# Fertilizing for a simpleton



## JNB (Feb 27, 2011)

I just set up a 55 gal for my children. I want to end up with about 30% of the tank planted, but I don't want to kill myself working on it since it may end up with Kool-Aid in it, or maybe Oreos. My 5 year old already took out the little house she picked for a decoration to see if she could find the Pleco in it. (he wasn't). So what would you recommend for really easy fertilizing? They sell plenty of stuff at the fish store, but I don't know what is a waste of time and what's worth the money. There is nothing fancy in there, I just want it to grow a little.


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

JNB said:


> I just set up a 55 gal for my children. I want to end up with about 30% of the tank planted, but I don't want to kill myself working on it since it may end up with Kool-Aid in it, or maybe Oreos. My 5 year old already took out the little house she picked for a decoration to see if she could find the Pleco in it. (he wasn't). So what would you recommend for really easy fertilizing? They sell plenty of stuff at the fish store, but I don't know what is a waste of time and what's worth the money. There is nothing fancy in there, I just want it to grow a little.


My feeling is that if you want easy, use plasitic plants and don't bother to fertilize.

You are already going down the wrong track with a pleco. It will eventually decide to eat pretty much any plants you have in your tank.

Growing plants is easy but it is labor intensive. You are going to have to change water frequently cut and trim plants once a week and dose every day. A 55 gal tank will require about 5-6 hours of work per week.

It is rewarding work, however.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

ray-the-pilot said:


> My feeling is that if you want easy, use plasitic plants and don't bother to fertilize.
> 
> Growing plants is easy but it is labor intensive. You are going to have to change water frequently cut and trim plants once a week and dose every day. A 55 gal tank will require about 5-6 hours of work per week.


I must respectfully disagree. If you want a low-maintenance planted tank, read up on the Walstad method on the El Natural forum. No fertilization, minimal water changes--it works!


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## JNB (Feb 27, 2011)

Thanks for you input guys. I bought a bristlenose pleco in the hopes that it would stay small and stick to the algae. Maybe it was a bad decision. I guess I'll see how it goes. The tank has been up for about a month and the plants I put in there (wisteria, melon sword, windelov, moneywort, and a few others) have been growing quite well. For now I'll keep my fingers crossed, try some generic fertilizer and if it all dies, I'll just do something with rocks. I can't bear the thought of plastic plants! Maybe the Walstad method with a second tank.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Your bristlenose pleco will be fine--they only grow to 4" or 5". Do feed it some fresh veggies; blanched zuchinni, cucumber, or spinach. Lots of people stick a slice of these on a fork and put the whole thing in the tank. The fork holds the veggie in one place for the pleco to eat.

It might help with the kids, "See, little Yoda eats his vegetables!"


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## JNB (Feb 27, 2011)

Thanks! By the way, I have just been informed that his name is Al, not "that icky Yoda". I like Yoda better, but who can argue with three females?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Yoda is his surname, Icky is his middle name. Al Icky Yoda. If you say it fast, it sounds vaguely Middle Eastern.


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## evanluke (Jan 26, 2010)

How much light do you have?

How hard is your water out of the tap?

How often many fish do you have or plan on keeping?

How often and what quantity do you plan to do water changes?

What type of substrate do you have?

Given the answers to these questions, you can construct something sustainable with some products that you pick up at the local fish store.

If you keep a lot of fish and don't have very bright lights, your Nitrogen and Phosphorus needs will probably be taken care of.

Then you should look to dose a comprehensive supplement that has trace elements like Flourish Comprehensive and perhaps some extra potassium. If you have hard water out of the tap and change water regularly, then that would be a good start. If you have soft water out of the tap, you might harden it with a product like Seachem Equilibrium and use it whenever you change water.

If you have brighter lights, then dosing a liquid carbon supplement like Flourish Excel or API's CO2 Booster would also help.


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

If you're worried about Kool-Aid and oreos getting in your tank, I have to wonder whether your kids are able to access the tank without your supervision.

