ideal NPK for artificial fertilizer ?

[peterkoh]

hi folks,

i went to the nursery next to amk library over the weekend to get some indoor plants and came across a wide variety of fertilizers. this is where i got to know that indoor plants, esp. those that flowers are equaly demanding in getting nutrients (weekly) and avoid over watering at all cost (which kills most indoor plants). they sell those crystal type where you dissolve into water with varying npk values and most come with the essential trace minerals inc iron and even vit b1. All very affordable at $3+ a pack.

What is the ideal npk for water plants ? one type has 12-12-35 for mango trees. anything else i shd take note of or be cautious ?

thks.

[peterkoh]

hi folks,

i went to the nursery next to amk library over the weekend to get some indoor plants and came across a wide variety of fertilizers. this is where i got to know that indoor plants, esp. those that flowers are equaly demanding in getting nutrients (weekly) and avoid over watering at all cost (which kills most indoor plants). they sell those crystal type where you dissolve into water with varying npk values and most come with the essential trace minerals inc iron and even vit b1. All very affordable at $3+ a pack.

What is the ideal npk for water plants ? one type has 12-12-35 for mango trees. anything else i shd take note of or be cautious ?

thks.

[peterkoh]

hi folks,

i went to the nursery next to amk library over the weekend to get some indoor plants and came across a wide variety of fertilizers. this is where i got to know that indoor plants, esp. those that flowers are equaly demanding in getting nutrients (weekly) and avoid over watering at all cost (which kills most indoor plants). they sell those crystal type where you dissolve into water with varying npk values and most come with the essential trace minerals inc iron and even vit b1. All very affordable at $3+ a pack.

What is the ideal npk for water plants ? one type has 12-12-35 for mango trees. anything else i shd take note of or be cautious ?

thks.

[peterkoh]

hi folks,

i went to the nursery next to amk library over the weekend to get some indoor plants and came across a wide variety of fertilizers. this is where i got to know that indoor plants, esp. those that flowers are equaly demanding in getting nutrients (weekly) and avoid over watering at all cost (which kills most indoor plants). they sell those crystal type where you dissolve into water with varying npk values and most come with the essential trace minerals inc iron and even vit b1. All very affordable at $3+ a pack.

What is the ideal npk for water plants ? one type has 12-12-35 for mango trees. anything else i shd take note of or be cautious ?

thks.

[Allen_1971]

you'll typically find that fertilizers for fruits usually have high K... so its not surprising that the mango one is 12-12-35...

Besides these you should look out for the N, how much is soluble and how much is insoluble... lots of ferts use a % of soluble urea to get N... and also take a look out for the phosphate levels... most terrestrial ferts don't pay much attention to this. For aquariums we typically try to keep our phosphates low.

Typical land ferts used are jobes sticks and also horti plant tabs...

[vinz]

Better to keep P and Fe in the substrate then in the water. So go for solid ferts to stick into the substrate. Pick something with low P.

[bclee]

The N-P-K requirement is basically dependant on your water parameter. What you want is the end result, e.g. 10ppm NO3, 0.2ppm PO4, 20ppm K. The N-P-K added is to top up what is short in your tap water and what is consumed by the plant.

As Allen mentioned, most fertiliser for terrestrial plants contains urea which is poisonous to fishes and algae causing. It is unwise to dose this fertiliser into the water column. However, you can use those in tabs or spike form rather than those crystals, but ensure to stick it deep into the substrate and not to disturb it after that.

To dose N-P-K, I suggest you use KNO3, KH2PO4 and K2SO4 instead. You can control the amount of N, P and K separately.

BC

[vinz]

Or if you have small tank... wait for SeaChem Flourish N and P to hit the shelves in SG. Suppose to be sometime late this year.

[tawauboy]

i have used a terrestrial fertilizer called blau from behn meyer. can't remember the exact composition but the p component is single digit. also it has trace elements.
what i did was mix about 10g into 100ml of water and i used a syringe to inject the solution into the gravel. i did not face any problem and plant growth is fine. there is some leeching with no3 figures like 20ppm, p about 1ppm.