JoeQ

Also the dosing might not be ideal for some. For me 1 pump per 5g is a easier dose than 1 pump per 10g

I don't think there is a 'best', some work better than others on account of plants you're keeping and nutrient makeup of your source water.

Put the testing aside, it sounds to me like faulty test results for one reason or another. What does the water feel like when you put your arm in the tank?

Amazon, it was a bit spendy but in hindsight I wish I bought it after I first found out about it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07HPDRFGM?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Yes

Originally bought to help evict an unruly group of diamond tetras from my planted tank. But until then, tested on a guppy who has been giving me the slip for the last few days. And OMG, fish moving days just became a breeze!!! FISH TANK ESSENTIAL!!!

The small bottle is for nano tanks, hence the dose recommendation measured in drops. For a 40 gallon you'll probably blow through that bottle pretty fast!

Algae is incredibly beneficial to an aquarium, its essentially natures self balancing mechanism. Your livestock will be fine and may enjoy grazing on it. The aversion to algae in the aquarium hobby stems from (IMO) esthetics and ego.

IMO monitoring nitrates to tell if you should change water isnt ideal. (Again) IMO routine maintenance should be carried out weekly or bi-weekly. The appearance of algae is usually a good sigh that your maintenance schedule needs improvement.

Water Changes in a planted tank is to ensure your nutrients stay balanced. As plants "eat" diffrent plants prefer different nutrients, this leads to imbalanced nutrients. If the ratios (particularly NPK) get too out of wack, many times plants will stop consuming nutrients, which allows algae to get a good foothold to out compete higher level plants .

2 weeks is a blink of an eye in the scope of things. It's also not a good idea to start a tank with only slow growing foreground plants. IMO foreground plants need a support system of other fast growing plants to thrive, they should be planted last after the tank is established. If it were me Id remove large pieces of dead organics by hand and lightly gravel vac the rest. Clean filters and add a good layer of pollyfill (filter floss) as a final stage if possible. This will polish your water & trap incredibly small particules. Dont forget to change this out often, pollyfill is cheap! Get some hornwort in your tank, don't forget to fertilize on a regular basis along with maybe a few fish with a small bio load. I like guppies who seem to pick on anything they see! Don't over feed, they will clean more if you keep them hungry! Adopt a regular maintenance schedule as well, water change, filter cleaning, trimming, ect. Successful planted tanks are grown, this take time, work and patience. They aren't a plug n play hobby like many videos on the youtubes lead you to believe. Also if you populate with guppies watch adding ANY females or you WILL get babies

Not to thread steal, but a question (I think) would be good for the thread. Isn't "shrimp safe" fertilizers more of a marketing gimmick than an important consideration when fertilizing shrimp tanks?

I went from an all-in-one to a premixed macro/micro formula (this was a beneficial "learning step") and eventually to mixing my own because of cost. Im only at 36g and running low co2, sill I use about 250ml of macros in 2 months. Using a premix that cost would add up!

☝️IMO, at a certain point your plant mass out-grows an all-in-one fertilizers benefits (financial/ease of use/ect). This is especially true with larger tanks.

I believe she sells shrimps (thats fun to say!) 🤣🤣🤣🤣