STOP Fertilizing Your Way to Algae Disaster!
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- In this video, we'll be discussing the different types of planted aquarium fertilizers and how they can affect the growth of algae in your aquarium. If you're struggling with algae growth in your planted aquarium, this video is for you! We'll cover the common mistakes that aquarium owners make when choosing fertilizers and how to avoid them. By the end of this video, you'll have a better understanding of how to choose the right fertilizer for your planted aquarium and keep your tank looking healthy and beautiful.
For those interested, I'm currently using APT-3 from 2HR Aquarist. However, I've got better results in the past (so far) with the Seachem Flourish line up. However, it can be quite an expensive line-up for larger tanks.
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Chapters:
00:00 Best Intro EVER Don't Skip plz
00:22 Lean Dosing
01:08 Estimative Index
01:53 Perpetual Preservation System
02:01 PPS-Pro
02:20 PPS-Classic
02:40 PPS Pros
02:54 Which Dosing Method Should You Choose?
04:16 When Should I Fertilize My Aquarium?
04:40 Follow Instructions!
I love your editing style - so good! Love the voiceover - well done! Way to make a video about fertilizer so entertaining :D. This channel deserves waaaayyyy more subs!
I had no idea that your comment was marked for spam, and it took me a full month to notice it... My apologies. UA-cam didn't even notify me 🤦
Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! 😊
I been using lean method, it's doing nice job. My plants are look healthier and i don't have to trim my plants i don't like regular trimming
I went for the lean fertilizing method, it has worked fine for me, my plants are still alive and kinda healthy and the tank has been set up over a year now, I tried with the Seachem schedule, it did not work for me, my tank started to develop green hair algae, black brush alage and staghorn algae, I guess I did not have the correct type of plants for such schedule, I was able to recover from that, took me about a month to get things right again.
That's super interesting! I had the best plant health with the Seachem schedule! My Rotala Macrandra and H'ra were the most red I've ever seen! I could've probably got them even more red if I completely omitted using Nitrogen, but that would've probably hurt the other plants more.
@@TropiscapeAquatics Interesting, I guess it has to do with what plants water and substrate you are using, so many variables when it comes to fertilizers in planted tanks, I guess we have to experiment a little until we find what works for us, oh and by the way I didn't know about that third method of fertilization, I will look into it thanks for sharing!
Yup! I'm on that mission to find that one method where it's consistent across the board, and PPS might be a contender
My style is 75gal guppy moshpit, jungle AF, with pothos and monstera out the top. Every couple days or so, try to remember to squirt liquid fert, use gel caps with osmocote, and busted up jobes fert spikes as root tabs in gravel. Jungle val, variety of swords, variety of cryptocorynes, frogbit, salvinia, duckweed, sagitaria subulata, some different mosses, a few anubias, and several free floating masses of wendelov fern. Probably 30 to 40 feral hogs, er sorry, mystery snails. I managed to finally wrangle the algae through 2 separate photoperiods, and shortening them until it chilled out.
You've got quite the setup! Also, you have permission to call them for what they are. Feral Hogs, err, Mystery Snails.
Ah, the good ol' siesta lighting period. I gotta try that out sometime and make a video on it!
I believe it’s best to dose fertilizers when the waters PH is low and very saturated with CO2 for optimal absorption.
There's a lot of variables that come into play, so it's hard to tell. For example, some tanks have a higher than normal pH value but are still able to grow plants. They can't wait for the pH to be low as it may not be able to. Same goes for low-tech tanks, as they don't use CO2. I think the biggest factor in this is also the fertilization method. (EI vs Lean)
Maybe in the future, I'll make a video on different tests on the optimal time to fertilize.
There are only three ways to fertilize 😂😂. I came up with another one and I am sure many more has found their way to a healthy aquarium that does not fall into those three categories. But great vid for beginners I would say.😀👍
There's a plethora of fertilizing methods out there that I didn't cover. One of them is called Poor Man's Dosing Drops (PMDD)
@@TropiscapeAquaticsThat was one I thought would be included. But I do not really understand the difference between your pps method and Pmdd. Sounds like the same thing to me. Pmdd can be used in estimated index, which made me even more confused. In the end it is just about giving the plants what they need, isn't it?
I believe the main difference between EI and PMDD is that PMDD completely omits phosphates and relies on fish waste as a phosphorus source. Furthermore, it's dosed on the daily requirements of the tank rather than the total amount of nutrients given per week. This makes it so that PMDD does not 50% weekly water changes, similar to EI. PMDD is a little outdated, which is why I omitted it from the video. But, it did set the groundwork for our current methods.
But it's as you said, in the end, it's all about giving the plants what they need for them to grow healthy.
@TropiscapeAquatics we have totally different ideas of what pmdd is. In think it is about using sheap agricultural fertilizers instead of expensive aquarium fertilizers. Not about how to dose it.
I think I am doing pmdd, and I do use phosphate. I do fertilize daily, but have done it via estimated index dosing before. Today, I see no reason for big water changes in a planted tank that consumes everything I throw at it.
That's super interesting that you're using sheep agriculture fertilizers. I've never heard about anyone doing something like that before! That being said, I would say that all fertilizing methods come down to the exact nutrient values we are providing to plants rather than the fertilizer product. For example, EI dosing can also be done with "dry fertilizers", as in using the salts rather than a liquid mixture. The same can be said with lean dosing. The difference is the dosage we administer.
