After about a month and a half from the previous article on products Tropica, it seems fitting to bring me a report on the progress of the tank in response to the administration of the two products presented previously.
Plant Nutrition + Capsules : inclusion substrate in these capsules is simple, but do it with bare hands or with tongs from the tips often, as with the classic pointy end are likely to slip and not sink. In addition, the capsule shell is not very hard so you have to put a minimum of care not to crush them during handling. In terms of performance I noticed a response of plants, in particular by dell'Echinodorus tenellus, already in the following week, by abundant formation of stolons and vigor of new leaves. The metabolic activity of plants has been evident for about a month later dropped, making me assume that evidently the effect of the capsules tend to terminate prematurely, compared to what brought in the box, where it is guaranteed a yield of 6-12 months. The reasons may be different, one of these high density of plants on the surface, or the inclusion of fewer pills than necessary. In this respect it seems right back as the packaging, a cap that covers an area of \u200b\u200b5x5cm in the presence of dense vegetation.
Plant Nutrition + Liquid between the two is the product that I prefer. As mentioned it is a fertilizer weekly, so much comfortable from the application point of view but, as you will read below, also uncertain.
Again, the response of plants to product has been very clear, in particular by the epiphytes (Bolbitis, Microsorum and Anubias).
I started with a half dose, but the next few weeks I have found an increase of algae that could be worrisome in the medium term. To retrieve the situation I cut off the infested leaves and darkened the tank for 3 days, then allocate a photoperiod reduced to 5 hours and suspending the fertilizer for a week. So I decreased the administration of 5 ml to 3 ml (which is about 1 / 4 to those in the house). The algae problem is obviously improved, yet I was not happy with what had happened and tried to understand what could have been the causes, not on him all the blame direclty in Plant Nutrition. I have concluded that the reasons could be manifold and I quote so that you, dear readers, do not repeat them to crop or at least can be recommended for a dynamic and not static vision (1 case = 1 effect) of a system which the aquarium.
I first considered the context of the bath, the plants are mostly in rather slow growth, also the situation that existed before this "test" was characterized by a very low level of nutrients, which could have affected the metabolism of plants, slowing it down further.
So sudden intake of large amounts of nutrients from capsules and liquid may have been exaggerated for plants, obviously not accustomed to such a load.
Another case, which was pointed out to me, is the charcoal I had in one of two external filters now exhausted, but which may have released nutrients previously accumulated.
in all, a series of errors affected the yield of Plant Nutrition, then about 15 days ago I decided to give a "refreshed" at the pool, making a general rather drastic pruning, and spreading with a plan fertilization reason is obviously the most mistakes.
I first split the recommended weekly amount of about 12 ml (in my case), in daily, adding 2 ml of fertilizer per day. Furthermore, given the limited amount of potassium (found in concentrations of 1, 03%), in my opinion, I added 3 ml daily ADA Brighty K and 3 ml Seachem Excel as a source of additional carbon which apparently helps to control algae.
After two weeks the activities of the plants has improved greatly, and algae are present only in trace amounts.
Ultimately, currently are administered 12 ml of Plant Nutrition per week, compared with the previous 3 ml, with very satisfactory results. E 'can then draw some considerations:
The fertilizer in question is undoubtedly of good quality, but it should be used carefully. Probably given the type of vegetation I could use the version without phosphorus and nitrogen.
One piece of advice I can give is to divide the administration even if not every day but every other, so as to avoid a major load of items. Other advice, however, dedicated to those who have pushed tanks is to be matched by potassium intake.
Praise is certainly very clear to the leaflet, which will specify how it is important to start the administration dose and halved the rate adjustment based on the responses of plants. Also cited is the daily administration in small amounts in relation to plants growing.
In conclusion I think it is a duty owed to the details. The information provided above is a personal experience with both products Tropica, which, however, must never be taken literally since the brief analysis I made is not based on well-defined experimental procedures.
is also known that every aquarium is a unique dynamic system, so it is said that the considerations which I reported to recur in other basins.
