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Re: Re:OSMOCOTE calculation
>Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2001 12:03:45 -0500
>From: "James Purchase" <jppurchase at rogers_com>
>Subject: Re:OSMOCOTE calculation
>
>"I've just received a bunch of TROPICAL OSMOCOTE from ScottŪ, it's a slow
>release fertilizer particularly low in P."
>
>Its a slow release fertilizer when used in terrestrial soil, as in a garden
>or a flower box. In a submerged substrate, such as an aquarium, there
>probably won't be anything "slow" about the release of the nutrients - they
>(the nutrients within each osmocote granule) are water soluable and once
>fully submerged, the nutrients will diffuse through the plastic coating,
>probably rather quickly.
from Scotts site:
Osmocote is composed of granules of
dry plant nutrients which have been encapsulated within
multiple layers of polymeric resin. Water vapor penetrates
the permeable shell and dissolves the nutrient core. The
resulting osmotic pressure within the granule meters
the liquid nutrients through the coating and into the
surrounding soil/media.
---
So.. uhm.. I guess you can be right, in an aquarium tank there is not water
vapor but directly water... so the amount of water that passes within the
layers is much more... and so the osmotic pressure is much higher! it will
last much shorter... uhmm.. I'm quite worried about it !!
what else can I use as a real slow controlled fertilizer N-P-K?
or - as you suggested - how could I encase the OSMOCOTE within clay balls?
could you explain the method?
I was thinking about putting 1cm layer of vermiculite mixed with few grams
of OSMOCOTE .. but how can I encapsulate each granule of Osmocote in a clay
ball??? it sounds like a very long and boring process, isn't it?
regards,
Luca
PS: how come that you was able to answer my message in the same digest?:P