We’re big proponents of getting live aquatic plants because of their natural beauty and ability to purify water, but a common question we get is, “Do I need to fertilize my aquarium plants?” From our experience, most people have to fertilize because fish waste does not provide the proper amounts of nitrate, potassium, phosphate, and other trace minerals that plants require to flourish. Another big factor is your local tap water. If you live on well water, your water may contain lots of heavy metals and high nitrate levels, which is not great for drinking but might be really good at growing plants. In contrast, the tap water at our fish store near Seattle, Washington is so soft and stripped of nutrients that it is almost like RODI (reverse osmosis de-ionized) water — which is perfect for raising discus fish but insufficient for plants.

We’re big proponents of getting live aquatic plants because of their natural beauty and ability to purify water, but a common question we get is, “Do I need to fertilize my aquarium plants?” From our experience, most people have to fertilize because fish waste does not provide the proper amounts of nitrate, potassium, phosphate, and other trace minerals that plants require to flourish. Another big factor is your local tap water. If you live on well water, your water may contain lots of heavy metals and high nitrate levels, which is not great for drinking but might be really good at growing plants. In contrast, the tap water at our fish store near Seattle, Washington is so soft and stripped of nutrients that it is almost like RODI (reverse osmosis de-ionized) water — which is perfect for raising discus fish but insufficient for plants.

1. Easy Green

Easy Green is the fertilizer you want if you can only buy one. You don’t need to calculate the proper ratios of macronutrients and micronutrients for plants because our all-in-one liquid fertilizer does it for you. Easy Green is perfectly safe to use with fish, shrimp, snails, and other invertebrates, just like all of our fertilizers. We offer two volumes of Easy Green with an easy-to-use pump head or dropper cap for rapid dosing, unlike other fertilizers that call for you to measure out certain milliliters or capfuls. (The recommended starting dosage is listed on the product page.)

We advise you to test the water every week at first to truly dial in the fertilizer dosage because everyone’s setup and plant stocking density are different. The simplest method is to use a 60-second test strip and determine how many pumps or drops of Easy Green it takes to reach 25–50 ppm nitrate instead of performing individual nutritional tests for each one. Your plants will flourish as long as the nitrate primarily comes from the fertilizer and not from fish feces. Don’t stop fertilizing if your nitrate level is 75 ppm or above because fish waste is deficient in important nutrients like potassium. Utilize our flow chart for water changes to gradually reduce the nitrate level to 25 ppm or less before adding Easy Green.

2. Easy Root Tabs

Easy Root Tabs are a blend of mineralized topsoil, premium red clay, and other necessary nutrients (like nitrate, phosphate, potassium, and iron). Using your fingers or tweezers, place a capsule as deeply as you can in the substrate in a grid pattern every 4-6 inches. Place the root tabs just beneath the plants if the heavy root feeders are not distributed evenly across the tank. For instance, a little crypt could only require one root tab, whereas a huge Aponogeton plant might require seven. When applying liquid fertilizer, we may check the water to determine when to add more, but when applying substrate fertilizer, you must regularly check the heavy feeder roots to see if they are melting away or exhibiting other nutritional stress indications.

3. Easy Iron

If you are experimenting with red plants but aren’t seeing the vibrant scarlet hues that you see online, you probably need high lighting, you might want to add CO2 injection, and you might also want to think about adding an iron supplement. Due to the fact that the Easy Green recipe contains so much iron, Easy Iron is the only specific nutrient requiring a separate bottle. Additionally, if Easy Green has an excessive amount of iron, it could cause problems with algae, such hair algae.

Chlorophyll, which is especially crucial for plants that grow quickly or in bright environments, is made by plants from iron, an essential element. Because of this, if you see that your plants’ newest leaves are yellow or pale-looking due to a lack of chlorophyll but the leaf veins are still dark, try giving them a dose of Easy Iron.

4. Easy Carbon

Fun fact: Aquarium firms often sell liquid carbon products that aren’t actually fertilizers and are inferior replacements for CO2 gas systems in planted tanks. Examples of these products include Seachem Flourish Excel and API CO2 Booster. Instead, glutaraldehyde, an algaecide that is suitable for use around fish and invertebrates, is typically found in these products. Easy Carbon is the name of our brand of liquid carbon, and if you have a little amount of algae, it works well for treating the entire aquarium to gradually reduce algae. A pipette can also be used to treat specific areas of black beard algae and other challenging-to-remove algae.

The post How to Fertilize Your Planted Tank the EASY Way first appeared on US TROPICAL FISH.