Sugar as fertiliser

**limsteel** · 1st Apr 2006, 17:23

Anyone tried it before?

My office tank ran out of fert and BBA is slowly getting a grip on the drift wood and plants... I saw a container of Sugar... So in my mind, Sugar is Hydro-Carbon (Sorry, it should be carbohydrate), so Plant should be able to make use of the Carbon...

So I threw a teaspoon weekly in the tank... other then Sugar no other fert is used... Guess what, all the BBA are gone... green algae also minimal but still there.

Ant slowly coming to the office liao!

Am I doing the right thing? Tried to check the net no info on it... wanted to ask sometime back, but afraid kenna flame...

Tank details:
Tank Size: 60cm x 30cm x 48cm
Lighting: 55W PL (I think 8000K)
Photo Hrs: 9 hrs (0830am to 1730pm)
Substrate Used: 3cm "Ocean Free" Bio Red Clay
Base Fert: Nil
Fertilizers: Sugar for pass months
Frequency of fertilization : Once weekly
Type of Filter: HangOn filter Jebo 900ltr/hrs (maybe overrated)
CO2: Nil
Temp: 24 - 26 degree C (Office is Air Con)

Bio Load:
20 - 30 Neon Tetra
Everywhere Malayan Shrimp
2 Black Tetra, 1 Hillstream loach

Plant load:
Crypt, Moss, E. oriental, Blyxa Jarponica.

**CacaManiac** · 1st Apr 2006, 21:03

whoa sugar? i wonder what effect it would have on the fish

**taz_boy** · 1st Apr 2006, 21:17

Originally Posted by CacaManiac

whoa sugar? i wonder what effect it would have on the fish

ur fishes may get diabetes....

**richietay** · 1st Apr 2006, 21:31

Diabetes!!!

BBA infestion, think should remedy in other methods orther than adding sugar!
not too sure any side effect, can anyone share your views?!

**kemp** · 1st Apr 2006, 22:24

geez! That's a really strange alternatives u got there.

But would you end up have ends crowding around your tank due to the 'sweet' water

**Justikanz** · 1st Apr 2006, 22:32

Well, sugar is an organic carbon source... And if you smell Seachem Flourish Excel, it smelled kind of sweet too... But it would be difficult to control how much sugar to add to the tank...

**vratenza** · 2nd Apr 2006, 02:21

sugar is carbohydrate = carbon + oxygen + hydrogen........ It is complex form of energy......... and requires much chemical process to break them down to simpler components .... these usually accelerated by enzymes....... plants are lower lifeform compared to animals thus do not have the necessary enzymes/process to break them down..... other than some occasional ones eg.... yeast.......

so in summary. no way can it be served as fert/carbon source for plants....... maybe if u set up an ant vivarium?

**juggler** · 2nd Apr 2006, 08:24

Lim:

What fertilising were you doing before it ran out? Trace elements only or with macros?

This is my guess:

Your tank is non-CO2 and no base fert. Maybe you were already over-dosing in the first place and therefore got BBA and green algae. When you stopped fertilising, the algae slowly went away - whether you add sugar or not.

How about stopping the sugar and see if the algae returns?

**limsteel** · 2nd Apr 2006, 10:47

haha, I know sure kenna flame...

Anyway, I stop fert (LG Aqua and Micro) a few month back... Use up all, as I am in the mist of shifting home, so No tank, no point buying more fert... Also there are DIY CO2 but got no time to look after... so depleted months ago too.

Before that, there are no algae... plants are growing fine... occasional spot algae on glass and on some leave of the crypt.

After Fert stop, BBA slowly came in. Hair algae also infected some moss (remove the patch immediate) BBA, attack the E Oriental, Crypt and Moss... after adding sugar, the BBA went away... Kinda funny...

Plants need to CO2 to create their own sugar, now I put in sugar seems like they need to break down sugar and recreat their own glucose... Abit LPPL if you know what I mean... Will stop Sugar and see whether BBA came back... Updates in a few months time!

**GaspingGurami** · 2nd Apr 2006, 17:10

Read somewhere that the organic carbon in Excel is possibly a form of sugar. Maybe there's some kinda bacteria in your filter that has grown up to absorb the sugar and return it back to CO2 for the plants?

I had once toyed with the idea of feeding plants with some ethanol to see if over time, (some bacteria will find it conducive to set up shop to break this down) the plants can benefit from the extra carbon source.

Please update us your observations.

**limsteel** · 3rd Apr 2006, 19:27

Got a co-worker, saw me putting in Sugar so he decides to try it too!

Over the weekend, he put in 1 teaspoon into 4ft x 1½ x 1½ tank ... then the next day, all his livestock died...

He tells me that his tank become cloudy and he can't make it in time to change water.

So try at own risk...

Anyway, I did lots of funny out of the norm thingy to my office tank...

I even feed my Neon KongGuan Cream Cracker when my fish food ran out. they seems to enjoy it and malayan also feast greedily! I did buy flake food which the fishes doesn't even wanna look at it (Ocean Free $2 Yellow bottle brown cap flakes).

Someone used my Fish tank sponge to wash dishes... And I accidentally put in the soapy sponge to clean the tank... Right at the same SUAY SUAY moment Manager walked in... cannot change water, then I was busy the whole day only managed to change water in the evening... Fish still survive...

Power trip at my section of office, from friday to Monday morning. No filter, no light, no air-con... no casualty..

So I can say all my fishes are commando trained.

**avant** · 3rd Apr 2006, 19:51

haa... your fishes got a hard life...

**Leonard** · 3rd Apr 2006, 20:31

the fish must be very well trained if not they must be very lucky to survive all these hardship...

**ahkarboy** · 3rd Apr 2006, 22:25

It should be okay because i make my own fert with some sugar in it. No effects on fishes though. But mind you, mine is mixed up not concentrated like limsteel.

**MatthewS** · 3rd Apr 2006, 22:33

Plants are mostly composed of complex sugars - starches, cellulose etc.. all just complex chains of sugar. Your average tank is absolutely swarming with bacteria that will eat those sugars and respire c02. Just observe how long it takes a dead plant to disintegrate to nothing in your tank. That's the magic of bacteria at work. They eat the sugars n give off CO2. How much easier for them to eat your white processed sugar. By adding sugar you are adding a carbon source that's rapidly converted to co2 - I doubt you're getting high levels but maybe its enough. Your tank with no base fert and no CO2 injection is probably CO2 limited. You add carbon source and maybe the plants grow a bit bettern n outcompete the Algae that tend to thrive best where higher plants cant'. I agree above comments - try to stop the sugar and see what happens. Maybe measure c02 (ph/kh) while your at it to see if there's a measurable difference.