I spend about 20-minutes each Saturday performing this weekly maintenance. Consider increasing your fertilization frequency to twice-per-week if you notice symptoms of nutrient deficiency in your plants. Once your planted tank is established, you can dial back the maintenance to once-per-week.Įvery week, do a 20% water change and re-dose nitrates to 20ppm using an all-in-one liquid fertilizer. Once the list above is complete we can begin the 3-week fertilization regime to initiate some healthy plant growth, while minimizing algae. Your first dose of liquid fertilizer has been added, creating a nitrate concentration of 20ppm.Plants have been planted in the substrate and.Root tabs have been added 4-6 inches apart throughout the tank.A filter has been installed with an appropriate flow rate for planted tanks.
A heater with the correct wattage for our tank volume has been set to an appropriate temperature (72-80 degrees Fahrenheit).Conditioned water has been added and measured for pH.1.5-2 inches of substrate added to tank.As a result, a more rigorous maintenance routine at the beginning will help to prevent algae growth.īelow is my suggested fertilization process for the first three weeks: First three weeksįirst, let’s assume our new tank has a “baseline” set up. However, I recommend conducting more frequent water changes and fertilization dosing during the first three weeks so the plants can start growing roots, acclimate to the water conditions, and start consuming nutrients in larger quantities.ĭuring this initial 3-week period while the plants are not fully established, opportunistic algae will start to take over the tank by consuming excess light and nutrients. Once a low-tech planted aquarium has been established, it usually only takes a small amount of work once-per-week to maintain. Fertilization before a tank has been established
Although each company’s fertilizer contains slightly different composition from the rest, they will all allow aquarists to successfully grow plants in a low-tech environment. Once a tank has been established after a few weeks, the routine involves dosing all-in-one liquid fertilizer once or twice per week, and root tabs once per month.īoth the root tabs and liquid fertilizers are sold by a variety of companies. Low-tech planted tanks require a relatively simple fertilization routine.
0 kommentar(er)
