Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum and it's great to know we have locals to share this hobby with.
Since I am new to planted aquriums, just need some advice as I am really confuse with the kind of fertilizer needed for my planted tank.There are just so many types in the market. Don't kow where to start.Just set up my tank 2 weeks ago and don't know what to get for dosing.
On top of it i uderstand that there is a constant need to check the ph,kh & gh. so when should I need to check this.
Have my diy CO2 just set up, a lot of bubble, I think I need to check th CO2 level also right.
So you can see I am totally an idiot when I come to this new hobby.

Need some advice n what to aspect.

Thanks and Rgds.
Lawrence

Hi Lawrence,

Welcome on board. What type of plants do you hv? If your tank just with mosses, liquid fertilizer will be enough. You can get the Sera, ADA, Dennerle or JBL products. The rest...not so usefull. Or you can get the PMDD which is the formula mixed by member in here.

Beside liquid fertilizer, you can get the base fertilizer or those tablet/tube fertilizer which you can put inside the gravel.

Since you are using DIY CO2...it is hard for you to adjust the bubbles and find out the PH level. And how are you getting the CO2 dissolve into the water? By diffusor? by reactor?

Perhaps, you can post the pic of your tank. Let experts in here to give some comments n advices.

Hi Lawrence,

Welcome to this forum! I manage to set up a 4 ft tank with the help from forumers here. I'm sure you'll be successful too with the help from the forumers here.

Can you let us know how dense and what plants that you hv there in your tank? As a beginer, I would suggest the following:-

GH ~ 3 - 6 dH
KH ~ 3 - 4 dH
pH ~ 6.6 - 6.8

With DIY CO2, I guess you may have difficulty to sustain a constant pH value. I would strongly suggest you try Flourish Excel as additional Carbon supplement in addition to your DIY CO2. This will ensure that your tank is not C limited.

Need more information b4 I can give further suggestion on fert dosing.
How about the substrate? Any fert?

rgds
Yean Chon

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the reply, currently in my tank I have planted some water wisteria, synema triflorum, ludwidgia vallis and sword plants. The front portion of the tank is not fill up yet, any suggestion.

As for the CO2, I got this Nurafin canister which comes with a dispenser, so i am using that. Just install a CO2 indicator today from Sera. CO2 level looks good.Also just bought this bio-ball type of diffuser today, might use that later.


My 3ft tank layout is attached, where :
1. Synema triflorum(I think)
2. water wisteria (hygrophila)
3. Vallis
4. Ludwigia
5. swordplant

sorry could not get a picture, hopefully I could borrow a digital camera.

Rgds.

Attached Images

 

Hi Lawrence,
How many watt per US gallon you have there for your 3ft tank?
Hygro, Vallis and ludwigia are all fast growers. They will use up most of the nutrients available given sufficient light and CO2. I don't rely on CO2 indicator. Instead, I depend on KH and pH tester to tell me the exact amount of CO2. One thing to cautious you about the CO2 indicator - always check and ensure no bubble trapped underneath the indicator. Else, it will give you false reading.

Frankly speaking, I don't think the Nutrafin stuff is sufficient for a 3ft tank. Unless you're going for low light approach, which is less than 1.5W/USG. If you're going for low light approach, you can give the following foreground plants a try:-

1. Anubias nana
2. Cryptocoryne Wenditi
3. Cryptocoryne Parva
4. Moss

rgds
Yean Chon

Thanks Yeanchon, for the reply. well, i am running 2x 25W FL light.Actually It came together with the light I bought, Resun is the name. It has a switch to either go for a single FL or double. I am not sure if its too much for my plants. So far by the looks of it my plants are OK.

As for the PH And Kh reading, what do you recommend. Actually I am still looking for some crypt fo my foregnd, any idea which LFS have those.

I have stop using the Nutrafin, instead I been using the diy CO2 attched to this revolving bio-balls. My nutrafin did not work out, I am not sure why...after >24hrs waiting for the bubbles nothing happen decided to go onn Diy, and its working great.

Rgds.