# help me out. fertilizing lg tank



## king oz (Jun 27, 2007)

I have a 240 gal i have always used seachem products im thinking about getting away from them whats the best way to go with such a large tank, i was checking out p-ferts web site but dont think thats an economical way of going since most of there affordable packages only dose a small tank for 5-10 months, i would just like links and ppls experience to what has really worked well for them of course at a good price, also does any one use orlandos ferts??


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## eco-mod (Oct 19, 2007)

I use the dry ferts from Orlando at GLA in a modified PPS/EI mixture and it is working great for me. The price FAR beats Seachem, less to measure out too. I basically use a slightly higher PPS-Macro dose and a near normal dose of PPS-Micro. Even though I'm only using it on my 29 with 2 1000ml bottles(also from Orlando) it works great, and I don't think I'll run out for awhile.


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## kimcadmus (Nov 23, 2008)

I bought my dry ferts from Orlanda at Greenleaf as well. Super nice guy with great products. I use pps-pro as well. I do weekly 30% water changes which in theory aren't necessary but I enjoy it and I am always prunning since I have fast growing stems.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/pps-analysis-feedback/39491-newbie-guide-pps-pro.html


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi king oz,

I agree that Seachem is an excellent line of ferts. I used them for several months on my first tank. But as I added more tanks it started to get expensive and I went with dry ferts instead.

What I did was first decide on the method of dosing that I wanted to use and then I bought the ferts. I first went with the PPS-Pro method of dosing described in the "Sticky" at the beginning of this forum because it is a simple system to learn.

Now that I have been doing dry ferts for about 6 months now and am feeling more comfortable with dosing; I am studying the EI method of dosing because I should have better growth and few instances of nutrient deficiencies.


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## king oz (Jun 27, 2007)

thanks for all the replys, I used a mixture of aquariumplants.com substrate and flourite dark, it is still a good idea to use root tabs of some type? whats good to use?


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

king oz said:


> thanks for all the replys, I used a mixture of aquariumplants.com substrate and flourite dark, it is still a good idea to use root tabs of some type? whats good to use?


If you use dry ferts in the water column, you shouldn't need root tablets unless you have swords and cryptocorynes. IME, those two plants need the extra ferts at the roots. API and Seachem both make good root tablets.


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## king oz (Jun 27, 2007)

ok, thank you guys very much, im getting excited again I got like five separate orders of all kinds of plants coming in this week, not to mention a few new light fixtures, this tank keeps evolving and im loving it.


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## ray-the-pilot (May 14, 2008)

king oz said:


> I have a 240 gal i have always used seachem products im thinking about getting away from them whats the best way to go with such a large tank, i was checking out p-ferts web site but dont think thats an economical way of going since most of there affordable packages only dose a small tank for 5-10 months, i would just like links and ppls experience to what has really worked well for them of course at a good price, also does any one use orlandos ferts??


If you have a 240 gal tank, you already put out $$$1000's on tank, equipment, plant, fish etc.

Why are you worried about the cost of fertilizer?

If you already have a good plan stick with it. I mean, who wants a 240gal algae pond!


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## king oz (Jun 27, 2007)

ray-the-pilot said:


> If you have a 240 gal tank, you already put out $$$1000's on tank, equipment, plant, fish etc.
> 
> Why are you worried about the cost of fertilizer?
> 
> If you already have a good plan stick with it. I mean, who wants a 240gal algae pond!


lol, well yea the tank was nice i ripped it apart to re scape it and most of my plants where run of the mill stuff nothing special, everything lived and grew well, but like i said nothing really popped like plants I'm seeing around here, i never really fertilized on schedule just added when i thought it needed a lil something, now that I'm buying more rare type plants i want to get on an actual schedule and really make everything top notch and wasnt thinking the product i was using is up to par.


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## eco-mod (Oct 19, 2007)

king oz said:


> lol, well yea the tank was nice i ripped it apart to re scape it and most of my plants where run of the mill stuff nothing special, everything lived and grew well, but like i said nothing really popped like plants I'm seeing around here, i never really fertilized on schedule just added when i thought it needed a lil something, now that I'm buying more rare type plants i want to get on an actual schedule and really make everything top notch and wasnt thinking the product i was using is up to par.


I know exactly what you mean. I had some more 'common' and 'hardy' plants that would grow as expected but nothing amazing. After I switched to PPS-Pro and adjusted, everything in the hum-drum scape blew up. Now I'm using more 'difficult' plants which are thriving.


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