henward Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 i am ondering, the lfs obviously push products to me but i put JBL fert balls in the gravel it says it releases iron slowly the lfs says it doesnt so i buy liquid iron, potassium and exel carbon do i need the liquids? or can i just use the fert balls and give good light and thats it? so many liquids and stuff the tank isnt HEAVILY planted i would say its medium to a little less than medium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Try PMDD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Fert balls are good for heavy root feeders like Amazon swords or Crypts. They are enough micronutrient for most stem plants as well. Iron is good for encouraging red plants to go red but they will grow quite well without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 What sort of plants are you growing?? JBL balls are great for swords and crypts that are heavy root feeders, but they dont do a lot to help stemplants that absorb nutrients from the water column. This is were liquid ferts are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 fert balls, iron, potassium, carbon...what do i need IMO fert balls are good - you put them in once (when you plant a root-feeding plant) then forget them. Nice & easy. For ferts in the water column you can use one of the commercial brews, but with slow-release fert balls and only a few plants, you may be able to get away with a fraction of the recommended dose. A little & often is far better than a great big dose once every few weeks. A well balanced liquid fert (or well balanced PMDD) will supply all the micronutrients you will need, especially given you are likely to have fairly easy-care plants. As for the carbon, wait until everything is properly established and well balanced before you start worrying about it. There is quite an art to proper CO2 dosing, so in my opinion it will just be an extra expense that you'll be better spending on your substrate, lighting etc. for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted December 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 I see, so the JBL fert balls re generally ok. plants below: Stargrass cyprus crypts swords tiger lots hairgrass? wysteria anubias (a green one and a white speckled white) ambulia I dont have any red plants except one sort with red leaves, red-ish leaves. the stargrass has heaps of roots in the gravel! it has roots everywhere lol, it seems that the root on the stargrass, abulia, wysteria grows roots everywhere lol they all ave plenty of roots in the gravel though. i hate putting the ferts in the water, and its a waste of money! if i can avoid it. they are all starting to thrive now, the crypts grows average 2 new leave sprouts a day. one amazon is kinda struggling the other one is thrving. star grass is thriving. cyprus is slow, so are the anubias, grow slowly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted December 11, 2008 Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 I see, so the JBL fert balls re generally ok. plants below: Stargrass cyprus crypts swords tiger lots hairgrass? wysteria anubias (a green one and a white speckled white) ambulia I dont have any red plants except one sort with red leaves, red-ish leaves. the stargrass has heaps of roots in the gravel! it has roots everywhere lol, it seems that the root on the stargrass, abulia, wysteria grows roots everywhere lol they all ave plenty of roots in the gravel though. i hate putting the ferts in the water, and its a waste of money! if i can avoid it. they are all starting to thrive now, the crypts grows average 2 new leave sprouts a day. one amazon is kinda struggling the other one is thrving. star grass is thriving. cyprus is slow, so are the anubias, grow slowly Stargrass is going to grow like a weed soon. Youw ill hate it soon. Anubias is a slow growing plant Liquid fert in the water isnt a waste of money :-? Pay for postage and ill send you some PMDD(200g), or ill throw some in with the bichirs :lol: Should last you for ages. I see henward wanting metal halides and CO2 soon hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted December 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 hey hans i do hav emetal halides:D in my mates garage, no time to set it up or no room YET. next march april im moving houses and will set up my 1200 litre to be aplanted metal halide'd planted tank with and RTG aro, about 15 clown loaches, Clown knife and a royal pleco, maye delhezi too. but for now, i only have 3 t8 tubes on my 6 footer. what is a pmdd?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted December 11, 2008 Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 My mix will contain: 53% Magnesium Sulfate 23% Potassium Sulfate 14% Trace element mix 10% Potassium nitrate I can do custom ratios and leave out any of the above chemicals For every 100g of PMDD you will need to add 500ml of water. I suggest you only mix up only enough for 2-4 weeks supply. Keep the PPMD out of the light in a dry place. For each ten gallons, try around 1/12 ml of PMDD a day (roughly 2 drops). A 29 gallon tank would then get 1/4 ml a day (roughly 6 drops). If you don't do many partial water changes, dose less. If you have a "high tech", densely planted, CO2 injected, VHO lit tank, you might want to double the dose to 1/6 ml of PMDD per 10 gallons a day (roughly 4 drops). Just make sure you keep an eye on the Nitrate levels when using PMDD. Personally i try and keep it around 5ppm Nitrate. If over dosing this can lead to algae growth and other implications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted December 11, 2008 Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 what is a pmdd?? "Poor Man's Dosing Drops" - basically a home-made liquid fertiliser. I wonder if women are allowed to use it too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted December 11, 2008 Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 "Poor Man's Dosing Drops" - basically a home-made liquid fertiliser. I wonder if women are allowed to use it too? lol This a a family forum :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 11, 2008 Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 You need added ferts. If you are normal Joe Blow fish wast is pretty cheap. If you have metal halides you will need better ferts plus CO2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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