i had this idea for about 2 days now and was wondering if anyone has tried or thoughts on it. I think it might work if i do it really slowly or maybe making a frozen soil flourish mix might work feed back please and thank you.
injecting flourish straight into substrate
- Thread starter biggdadyapisto
- Start date
That could be an interesting experiment... IMO it would be cheaper and more effective if you made fertsicles by freezing granules, such as osmocote, with a small amount of water in ice cube trays. Then you could pop the fertsicle under the substrate as you've discussed. Or, mix dry powdered ferts with clay for your own root fertilizer tabs. But if you've got a surplus of Flourish, go for it. 
What is your substrate? Any substrate with a reasonable CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) will hold onto nutrients, and will distribute the nutrients fairly well to the rooted plants. So injection into the substrate would probably be more efficient, albeit more work, than allowing the substrate to absorb nutrients from the water column. Will it make a difference in plant growth by doing so?....let me know. Good luck
fishy: ive been trying to find the right osmocote but all of them sound like the would cause a algae bloom if i could find out which one is the right one id get it and dry ferts aren't easy to come by round here i look but so far nothing.
jemanser: im goin to get some syringes later today i need ones with a long needle apparatus i'd prefer one with a real needle. but ill hit you up as soon as i do.
jemanser: im goin to get some syringes later today i need ones with a long needle apparatus i'd prefer one with a real needle. but ill hit you up as soon as i do.
I've used "flower & vegetable" with no problems (I chose it from others I've seen online). There's another that Dundadundun uses, but I can't remember the type. I don't see osmocote causing an algae problem as long as you have the fertsicle buried deep... unless maybe you're using coarse gravel which allows too much water flow.
im useing eco complete with sand on top and a lil mixed in its been a while since ferted it is all and i wanted to find something around the house i could use.
Probably outcome -
No change.
The CEC of the substrate removes and holds nutrients dissolved in the water column very effectively. Unless of course the porosity of the substrate is extremely low (your not using clay as substrate are you?). Eco-complete has both high CEC and high porosity. Root tabs and such work for heavy root feeders by giving the plants a localized area of high nutrient levels (slowly dissolving). The roots surround these tabs when they find them (many of them small enough that you need microscope to see). Dissolved fertilizer will quickly dissipate throughout the tank and not create a localized area of higher nutrients.
Using ice cubes is not a very good choice. Almost all of the plants sold with aquariums are either tropical or subtropical. This makes them frost sensitive. Putting ice next too their roots is a good way to do a lot of damage to the root system.
No change.
The CEC of the substrate removes and holds nutrients dissolved in the water column very effectively. Unless of course the porosity of the substrate is extremely low (your not using clay as substrate are you?). Eco-complete has both high CEC and high porosity. Root tabs and such work for heavy root feeders by giving the plants a localized area of high nutrient levels (slowly dissolving). The roots surround these tabs when they find them (many of them small enough that you need microscope to see). Dissolved fertilizer will quickly dissipate throughout the tank and not create a localized area of higher nutrients.
Using ice cubes is not a very good choice. Almost all of the plants sold with aquariums are either tropical or subtropical. This makes them frost sensitive. Putting ice next too their roots is a good way to do a lot of damage to the root system.
any osmocote will do just fine. osmocote+ also has micros in it, so would be the better product. i, personally just grabbed the one that was available at walmart for ~$5. works great! 
cec is fine and all that, but some folks are less likely to fert their water column liberally and often. in this case, root ferts are always a plus.
fertcicles will not damage roots unless you're doing something wrong. half the ice is melted by the time the cicles hit the substrate in my 50 as it is. the rest won't be cold long enough to do permanent damage, imo. then... once their inserted... there's ferts in that area for months to come to promote good growth and a healthy root system.
i don't see anything wrong with just placing some red indian/mexican clay around some osmocote balls and letting them dry out. would be a little more work than fertcicles, a whole lot less work than diy tabs... and give you the advantage of not breaking down before you can reach the substrate and the ability to shape it as you see fit for easy insertion.
the flourish, i'd have to agree would mostly be lost into the water column.
cec is fine and all that, but some folks are less likely to fert their water column liberally and often. in this case, root ferts are always a plus.
fertcicles will not damage roots unless you're doing something wrong. half the ice is melted by the time the cicles hit the substrate in my 50 as it is. the rest won't be cold long enough to do permanent damage, imo. then... once their inserted... there's ferts in that area for months to come to promote good growth and a healthy root system.
i don't see anything wrong with just placing some red indian/mexican clay around some osmocote balls and letting them dry out. would be a little more work than fertcicles, a whole lot less work than diy tabs... and give you the advantage of not breaking down before you can reach the substrate and the ability to shape it as you see fit for easy insertion.
the flourish, i'd have to agree would mostly be lost into the water column.
I use regular osmocote, as I am kinda leery about the copper content of the osmocote+. It's probably fine, as I've seen several reports of people using it with success, but I have another source of micros so it's a nonissue for me.
I can tell you that since I've been moving tanks around, I have dozens of little osmocote granules that have been surfaced for quite some time. They are designed for a very slow release, so as long as you aren't crushing them, they will be fine and won't cause an algae bloom or a crazy spike.
I can tell you that since I've been moving tanks around, I have dozens of little osmocote granules that have been surfaced for quite some time. They are designed for a very slow release, so as long as you aren't crushing them, they will be fine and won't cause an algae bloom or a crazy spike.