If so, I would strongly advise getting a canopy that you can lock to keep your kids out of the tank for their own safety.

While extremely rare, there are very serious diseases which can be passed to humans through their aquariums. I have never known a pet store to inform its customers about these diseases and to advise precautions.

Of course there are other accidents that can happen when you combine unattended children with water, electricity, glass, and live animals.

As far as fertilizing goes... If you keep your tank running with low light, you wont require much fertilization. Decomposing fish waste will provide some amount of fertilization, and depending on the level of light, number of fish, type of substrate, water parameters, and type of plants, you may not need any fertilization whatsoever.

The simplest thing I could think of doing would be to go with low light, and just put some very hardy low-light plants in, like that windelov, or java moss, and just see if they'll grow without any ferts. If they seem to be having problems, small doses of Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive can be added, or for root-feeders like your sword, root tabs may be a better solution.

Then there's the Walstad method which is very low-tech and aims to be low-maintenance but which requires a little more understanding if you're willing to do the research.


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

Skizhx said:


> While extremely rare, there are very serious diseases which can be passed to humans through their aquariums. I have never known a pet store to inform its customers about these diseases and to advise precautions.


I've been keeping tropical aquaria for more than 50 years and never heard of any serious diseases which can be passed to humans through my aquaria. 
Do you have any links to these diseases??? You have me worried now. I spend a lot of time in my aquaria cleaning, pruning, siphoning etc. Should I stop?


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/pub/FHinfo/fhinfo03.php?0308

I'll say again, they are very rare, but if you do happen to get them, some of them can be extremely serious. From what I've read they can be fatal if not treated properly, and may result in the removal of the affected area to cure it.

People can go their whole lives working with their aquariums and never get sick from it.

However people have gotten sick from their aquariums before, it is possible, and does happen. Prevention is as simple as wearing gloves so you're not getting wet, and not sucking on your water change hose to start the siphon.

I believe there are more than just those in that link, though the mycobacteriosis and nocardiosis (fish tuberculosis) is the big one most people will mention.

You can find more links if you just google it.


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## JNB (Feb 27, 2011)

I put some Flourish in about 8 days ago. I know it is too soon to judge, but at least so far everything is still happy, still has great color and is growing. Only time will tell, I guess.


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

Skizhx said:


> http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/pub/FHinfo/fhinfo03.php?0308
> 
> I'll say again, they are very rare, but if you do happen to get them, some of them can be extremely serious. From what I've read they can be fatal if not treated properly, and may result in the removal of the affected area to cure it.
> .


Now I'm worried about going swimming and handling fish when I clean them. I guess shushi is out (and I really love tuna).
I'm not sure I like knowing this information.


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## Dave-H (Oct 5, 2010)

I'm sure there are some diseases but I'm skeptical that they pose a significant risk.

It seems to me that as long as you are happy with VERY undemanding plants you'll be fine. Get some Java moss, maybe Java fern, a banana plant and a container of Flourish. You will probably get some plant growth even with crap lighting


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

ray-the-pilot said:


> Now I'm worried about going swimming and handling fish when I clean them. I guess shushi is out (and I really love tuna).
> I'm not sure I like knowing this information.


I'm sure if it was that common sushi wouldn't be so popular and there would be an epidemic in countries where fish comprise a large part of their diet, and every person in the world would be aware of it.

Articles I've read though have given basic advice like making sure to wash thoroughly after cleaning fish. Being careful not to cut your hand on anchor ropes, if you do, allow the cut to bleed a bit to flush out the bacteria, and other simple advice like taking extra precautions if you're immune system is weakened due to AIDS, chemotherapy, age, etc.

As far as aquariums go, just don't start your gravel siphon with your mouth, be aware of any cuts on your hands or arms, and wash thoroughly after working in your tank, or wear gloves.

I only mention this risk because it sounds like there's very young kids with possible access to this tank. Kids get all sorts of cuts and scrapes and may not think twice about sticking their hands in their mouths or something... I think it's also just good to be aware of in case you do ever catch something and need to go to the doctor.


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