[GSAS-Member] Dry Fertilizers - A Public Service Message

[Shango Los <shango@shangolos.com>]

Hello Friends!

I have always had resistance to getting involved with my tank's chemistry.  I 
think maybe it is from high school chemistry class scars.  However, I have 
always been jealous of the quality of plants I see from tanks like Roy's and 
Mary's.  My plants do OK but they never really have that snappy, healthy, super 
green look that theirs do and nothing like what I see in competition photos.  I 
have always figured that was because I only use Flourish Comprehesive as 
directed on the bottle once a week.  I was pretty sure that my plants were 
starving but I didn't know what to do about it and I was certain it was going 
to be hard and time consuming to learn.

I was visiting with Roy last week and mentioned all of this to him.  He said 
that there really wasn't all that much to it.  Sure you can get super deep into 
it like any topic but really all I needed was this, and he handed me one sheet 
of paper. On it was a crib sheet showing an exact dosing schedule based on the 
size of my tank.  It is called the Estimative Index.

You can copy and paste it into a Word file and print it right from here:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilizing/15225-estimative-index-dosing-guide.html

Now, I saw all the scary chemistry looking ingredients like KNO3, KH2PO4 and 
K2S04 and thought that even with the easy looking cheat sheet, I wouldn't know 
where to buy this stuff.  I don't know of any science stores and didn't really 
want to look for them online due to my initial resistance.  Roy said buying 
them is the easy part.  There is a dedicated shelf at A Place for Pets in 
Burien where they have a bag of each of these, nicely labeled and easy to pick 
up.  Wow!

The only other thing I needed was really small measuring spoons because the 
measurements go as low as 1/16 of a teaspoon.  No problem.  They have those at 
Bed, Bath and Beyond or any kitchen shop.  They are often called Smidge, Dash 
and Pinch spoons.  =)

Well, OK.  All of that sounded very easy so I did it all yesterday.

I called A Place for Pets to make sure it was all in stock before I made the 
drive.  (206) 244-3502
I got one bag each of KNO3, KH2PO4 and K2S04.  Retail was $15 but with my GSAS 
club discount I only paid $13.  (Renew Your Membership Now!)

The Estimative Index also calls for Flourish Trace Elements but I have a ton of 
Flourish Comprehensive still so I am using that instead.  I am told they are 
quite similar.  If you need to buy Trace Elements you can get 100ml for about $9

I picked up my spoons at B,B and Beyond for $5

This means that in one day I went from knowing ZERO about fertilizers to having 
a smartly thought out set-up that should make my plants kick-ass with less than 
one afternoon's effort and at a total cost of under $25!

Now, my next step will be to replace the Flourish Comprehensive/ Flourish Trace 
Elements with what many think is a better option: Using something called CSM+B. 
 This is not something they have at A Place for Pets.

That stuff and the other stuff I bought at A Place for Pets is super cheap and 
easy to order from Aquariumfertilizer.com.

Now, you gotta make sure you do your 50% water change once a week or the ferts 
can overwhelm the fish and cause all sorts of weird chemistry stuff to occur.  
That isn't a big deal because i do my water change religiously anyway.

The other thing I need to make sure is that I stay to the recommended amounts 
in the Estimative Index because I have lots of shrimp and I don't want to add 
too much KNO3 (Nitrates).

So, there you have it.  A chemistry-phobe goes from zero to hero in one day by 
asking some of the right questions and getting some pointed direction from 
another club member...'cause that is what club members do for each other.  
Thanks Roy!  (Renew Your Membership Now!)

If you have had resistance to using fertilizers like I have had, I encourage 
you to follow these super easy steps and try them out.  It is simple, 
inexpensive and will make your garden grow!

This has been a Public Service Message from Shango.  =)




Epilogue:  There may well be some discussion about how to maximize ferts and 
adapt the recipe after I post this.  Don't let the debate throw you off.  Just 
go get the stuff above and get to it!




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