THE 2HR AQUARIST
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  • Planted Tank Guide
    • AQUASCAPING IDEAS
    • PLANTED TANK 101
    • CHOOSING A TANK
    • CHOOSING A LIGHT
    • CHOOSING A CO2 SYSTEM
    • CHOOSING SUBSTRATE
    • CHOOSING FERTILIZERS
    • CHOOSING FILTERS
    • CHOOSING PLANTS
    • KEEPING LIVESTOCK
    • ALGAE CONTROL
    • WATER PARAMETERS
    • FAQ
  • Indepth Topics
    • CO2 FINE-TUNING
    • SUBSTRATE IN-DEPTH
    • LIGHT & LIGHTING OPTIMISATION
    • NUTRIENT DOSING
  • Plant Guides
    • Carpeting plants without CO2
    • Alternanthera reineckii
    • Blood vomit
    • Bucephalandra species
    • Cryptocoryne flamingo
    • Eriocaulon Quinquangulare
    • Hygrophila pinnatifida
    • Hygrophila sp. chai
    • HC 'Cuba'
    • Limnophila aromatica
    • Ludwigia arcuata
    • Rotala rotundifolia
  • Newsletters
    • ADA Visit
    • Red plants
    • Nutrient tunnel vision
    • How to reset a tank
  • buying guides
    • lighting
    • filters
    • co2 related
    • substrates
    • fertilisers
    • 2Hr Aquarist Fertilizer
      • Dealers
    • plants
    • algae control
    • water parameters
    • keeping livestock
  • HOME
    • ABOUT
    • community
    • 2 Minute Bites
    • April Giveaway
    • Help
  • Planted Tank Guide
    • AQUASCAPING IDEAS
    • PLANTED TANK 101
    • CHOOSING A TANK
    • CHOOSING A LIGHT
    • CHOOSING A CO2 SYSTEM
    • CHOOSING SUBSTRATE
    • CHOOSING FERTILIZERS
    • CHOOSING FILTERS
    • CHOOSING PLANTS
    • KEEPING LIVESTOCK
    • ALGAE CONTROL
    • WATER PARAMETERS
    • FAQ
  • Indepth Topics
    • CO2 FINE-TUNING
    • SUBSTRATE IN-DEPTH
    • LIGHT & LIGHTING OPTIMISATION
    • NUTRIENT DOSING
  • Plant Guides
    • Carpeting plants without CO2
    • Alternanthera reineckii
    • Blood vomit
    • Bucephalandra species
    • Cryptocoryne flamingo
    • Eriocaulon Quinquangulare
    • Hygrophila pinnatifida
    • Hygrophila sp. chai
    • HC 'Cuba'
    • Limnophila aromatica
    • Ludwigia arcuata
    • Rotala rotundifolia
  • Newsletters
    • ADA Visit
    • Red plants
    • Nutrient tunnel vision
    • How to reset a tank
  • buying guides
    • lighting
    • filters
    • co2 related
    • substrates
    • fertilisers
    • 2Hr Aquarist Fertilizer
      • Dealers
    • plants
    • algae control
    • water parameters
    • keeping livestock

ChoosING fertiliZers

THE 2HR AQUARIST'S GUIDE TO FERTILIZERS FOR THE PLANTED AQUARIUM

WHY BOTHER?
ROOT or WATER?
HOW TO DOSE
DOSING CHEMISTRY
WHERE TO BUY

WHAT TO USE

I covered the reasons behind 'why bother to add fertilisers?' in this section. If you are looking to support good plant growth, the minimum combination that one should add into a tank on a regular basis is Potassium, Iron & Trace elements. (K, Fe + Traces), as these elements are fundamentally missing or insufficient in most tanks. 

A far better, more comprehensive combination would include Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron & Trace elements (NPK, Mg, Fe + Traces).

​For many years, I bought a combination of off-the-shelf ferts to meet this ideal combination. This formula, "APT Complete" is now available for sale, details here. 
I supplement APT Complete with root tabs from the following brands. ​If you do buy the products through the Amazon links below, I do earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you), which helps in the running of this website. 
I highly recommend approaching fertilisation from both angles: root and water. Root tabs such as these from API and Osmocote are easy enough to implement in any tank;  a few minutes of work to enrich the substrate is something we should not pass up on. 

THE 2HR AQUARIST GUIDE TO FERTILISERS & DOSING

dosing
​101

Why bother? What fertilisers should I dose and why?
GO

root or
​water?

Which should I provide? How are they different?
GO

how to
​dose

What is the EI approach? ADA? What works?
GO

dosing
​chemistry

How to read fertiliser labels? How much to dose?
GO

where
to buy

My recommendation on commercial choices.
GO

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  • HOME
    • ABOUT
    • community
    • 2 Minute Bites
    • April Giveaway
    • Help
  • Planted Tank Guide
    • AQUASCAPING IDEAS
    • PLANTED TANK 101
    • CHOOSING A TANK
    • CHOOSING A LIGHT
    • CHOOSING A CO2 SYSTEM
    • CHOOSING SUBSTRATE
    • CHOOSING FERTILIZERS
    • CHOOSING FILTERS
    • CHOOSING PLANTS
    • KEEPING LIVESTOCK
    • ALGAE CONTROL
    • WATER PARAMETERS
    • FAQ
  • Indepth Topics
    • CO2 FINE-TUNING
    • SUBSTRATE IN-DEPTH
    • LIGHT & LIGHTING OPTIMISATION
    • NUTRIENT DOSING
  • Plant Guides
    • Carpeting plants without CO2
    • Alternanthera reineckii
    • Blood vomit
    • Bucephalandra species
    • Cryptocoryne flamingo
    • Eriocaulon Quinquangulare
    • Hygrophila pinnatifida
    • Hygrophila sp. chai
    • HC 'Cuba'
    • Limnophila aromatica
    • Ludwigia arcuata
    • Rotala rotundifolia
  • Newsletters
    • ADA Visit
    • Red plants
    • Nutrient tunnel vision
    • How to reset a tank
  • buying guides
    • lighting
    • filters
    • co2 related
    • substrates
    • fertilisers
    • 2Hr Aquarist Fertilizer
      • Dealers
    • plants
    • algae control
    • water parameters
    • keeping livestock