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Re; #343 Subject; Terrestrial Plant Suppl./Aquaria
I am not an expert, however I would not use any sort of terrestrial
plant supplement of fertilizer of any kind in the aquarium for the
following reasons. First is the concentrations are too high. These
products are designed to release the minerals in a solid medium or
substrate. When trying to use these in an aquarium they are bonded as a
compund. ie with sulfur as you stated. Sulfur is toxic when added with
an aquarium containg plants. What happens is the carbon dioxide is
released by the plants will lower your ph creating an acidic water
environment. Adding something to the water containing sulfur will
further lower your ph and sulfuric acid will form. That product also
has compounds containing Acetic Acid ie vinegar. This will drop your ph
even further down. All of this acid will absorb the oxygen in the water
that the plants need for respiration. All of this acid will destroy
your plants in time. Second is that the product you mentioned even if
it was for aquatic plants, it is missing two very important elements.
They are nitrogen and phorphus. These are needed but in very small
amounts. They are the vitamins so to speak that plants need for
photosynthesis. Save your money and your plants. Look around for liquid
supplements designed for aquatic plants. Also time release tablets are
around that you can place in the substrate. There are additives on the
market that are cheap which you mix in the substrate that I use to get
a plant tank going. These look like plain old dirt but are high in iron
and not bonded with sulfur. If money is a problem try mail order
catalogs if you haven't already. I hope I've been of some help.