Which Macro plant fertiliser?

[Aquanoob]

I am buying a Macro plant fertiliser to add to my planted tank. Currently I am using Seachem Flourish for the micro needs and Seachem Excel to supply the carbon. I know that Wonder-gro Macro and Lushgro Aqua, which does not contain Phosphorus (P) and Ferka, are some of the macro fertilisers brand, any got good experience with them? What other brand can I consider, or do I have to do the mixing of macro myself to achieve better results?
Thank you

[KWL]

KNO3 or CANO3, KH2PO4 and K2SO4 ... basically dry fertilizer, very cheap.

Also you can dose individually using Seachem Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphate

[diazman]

I am buying a Macro plant fertiliser to add to my planted tank. Currently I am using Seachem Flourish for the micro needs and Seachem Excel to supply the carbon. I know that Wonder-gro Macro and Lushgro Aqua, which does not contain Phosphorus (P) and Ferka, are some of the macro fertilisers brand, any got good experience with them? What other brand can I consider, or do I have to do the mixing of macro myself to achieve better results?
Thank you

hi bro. i have used wondergro macro and micro together before and i can say that its one powerful fertilizer . dose more than the recommended amount and the tank will be algae full

[Ben555]

Hi diazman,

are you saying that we should NOT dose more then the recommended amount?

[Shadow]

dose more than the recommended amount and the tank will be algae full

Its a myth unless you dose ammonia

[reveru]

actually i find that dosing of fert's is largely subjective to the amount of plants you have in the tank (and of course their growth characteristics). recommended dosage is just an estimate, your dosage can be more and can be less, depending on the flora in your tank. algae bloom is an indicator of overdose for your particular tank/flora setup.

so perhaps to start off, i don't think brand matter that much but i would advise you to stick to more established brands. as for dosing, recommend that you start with small doses and monitor your tank before increasing the dosing. not necessarily must be more or less than the recommended dosage. if the plants respond well to small doses, just stick to it, until you see that perhaps the growth rate exceeds the dosing again, then you increase the dosage accordingly. bottomline is be patient and observe your flora more. hope this helps!

[blue33]

Brand is just a name, the actual content of the ferts is more important, all these are nothing but from dry salt mixed with water. The only difference you maybe paying for is more or less water in the bottle. More ferts will not create algae, but if you have a dead plant inside the tank, they maybe a timebomb for algae BOOM. What plant absorbed initially when die will release back to the water column.

[Cross]

Can try the lushgro or wondergro series for a general coverage of the macro and micro, can slowly explore the EI regime in progression

[diazman]

Its a myth unless you dose ammonia

my apologies. forgot to include the ammonia. thanks for the heads up bro!

[diazman]

Hi diazman,

are you saying that we should NOT dose more then the recommended amount?

nope. thats not my point . like bro shadow said unless its ammonia, then algae BOOM. IME i did tried overdosed it was a disaster

overdosed = some plant suffered burns = some died and algae overtook my tank.

correct me if im wrong please

[blue33]

Never heard plant burn. Water temperature could be the issue.

[diazman]

Never heard plant burn. Water temperature could be the issue.

my nana suffered that few months back. wasnt pretty sight lol. could 27C be the issue?

p.s : at that point of time i was very noob in planted tanks lol.just bought fertilizers and anyhow dose only

[diazman]

Also included that most of my livestock that died following the overdose incident

[blue33]

How much is your over dose?

[diazman]

How much is your over dose?

well i wasnt quite sure how much i did dump fertilizers into the tank at that time but did remember that i used all the sachem and wondergro together at one go . realizing my mistake, i didnt start to build another tank until i fully understand.blame myself for not reading enough

[Shadow]

Just to make you feel better, my tank NO3 concentration was 80ppm plus and another tank event higher to the point that the test kit unable to measure. The test kit was tested accurate using ref solution. The best part is fishes are OK, cherry and yamato shrimps are OK, no algae at least not that I can see.

So yes it is way above the recommended dosage which is 30ppm a week or 4ppm a day. By the way I'm NOT suggesting that you dose 80ppm. I myself surprise to find out the NO3 concentration so high. I was never measure it before until my colleague lend me his test kit.

[blue33]

I do agree with Shadow, our EI dosage is way above the recommended and even higher till test kit cant measure and yet we dont see out fauna die and no algae issue at all, except i notice for Potassium Sulfate at high dosage the shrimps will die.

[diazman]

I do agree with Shadow, our EI dosage is way above the recommended and even higher till test kit cant measure and yet we dont see out fauna die and no algae issue at all, except i notice for Potassium Sulfate at high dosage the shrimps will die.

im not sure what i did. but i guess the faunas were unhealthy also i guess..

[ajax_84]

where can we get lushgro or wondergro?

[KWL]

NA have it. The shop is opposite thomson medical center