# How should I Fertilize?



## Malefactor (Jan 29, 2014)

Sorry this is such a long post, but wanna make sure I'm being specific as possible. Ok, so this is my first planted tank ever... Actually, this is my first real aquarium ever... Right now, plants are doing... Decently... Not great, but they're all alive and not showing any major deficiencies. Now, I'm about to switch things up in a BIG way.

Right now, I have regular gravel, high lights (Finnex Ray2) and just 2 days ago got a pressurized CO2 setup connected to a Rex Grigg reactor.

Now, today (when i wake up in about 9 hrs) I'll be tearing this tank apart and adding Mineralized Top Soil. This top soil is top notch. It was made in one our local guys gardens that uses organic gardening methods for the past 20 years. Every year he uses natural compost and at the end of the year sifts it and pulls it. It's good in nutrients for roots and perfect consistency... So, for now I'll be set there I'm sure. I'll be adding Muriate of Potash, Red Potters Clay (1 Pound) and Dolomitic Lime then cap it with Black Diamond Blasting Sand

Tank is a 55 Gal and has a good fish load. It's not super over stocked, but it's about at limit for now.
4 Skirt Tetras
3 Clown Loaches (2 are 2.5-3 inch, 1 is about inch - 1.5)
2 Angels (1 about 2-3 inch, 1 just a baby at just around an inch)
2 Dwarf Gourami (1 4 inch flame and 1 2 inch neon)
2 German Blue Rams (about 1.5-2 inch)
1 Siamese Algae Eater
1 Bristlenose Pleco
1 Betta
Ramshorn Snails (only about 4-5 right now, but sure they'll breed)

Water flow is good, using an Eheim 2217 and a Fluval C4... Have an Aquaclear 110 if i need it (Not being used atm) and 2 power heads. Also, for night time aeration i have a 4 port air pump and 1 Sponge filter.

Water parameters are:
6 dkh
6 gh
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
25 nitrate

So, with this load... I'm pretty good on Nitrogen I think. My Nitrates are at about 25ppm on average. I'm also good on Phosphates since i use Seachem's Neutral Regulator which is Phosphate based.
I plan on setting up a system to EI dose with PLANTEX CSM+B from GLA for trace. Now, i have no idea what's in this stuff, but for price / amount it looks like a good deal... 1 Years worth for about $12... 

So, my big question is, what do i do for Macro's? I'm trying to get and keep my Nitrates at about 5-10ppm (plan on using Dividers and breeding within this tank and want it clean as possible). So, what should i get or do to properly dose Macro's without adding a lot of Nitrogen unless it's needed? Also, do i need to add chelated iron to this mix? The tank is fairly well planted. Not overgrown yet, but there's some definite good cover.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Using that soil, you probably will not need to fertilize for 4-6 months, even using high light and CO2. I suggest that in the first few months you keep the light moderate and CO2 low. This will give you time to learn tank maintenance and balance. After that, you can ramp up the light and fertilization.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Malefactor said:


> I'll be adding Muriate of Potash, Red Potters Clay (1 Pound) and Dolomitic Lime then cap it with Black Diamond Blasting Sand


Generally you do not need to add things to soil in order for it to grow plants. Potters clay will not hurt, but I doubt it helps. Clay tends to be rather good at not giving up the nutrients it binds to, so it is unlikely to help. Furthermore, plant roots tend to avoid clay patches since clay is not porous enough to allow good oxygenation around the roots.



Malefactor said:


> So, my big question is, what do i do for Macro's? I'm trying to get and keep my Nitrates at about 5-10ppm (plan on using Dividers and breeding within this tank and want it clean as possible). So, what should i get or do to properly dose Macro's without adding a lot of Nitrogen unless it's needed? Also, do i need to add chelated iron to this mix? The tank is fairly well planted. Not overgrown yet, but there's some definite good cover.


As Michael said, you probably won't have to dose macros or micros for quite some time (I'd say several years). Unless you keep a lot of anubias or java fern attached to wood (they don't generally root into soil layers and depend on the water column for nutrients).

Be aware that you are likely to get spikes of ammonia during the first few weeks, so you might want to house your fish elsewhere.

Also, I personally dislike using soil that is derived from compost. I've seen it cause problems for some people, particularly when the soil becomes anaerobic. This happens because there is so much organic matter for bacteria to eat they use up all the oxygen in the soil and then the soil becomes anaerobic. These conditions are bad for plant roots which need a fairly high level of oxygen to grow properly, and also for fish as hydrogen sulfide tends to form under oxygen free conditions. You'll have to use Malaysian Trumpet Snails to help aerate the soil bed.


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## Malefactor (Jan 29, 2014)

I didn't know i could go that long before i need to fertilize... 

As for the soil, the soil and the plants i have came from the same guy. He uses this soil from his garden every year on his own tank as well with CO2 and 8 T50's... When i went over there, his 110gal tank looked like a 7up bottle from the pearling. I know he adds both Micro and Macro nutrients from GLA, but he said his Nitrates were getting high (about 30-40ppm) so he was gonna quit Macro's and just add potassium and phosphates. He also said he's never had a problem with pH or ammonia spikes from his soil. He keeps discus and angels and doesn't rehouse them, so i would assume he knows what he's talking about. 

I'll try without adding anything for a couple months and see how it goes, but if i do have to start adding stuff later, how would i go about figuring out what it is i do need?

And hello Micheal  I figured this was a good place to ask these questions. Tugg told me about when i joined up on DFW APC


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Hi back, Corey!

Zapins, I know the source of this MTS. It is actually derived from natural topsoil that has been amended with organic matter, so it is not 100% compost. If I had to guess, the organic content is probably around 25%, certainly not more than 50%. These levels are common in old organic vegetable gardens in our area, and much of the organic content has already decomposed to humus.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

That is good news then. As long as it isn't 100% organics like MGOPS.

You'll know what nutrient you need to add if the plants start showing signs of deficiencies. Just post a few photos and I'll ID the nutrient you need if it comes to that. Should take a long while though before the soil is depleted.


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