Here are a few sources that talks about PMDD fertilizing:
aquaplantscare.uk/pmdd-poor-mans-dosing-drops-how-to-apply-pmdd-method-in-planted-tank/
nilocg.com/blogs/news/best-dosing-methods-planted-tank-aquariums
I was having issues with BBA for years. But I finally realized how to solve it. And, yes, it was because of the fertilizer. I have a high bioload tank (lots of fish) and use a very low tech light. I have tonnes of aquatic plants that are low maintenance (swords, anubias, and bacopa) and have strong filtration. The answer is NO FERTILIZER! At least, not anything liquid that is put into the water column. I basically just use root tabs only; and only when the plant shows any signs of deficiency. I also have a second nano tank (12 gallons) with the same situation with the exception of a stronger led light and more stem plants (bacopa, creeping jenny, ludwigia, anubias, java fern, salvinia) and I use no fertilizers. The bioload from the large stock of fish plus the food that enters the tank seems to be enough to keep my tanks algae free and my plants and fish happy and healthy. The plants grow super slow. But that's what I want! Low maintenance and no green algae or BBA! And I can also use a third example with my pond outside! So never mind these 3 methods if you have my same setup and goals in common. DON'T USE ANY LIQUID FERTILIZERS!
Sounds like the fertilizer you were using was a bit more highly concentrated than you needed or you were giving more than you needed thus giving you algae. Considering your plants, if you were to use a method, lean would be best as it aligns with your tank goals (low concentration and low maintenance). Either way, it's awesome that you found a solution for your issues! I've done no fert tanks before and their great! However, each tank is different so the no fert route isn't for everyone. Although, the amount of money you save can really add up!
@@TropiscapeAquatics the method I have is so lean.. there's no fertilizer at all! Lol! I don't recommend that for everyone. Luckily I have plants and water parameters that allow me to get away with that. Although it is possible that I will go back to liquid fertilizers again if there are any deficiencies.
@@deadpoet415 I love that statement! "It's so lean, there's no fertilizer at all" 🤣
im not sure if you'll see this comment but i commented on your other video. i have been looking all over for a video like this dude i accidentally stumbled upon it after watching your video on nutrient defficincies. Please take this advice as a grain of salt. add in paranthesis "(comprehensive fertilizing guide)". if i saw this a few weeks ago it would of helped so much. but the title of your video doesn't directly say that. just my $0.02. please don't take this comment as disrescpetful but just as a tip.
Yeah, I feel you on that. It's something to experiment with. If I remember correctly, my aim was to teach the difference between different fertilization methods. The clickbait worked previously with the video before (The Surprising Reason Your Aquarium Plants Aren't Growing) and I wanted to see if I could recreate that with this one. Feel free to give as much criticism as you want! I'm always trying to find the best way I can make content for others!
Also, feel free to correct me on any information I present. But, be prepared to back them up with any sources or sound logic. I always want to make sure the information I present is accurate given its context!
@@TropiscapeAquatics bro ur a cool a$$ guy. binge watching all ur vids rn.
No u!
My past vids might not be the best compared to now. Just a heads-up 😅
algae dont grow on plant but on aquarium wall so annoying
It sucks, especially in the corners or on the silicone!
great video pretty much everything was perfectly accurate! I use Neo soil and the company's instructions says do not use any liquid fertz for at least 2 months and so far my plants have been growing pretty fast reference ( ua-cam.com/video/TJc-7xGA9Mo/v-deo.html ) these are the results I got so far and the time I started dosing their liquid fertz I only got bba on slow growing plants that's about it. nothing else. diatoms of course occurred during the first two weeks but then amano shrimp and few cleaning crew mates helped eliminating that.
Nice tank! I love the little solo rotala that's in the middle of the moss! 😆
Never tried Neo soil before. Hopefully it's readily available in Canada. If they say not to use liquid ferts for the first 2 months, then it must be packed full of nutrients!
@@TropiscapeAquatics it is! I’m also using it on my bigger tank (newly setup) the carpet is growing pretty quick! Just had some flow issues which i think caused (Green blue or blue green algae) which was annoying lol i had to brush it off now it’s almost completely gone.
@@theaquaticdesert Hopefully you don't have to resort to using antibiotics or something like Chemiclean. Blue-green algae/cyanobacteria are a pain to deal with.
@@TropiscapeAquatics I’m doing two water changes in less than 2 weeks (so like every 5 days a water change) and sucking out most of the cyanobacteria as I’m brushing I’m pushing it towards the hose to pull it out. And I’ve faced it before but I didn’t let it grow at all. That’s how to deal with algae chemicals are not really the solution.. they either harm/stress the livestock and slows plants growth and pretty expensive :)
@@theaquaticdesert That's interesting. While I agree that chemicals are not the way, it was the only way for me. I never had any luck controlling it with manual removal and water changes. It always kept growing back pretty fast. The only thing that worked was nuking it with Chemiclean. Perhaps I wasn't too consistent with water changes. I've got other theories on why manual removal didn't work for me, but I'll save it for another day or a video ;). I don't want this comment to turn into a novel, lol. If I ever get it again, I'll try to be more persistent, but I haven't encountered it for like 2 years now.