risk of adding urea when you already have a source of ammonium is excess levels which may stall the cycle, or cause algae bloom.


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## rikeshpatel85

I found a person whonis providing loose packings for making fertilizer of your need

How to mix and dose nutrients in your planted tank.
If you are have a newly planted tank with nutrient rich substrate like ADA Amazonia or Contro soil, you don't have to dose the nutrients.
But you have to start dosing the nutrients when the tank is 2-3 months old.

Here I am trying to explain the mixing and dosing methods of micro and macro nutrients.

Mixing Directions...

Take 6 bottles of 500ml (600ml sprite bottle are good enough).Cover them with black plastic cover or paper. (Recommended).
Label the bottles appropriately.

Macro nutrients

Nitrate KNO3
Add 60 gms in 500 ml of water
Phosphate KH2PO4
Add 10 gms in 500 ml of water
Potassium K2SO4
Add 40 gms in 500 ml of water
Magnesium MgSO4*7H2O
Add 60 gms in 500 ml of water
Micro nutrients

Chelated Iron
Add 10 gms in 500 ml of water
CSM+B
Add 15 gms in 500 ml of water

Dosing Directions...

Add 5ml each of this solution after every 30 litre water change.

Please note that 30 litre is not the size of the tank but the amount of water you changed.
50% water change every week is needed before you add fertilizers.
For example if your tank size is 300 Litres, while doing 50% water change, you are changing 150 litres. after this water change add 25 ml of each of these solutions.
This dosage is at the lower side and brings the lower sides of ppm levels.
If you are finding everything going fine, you can slowly increase the dosage.
You can keep this 5ml as minimum dosage and 10ml as maximum dosage.
Add macros on the same day of water change just before you switch off your light at night.
And micros on the next day before you switch off your light at night.
If you have a thickly planted tank with more of high light plants, try daily dosage of nutrients...

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
50% Water Change and
100% of Macros
100% of Micros
20% of Macros
20% of Micros
20% of Macros
20% of Micros
Do Nothing

Normally plants gets Calcium and Magnesium from the water we add.
So Calcium and Magnesium supplements are not always necessary. (Especially when you use Hard water)

Plants get phosphates from the fish food.
So if you are adding a good amount of fish food to the tank, you can reduce the Phosphates dosing.
Excess phosphate will make your water cloudy.

Nitrates will get produced in a tank with proper bio filtration.
So if you tank have a proper bio filter, you can reduce the nitrate dosing.
If you are dosing CSM+B, Iron dosing is not necessary.
But you can dose iron if you want to increase the iron ppm levels.
1gm of Iron will give double the ppm levels of iron what 1gm of Csm+B gives

Using water from RO water filter is recommended as we don't know the nutrients level in the tap water.If you notice the symptom of any deficiency in your tank, add a little extra of that nutrient.
Overdosing nutrients (especially Phosphates, Nitrates and Iron) can cause algae issues.

These are my recommendations or my way of doing.
Some other person will have his way of doing.
So you can read forums and discuss with others before you decide your way of doing.


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## rikeshpatel85

Hello

Today after 4 days I found white dots in my tank, they are something live roaming here n there, they are in just 1 sqft area of tank rest of the tank is clear. Cant recognize what is it. They are around 2000 in quantity, as I am using urea I cant add fish in my tank. I am nt sure but they are looking like shrimps if anyone knows please share your views.


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## TropTrea

rikeshpatel85 said:


> Hello
> 
> Today after 4 days I found white dots in my tank, they are something live roaming here n there, they are in just 1 sqft area of tank rest of the tank is clear. Cant recognize what is it. They are around 2000 in quantity, as I am using urea I cant add fish in my tank. I am nt sure but they are looking like shrimps if anyone knows please share your views.


If the spots keep growing in size and still hard to define shape I would suspect a fungus.


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## rikeshpatel85

TropTrea said:


> If the spots keep growing in size and still hard to define shape I would suspect a fungus.


Still I found them today n they r not mor then 1mm in size. As I have attached pic. Please if anyone can guess it will be helpful and suggst anything for cure. Thank you


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## TropTrea

rikeshpatel85 said:


> Hello
> 
> Today after 4 days I found white dots in my tank, they are something live roaming here n there, they are in just 1 sqft area of tank rest of the tank is clear. Cant recognize what is it. They are around 2000 in quantity, as I am using urea I cant add fish in my tank. I am nt sure but they are looking like shrimps if anyone knows please share your views.


Could it be a mold or fungus? Watch them if they do not create a definite shape and keep multiplying and growing it would be my suspicion.


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## rikeshpatel85

TropTrea said:


> Could it be a mold or fungus? Watch them if they do not create a definite shape and keep multiplying and growing it would be my suspicion.


They all r in same shape. Hope it will be cure any thing that I can add to remove all these?


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## BruceF

Is that picture one of these? 
http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2006/11/cyclops-are-these-freshwater-copepods.html


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## rikeshpatel85

Ohh yes they are cyclops!! Any help to remove them? Any medicine??


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## rikeshpatel85

today I got some fish for my tank

2 nos, blood red ghurami
2 nos platy
2 nos molly
2 nos ordinary snail

they are doing well till now its been 4 hrs gone, 

these all are invited for Cyclops only. 

any suggestions!!! please!!!


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## rikeshpatel85

All spoiling HC cuba, fired... &#55357;&#56865;


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## acitydweller

your fish should be feasting on these...


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## rikeshpatel85

Actually in few hours they had finished all cyclops, after that they attacked Hc cuba. I observed for 2 hours and I found they were not eating the just pick them from bottom only. So fired all fishes and snails to cure tank, they are now my soldiers whenever I will found any thing like cyclops I will add them to tank and after finishing all they will be again parkd to cure tank. Thanks for replying..


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## rikeshpatel85

Plantation failed don't know why! All tge plants and moss gone.


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## Charlest

You really shouldn't be dosing any nitrogen on a fresh tank. And you don't need urea for only hc and moss. 

Sent from my LG-D500 using Tapatalk


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## rikeshpatel85

Already stopped dosing urea after a week its all because of low lighting, ordered 4 x 54w t5 will be here by this weekend. Hope it will make my tank. Thanks for replying.


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