If cost is a concern, you can use PMDD, it is much cheaper than those prepared formula.
Hi guys,
Just curious that anyone ever try to use chicken/cow poo fertilizer sold at florist shops as base fertilizer?
Thinking of using it to reduce the maintenance cost
I reckon the ammonia level will definitiely rise to dangerous level!
Appreciate advices...
If cost is a concern, you can use PMDD, it is much cheaper than those prepared formula.
Wow! then your tank will smell like shit.
I think better don't try this at home.
I don't think I'll do it if I were you, because although it may prove to make your plants go boom in growth, the slightest bit of leakage will give you green water ('cause of the ammonia and it's compounds)
I think better not use them as base fertiliser. They are "too fertile". Try something less potent.
I used potting soil (cocopeat) -- quite cheap at $2 a pack at Cold Storage. You may want to read more at http://home.infinet.net/teban/index.html
koah fong
Juggler's tanks
Agree with squee...
will DEFINATELY give you greenwater..
Other then the smell, i think it is quite an interesting experiment if you could.. do the testing for us!
The plant farm uses them with great success.
人的一生﹐ 全靠奮斗﹐ 唯有奮斗﹐ 才能成功
Yah... Do lah... For the better of man kind...
Haha... I think I'll give it a miss liao!
Guys, thanks for the input/advices
I think some $$$ are not meant to be saved.
Originally Posted by juggler
Hi juggler,
Thanks for the suggestion, will give a try using my 2 ft tank and update you guys soon.
A number of folks have tried ferts like this.
With generally poor results algae wise.
Key things:
Boil for 10-15 min or soak the ferts for 3 weeks in shallow tray and water.
Some suggested worm castings and boil for 10 minutes as a shallow base layer(1/2" or so), with a 3" cap or so. The boiling process is oxidation, so the NH4=> NO3 fast as well as breaking down other organic complexes.
Add lots(as many as will fit) of plants from the first day, do not uproot anything for the first 1-2 months(things Amano does not tell you).
Regards,
Tom Barr
I did tried oganic chicken matters as base fert. Works pretty well. Sheep matters does create some problems somehow.
Vincent
If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere. - Vincent Van Gogh
Hi Tom,Originally Posted by Plantbrain
Thanks for the information, will try it out (if time permits) and post the result (good or bad).
Good luck!
If you've learnt, teach, if you have, give.
Don't walk behind me as I might not lead, don't walk in front of me as I might not follow. Walk beside me, as my friend.
Mohamad Rohaizal is my name. If it's too hard, use BFG. I don't mind.
Hey there people! Yes, I've used sheep manure before. Though its not in an aquarium. Used it for my water lily vats outside (in KL). You know, those big ceramic pots for growing water lilies?
I mix the pellets with topsoil (laterite) then put it into the pot. Mostly I have them in the upper layers of soil. Then I plant the lily and fill it with water. Also put in a few pinches of blood and bone for phosphorus. I normally put salvinia in while waiting for the waterlily pads to fill up the surface. They fill up quickly and blocked all light to the bottom. Then I remove the salvinia. I've once tried without salvinia and the water turned green in a matter of days. Probably a combo of new soil and manure. With salvinia, water is crystal clear underneath, with a lot of minute insects(waterfleas?) swimming around. Never seem to get mosquitoes like this too.
Oh, the pot is in a position with morning till mid-afternoon direct sunshine, in the garden, tropical temperatures of 28-34 celsius. Pot and water heats up significantly mid-day. Gets quite cold during rainy days and night time (ceramic conducts well maybe?). Replenish after few months by inserting the pellets into the soil, much like inserting Jobes plant food sticks into aquarium substrate. Oh and the waterlilies loved it. Bright green pads and endless flowers, one after another, replacing the old ones. Purple petals and golden yellow stamens variety with a nice scent.
I guess because I'm only interested in the above water plant growth, I dont really mind the greenwater(it resolves spontaneously sometimes). Having said that, I've thrown in some offcuts of hornwort, cabomba and rotala and they do well, even under the pads.
Nowadays, I use slow release pelleted fertiliser (Horti or Osmocote) stuffed into the middle of clay balls, rather like making 'tang yuan' ( got that anyone?). Mom says it looks like I'm making poo 'tang yuan' coz its brown and slimy. Roll it in your palms and sun it to dry. Then I insert into the soil.
I would much recommend this sky71, over the organics. Also, the manure make some parts of the soil anoxic. I've once unpotted a lily and found some black areas in the soil which smelled like hydrogen sulfide. The lily roots traversing the area was black too. I've never tried chicken before, but I think it has a very high nitrogen content. Mom put too much of it over the chilli plants and they burned.
Regards
Min
Regards
MIN
Oh and another thing, Tom mentioned to soak them in water. Just be mindful that it would be very, and I mean very, smelly. That's how they make 'manure tea' for terrestrial plants. Some people swear by it for tender tropicals like begonias (leaf types) and Gesneriads (African violets). They use the water though. Personally, mom would kill me if I kept a jar of manure soaking anywhere near the house. Could try it though, just for the fun of it.
Min
Regards
MIN
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