Re: [APD] cheap low tech root tabs (mud ice cubes)

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at yahoo_com>]

> Thanks Tom,
> 
> What a great idea, I will keep that one, the combinations for
> a root pill
> are endless.   
> 
> Cheers
> Dave

> > But........some good old mud, you know, that stuff when
>> water  > gets all over garden soil, loam, dirt etc? Take 

>> that, place into ice cube trays. Mud ice cubes.

You can add KNO3/KH2PO4 or peat to this mix of mud, whatever you
chose. 

Cost next to nothing and then you can tailor make any root tab
you want to meet the individual unique needs of your tanks.
If you typically run low on NO3, add more KNO3, low on Ca, add
more CaSO4. 

You can make macro or trace mixes, you can remove the NH4 easily
through either bacterial or heat processes.
Make them small or large.

Most folks know how to make ice cubes, so it's not rocket
science.

Personally, a small amount of OM(organic matter) is okay, I like
to maintain and low amount in my tanks.Not so much if I uproot
many plants, do a rework etc, that it makes a big mess I can
never clean out with a good sized water change, in general, you
will get a lot more out of any substrate fertilization with good
water column fertilizers/routines.

This is common sense, the plant's demand will be less from the
substrate root zone if there is some in the water column as
well.

Some folks still cling to some weird notion thAt the nutrients
should only be in the substrate and not in the water column, the
old school of thought said the nutrients in the water column
causes algae, I blew that hypothesis out of the water. so there
is much less reason to limit your self to just this type of
fertilization routine.

I think with slow growth tanks, substrate fertilizers make life
fairly easy as the fish waste can keep up with the low demand
from the plants and the rest can be made up from the
soil/substrate sediments. It's not a hard balance to achieve. 
Many have forgotten it and all moved into the CO2 planted tank
methods.

But you can also use inert substrates and RFUG's etc and still
get similar growth for most plants and dose the water column.

If you add ferts to both locations and in a non messy way, then
you get the best growth and the best results, with the least
amount of hassle.

This is true for Non CO2, Excel, CO2 and marine planted tanks.

Regards, 
Tom Barr

www.BarrReport.com




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