# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Pharmacy's Iron tablets



## Planted Engineer (Jan 15, 2004)

Hi,

Bought some Iron supplements @ Sav-on drugs last week -

Which one could be burried in my tank's substrate and is safe and recommended?

*Ferrous Sulfate by Nature's valley *


















*Ferrous Sulfate by Albertsons*



















*Carbonyl Iron by Sundown*










Calcium 117 mg
Iron (as carbonyl iron) 50 mg










*Fergon (ferrous gluconate)*



















PE.


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## Planted Engineer (Jan 15, 2004)

Hi,

Bought some Iron supplements @ Sav-on drugs last week -

Which one could be burried in my tank's substrate and is safe and recommended?

*Ferrous Sulfate by Nature's valley *


















*Ferrous Sulfate by Albertsons*



















*Carbonyl Iron by Sundown*










Calcium 117 mg
Iron (as carbonyl iron) 50 mg










*Fergon (ferrous gluconate)*



















PE.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

I've used something similar to the Fergon iron before as a substrate suppliment. It worked.

The ferrous sulfate suppliments look very similar. I've always advised against using ferrous sulfate because it oxidizes so quickly. But what the heck, you could give it a try and report back. You can also get ferrous sulfate in garden centers in large quantities cheap.

I don't know what carbonyl iron is, so I have nothing to say about it.

Roger Miller

------------
_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2004)

I have added Fergon to my tanks. You can also get generic Iron gluconate tablets that have a higher iron content too.

I had good success with them. The tabs would take several hours to dissolve and I would get a good Fe reading on a test kit (LaMotte) soon after, but the next day it was gone. Iron doesn't seem to hang around very long in any form.

Anyway, I didn't have any problems. It's a fairly cheap method too. I had it all figured out how many tabs would give me how many ppm Fe.

Ben

www.aquatic-plants.org


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## Planted Engineer (Jan 15, 2004)

OK, 

So focusing on this Fergon - 

It contains Sucrose... - is it healthy to put sucrose in my tank????

The main ingredient seems to be Ferrous Gluconate - It is my understanding that if each tablet contains true 27 mg of Iron then 2 such tables dropped into my 190 gallon water column and dissolved as testified here - should provide me with 0.1 ppm of Iron on the test kit and since this is Ferrous Gluconate then I wouldn't see it the day after that.

But my intention was to have a slow root feeding tablet - one that you put inside the substrate and it stays there for weeks... So if I put it there - will it dissolve slowly but surely? Will I get the 'slow Fe' effect but with a much better biologically available iron?

PE.


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## Guest (Mar 15, 2004)

I don't know if it is OK to put sugar in your tank, but I've put many of these tabs in my tank and never had a trouble. I doubt the amount of sugrar is really significant. It's only part of the coating of the pill that makes it slick and taste better. Kinda like a M&M.

I probably wouldn't be the best to answer what would be the best as far as what to put into your substrate. From that respect, I would say about any iron. Flourish tabs are great.

Good Luck,
Ben

www.aquatic-plants.org


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Sucrose in the aquarium is bacteria food. It doesn't last long. It isn't necessarily good, but in small quantities it won't hurt anything, either. You should be able to find some without sucrose.

When I was using ferrous gluconate tablets for substrate dosing I needed to repeat the dose every 6 weeks or so. The iron doesn't spread itself around in the substrate. The dose is only good for what ever plant or plants has its roots around the tablet.

Roger Miller

------------
_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Planted Engineer (Jan 15, 2004)

Roger,

Just to make sure that I fully understand,

Did you measure more Fe in the water column? 

Were u dosing liquid iron on top of those tablets as usual?

How could you tell that the magic was gone after 6 weeks or so???

PE.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

> quote:
> 
> Did you measure more Fe in the water column?


I don't use iron tests. When I first used ferrous gluconate tablets the tank I tested them on was very iron deficient. The observable effect from the dose was limited to those plants that were immediately around the bit of iron tablet that I put into the substrate. I concluded that the iron did not get into the water column, otherwise the improvement would have appeared everywhere.



> quote:
> 
> Were u dosing liquid iron on top of those tablets as usual?


No. I don't know why I would do that.



> quote:
> 
> How could you tell that the magic was gone after 6 weeks or so???


No magic. New growth on fast-growing plants would start developing a minor case of interveinal chlorosis. That could have been caused by a number of deficiencies, but it was cured by a new iron dose.

The actual time necessary before dosing again varied from plant to plant and from tank to tank. Your experience will vary too, I'm sure.

Roger Miller

------------
_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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