Best 'ALL IN ONE' Plant Food??

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
P

Peter McFarlane

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 22, 2007
492
1
0
London
Hey guys....

Just recently planted my new tank, I know people say it's best to give each nutrient separately as its cheaper and more effective. But as a noob I'd prefer to use an 'all in one product' till I understand the whole nutrient thing a little better.

Can anyone recommend an 'all in one' product? Ideally something that contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium,iron and magnesium and whatever else my plants need.

Kinda plants I have are...

Hygro polyspermas,ech tenellus,ambulia aquatica,red ludwiga,bacopa monnieri etc

Would be grateful for a recommended product and also how much I should be paying for it.

Thanks :)
 
Pardon my ignorance, but isn't fish waste (and plant waste for that matter) sufficient?
 
I'm not sure, I'm just a noob... lol

I'm assuming it's like land plants, they "can live" on just water and sunshine etc... But give them some plant food and they really thrive and get better coloration etc...

Hoping somebody can enlighten us both on this one Santoury...

Ps. Whats that fish on your avatar?
 
I'd like to know, too.

The avatar is my paradox albino Ethiopian lungfish.
 
Wow looks like a real oddball, got any pic's I can see? I'm really curious, love seeing unusual lookers....
 
Seachem's products will do good. They are not all in one, but they are as close as you will get.
 
santoury;1309166; said:
Pardon my ignorance, but isn't fish waste (and plant waste for that matter) sufficient?
Click to expand...

Just as in terrestrial plants, fertilizers are needed periodically to keep the plants healthy. For a plant store owner, you should know this. In aquaria, fish will primarily produce nitrogen (hopefully you knew that part). Depending on the food, phosphates may/will be produced as well, but not always. Potassium is rarely found in fish foods, and will not be in a great enough amount to keep a properly balanced nutrient ratio. Iron, manganese, magnesium, and sulfates will be too low as well.
 
Sadly there is no all in one, but that's part of the fun of planted aquaria.

The reason there is no all in one is that plants consume different nutrients at different rates, so while you may need to boost your nitrogen by 5ppm, you may not need to dose phosphates at all (and unnecessary phosphate dosing will cause algae to take over).


Learning to dose dry ferts from the begining will save you a lot of money, and is interesting.

I paid $19 for 1lb. each of KN03, KH2P04, and K2S04. I made some 500ml solutions, and these ferts should last my 20g a long time.
 
The 'Seachem' range of fertilizers is hard to beat. Seachem Flourish IME is the best all rounder, however once you get more in-depth about the whole planted setup, buying the other products such as Seachem Iron will also benefit to add in higher amounts depending on the plant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom