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fertilizer tabs w/o copper

Discussion in 'Aquatic Plants & Planted Tanks' started by kwheeler91, Jul 4, 2009.

  1. kwheeler91

    kwheeler91 Thread Starter New Member

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    im trying to get my tank up to par for the plants that i have in it already. i got a diy co2 that seems to work pretty well and just recently got proper lighting. its a 20 hexagon and it has 10 celestial pearl danios, 5 scarlet badis, 12 boraras brigaette, 6 pygmy corys, 4 live bearing trap door snail, 6 crysstal red shrimp, and 5 rasboras hengeli. i was wondering if i need fertilizer since i have so many fish and if so is their a good tab that i can use that does not contain copper or anything harmful to the invertebrates?
    plants are:
    6-7 compacta
    3 argentine swords
    2 amazon swords
    2 java ferns
    java moss
    riccia fluitans
    and some floating plant that spreads like wildfire(im gonna post a pic of this maybe someone can tell me what it is)
    SANY3098.jpg SANY3099.jpg SANY3101.jpg SANY3105.jpg
     
  2. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Well from what I can see everything looks pretty good. As far as I know all root tabs will contain a little copper. I know Flourish Tabs contain .001% of copper. Unless you start to see a problem I wouldn't worry about it adding anything at this time.
     
  3. kwheeler91

    kwheeler91 Thread Starter New Member

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    this isnt the tank i want to put it in and that plant could grow in the dark :)
    but thanks for the advice. still would like to know what it is if anyone knows
     
  4. YellowCichlid

    YellowCichlid New Member

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    Everything I have seen has copper because plants use it
     
  5. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    I use just about all of Seachems products and have snails and shrimp in my tank and dose according to their dosing chart and I haven't had any issues with the my-noot trace of copper.
     
  6. kwheeler91

    kwheeler91 Thread Starter New Member

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    idk though because the crystal red shrimp are supersensitive and im not sure they would tolerate any at all...
     
  7. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    I've heard they're super sensitive too, reason I've never tried them.
     
  8. kwheeler91

    kwheeler91 Thread Starter New Member

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    i got some in with some fish i just ordered. some of the fish had ich so i did a salt and heat treatment and the shrimp didnt make it through the week at 81-82 degrees.
     
  9. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Amazed you didn't just do the heat and skip the salt.
    Sorry to hear about the shrimp
     
  10. kwheeler91

    kwheeler91 Thread Starter New Member

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    why you say that? salt helps a lot if you ask me and i think its good to use anyway
     
  11. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    <--doesn't mess with salt anymore (allergic)
    Plus my lfs recommends using the heat method when possible...1 less chemical/product in the tank is always a good thing imo
     
  12. kwheeler91

    kwheeler91 Thread Starter New Member

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    true... im going to stop using it as my web surfing has let me know that using it constantly can cause salt resistance in the baddies that get into the tank
     
  13. catatataee

    catatataee New Member

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    hmm....81-82 degrees is not so high temperature....my shrimps are doing very well @86 degrees...something happened with yours...don't know...about the fertilizers...you can use jbl 7 balls or ferrotabs for roots plant. i don't know if it is in your stores but here is very used.
     
  14. kwheeler91

    kwheeler91 Thread Starter New Member

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    i ordered some seachem tabs as anothy said they have .001% copper and i am going to be cautious with them, only putting one near my swords and maybe a large patch of hygrophila compacta, maybe not even there though that plant seems to grow no matter what you do to it.
     
  15. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    I use the seachem tabs and have shrimp...no issues here!
    I also dose the tank with Seachem Flourish Iron for the plantys.
     
  16. kwheeler91

    kwheeler91 Thread Starter New Member

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    i thought about using iron too but wasnt really sure how the crs woould handle it. i tried it in my cherry tank and they seem to be ok so i might experiment with dosages. thanks for the info guys and girls :D
     
  17. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    most welcome! Good Luck :)
     
  18. kwheeler91

    kwheeler91 Thread Starter New Member

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    the crs arent bothered at all by the root tabs or the iron/potassium dosing. so if you ever um a try dawn they should be fine as long as you dont over do it on the dosing. mine have done fine at temps up to 83 and sometimes have an over night flucuation of 4-5 degrees and do fine. keep in mind mine arent the really high grade ones though. the tank they are in was over stocked for a little while, about 50 1inch fish in a planted 20 hexagon due to a temporary tank consolidation, and they didnt seem the least bit unhealthy. very pretty shrimp so i recommend them
     
  19. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    thanks for the info...down the road I'd like to try them and agree they are nice looking!