Re: DIY :-fertiliser balls

["Tom Wood" <tomwood2 at flash_net>]

I never had any luck with any clay/fertilizer balls staying together long
enough to get them into the substrate. They always melted and made a mess as
soon as they were in the water. I use a 30ml plastic syringe without a
needle. I mix up the fertilizer in solution, add a little laterite to help
pre-bind the fertilizer, then shove the syringe all the way to the bottom of
the substrate and push down on the plunger. If you pull the syringe out
slowly enough, there won't be any clouding. I dose mostly into the water
column, but when the swordplants start looking puny, I fertilize them using
the syringe. In my 90, I've added as much as five syringefulls to the
substrate without significant fertilizer leakage back into the water column.
Nitrate tends to escape the most from what I can tell.

TW