Rita Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 So I’m new to all this... and I have set up my first planted tank ever a few days ago. I have stocked a 20 gal long with basically one of every easy plant I could get on Co op in EcoComplete and have an FluvalSmart aqua sky light on a timer for 10 hours of daylight and 2 hours of blue light. I have also tested my water out of the tap to know what I’m working with: PH: 7.6 Ammonia: 0.5 ppm Nitrite & Nitrate: 0 ppm Phosphate 10 ppm (or greater) it was suuuper dark GH: 125.3 ppm KH: 196.9 ppm So I am 100% on board with the philosophy of... welp, let’s just see what happens with the tank in a couple months and see what’s working and what’s not... however my question is with such hard water and what appears to be ridiculously high phosphates do I even need to fertilize? I bought easy green and have not dosed it yet... and I know that will add a certain amount of phosphates... so I feel like robust algae will be in my future lol. Also is there any way to know which minerals are in my hard water? The tank has only been set up since Tuesday (10/13) but I plan on testing the actual tank water tomorrow for fun. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 I have hard water as well. I started my tank with about a quarter dose of easy green once a week. After a month ish I switched to dosing with flourish advance to stimulate rooting. Now I'm dosing with a full dose of easy green once a week because my plants have started growing that quickly. I hope that helps a bit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted October 18, 2020 Administrators Share Posted October 18, 2020 Yes you'll need to fertilize, You have zero nitrogen, which is one of the key building blocks for plant growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rita Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 41 minutes ago, Cory said: Yes you'll need to fertilize, You have zero nitrogen, which is one of the key building blocks for plant growth. Thanks for the feedback! Yes of course, how could I forget about nitrogen lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rita Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 43 minutes ago, Alison said: I have hard water as well. I started my tank with about a quarter dose of easy green once a week. Yes! Thanks! I was planning on starting to dose lightly, then build up to the recommended dose 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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