MrWestCoast Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 Bought a bottle of Marcus Fish Tanks fertilizer. It comes as dry mix in a squirt bottle, and you simply add water and shake it up. After about a month I noticed large amount of fluff floating in the bottle. When I squirt the fertilizer into the tank, I'll get bits of this white fluff in the tank. Anyone had this issue? bacterial growth? Is the fertilizer useless now? The bottle is stored in complete darkness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Zenzo Posted July 28, 2022 Administrators Share Posted July 28, 2022 It is probably crystallization of the salt found in fertilizers (which they all have). This is quite common, especially when the bottle is stored in cooler temps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWestCoast Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 This is not salt build up. This is soft tissue like material, basically like algae but white in color. It forms into lumps inside the bottle and is heavy enough to settle at the bottom of the bottle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katherine Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 Can you post a photo? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) Is it a natural based fertilizer. Can you show a picture of the bottle and the ingredients some natural fertilizers can contain organically that can mold. I don’t see any natural organically that would cause that Edited July 28, 2022 by Brandon p 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted July 28, 2022 Administrators Share Posted July 28, 2022 It could be mold. That was a hurdle I had to overcome while making easy green. having a mold inhibitor in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWestCoast Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 Here are some pics. I was able to get some of that fluff into the dispenser tube to get a decent shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) On 7/28/2022 at 4:31 PM, Brandon p said: Is it a natural based fertilizer. Can you show a picture of the bottle and the ingredients some natural fertilizers can contain organically that can mold. I don’t see any natural organically that would cause that Write them and ask or call customer service. I tend to lean towards it being thread like crystals. It has lots of chelated products in it. It also has EDTA in which is know to form feathery crystals. With out see what it look like we can only make educated guess. @Zenzo has been doing this a long time. I used fertilizers my whole adult life. For it to be a mold something would have to have been spilled on it or it contains something not on the label that is organic. Edited July 29, 2022 by Brandon p 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWestCoast Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 Sent them an email. Hopefully I'll get an answer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle_Aquarist Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) @Cory is correct, it is most likely mold / fungus. Not uncommon in DIY fertilizer solutions. When I was making solutions for ferts I would add about 5 ml of Excel / CO2 Booster / Easy Carbon (glutaraldehyde) per 500 ml of solution to minimize fungus growth. Also keeping solutions in a cool dark place helps as well. -Roy Edited July 28, 2022 by Seattle_Aquarist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted July 29, 2022 Share Posted July 29, 2022 On 7/28/2022 at 4:40 PM, Cory said: It could be mold. That was a hurdle I had to overcome while making easy green. having a mold inhibitor in it. I am so totally fascinated by this. This must mean that there is so organic material that is not on the label. The label shows no organic matter in the fertilizer. Mold can not grow with no organic matter. I wanted to ask Cory about this but I’m sure that is not my something he wishes to discuss in an open forum I sure would not. I understand that not all Ingredients are required to be on fertilizer or chemical labels. On chemical labels you will only see the active Ingredients and then other ingredients or inert ingredients.Uthe list of other ingredients can range from water to trade secrets. After a closer look at the label of the you can see only the main ingredients the nutrients are listed. I’m going to that a very educated guess that there is organic materials in there in I have two in mind that I think they could be. I will omit them because Cory commented on this post and I don’t want step on toes. fertilizer discussed earlier Just be aware that just because these items have lists of some ingredients others may not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted July 29, 2022 Share Posted July 29, 2022 On 7/28/2022 at 7:26 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said: @Cory is correct, it is most likely mold / fungus. Not uncommon in DIY fertilizer solutions. When I was making solutions for ferts I would add about 5 ml of Excel / CO2 Booster / Easy Carbon (glutaraldehyde) per 500 ml of solution to minimize fungus growth. Also keeping solutions in a cool dark place helps as well. -Roy Glutaradehyde inhibits Growth of microorganisms which most required and organic compound. I am super interested and it has been 20 years since studying this as most of my career I rarely cared about anything other than the active ingredients. Except One and that was Aloe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWestCoast Posted August 1, 2022 Author Share Posted August 1, 2022 So the seller never got back to me. Do I throw this full bottle in the trash or can I strain it and continue using it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotatoFish Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 On 8/2/2022 at 1:23 AM, MrWestCoast said: So the seller never got back to me. Do I throw this full bottle in the trash or can I strain it and continue using it? I do not know the specific effects of mold on the product. I will leave that to others to explain. I would say that if it is indeed mold, straining it isn't going to get rid of the mold. Some parts will remain and grow back again. Imagine mold on bread. The tiny fluffy circle you see is just the fruiting body of the mold that grows and releases spores. The mycelium (think "fungus roots") is probably far more extensive. Pinch off that tiny bit of mold, and there's probably more you're missing. When you strain, you may get large pieces and leave a slew of tiny bits in the bottle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Vercetti Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 I have the same thing in my mixed-from-powder Macros fertilizer but it never grows in my micros. I am going to try to mix it so that the dosing is a larger amount. This will cause the mixed 500ml to be used faster. I don't know if that will help but I just wanted to let you know I have the same exact thing growing in every batch of macros. Also I did initially try to remove this with a pipette and it just comes right back in a few days. This is with only distilled water, 5ml seachem excel, NPK salts. I am interested to see what others do to combat this mold. However I have not noticed any negative affects to the plant or live stock of my aquarium including: Ottocincles, panda Cory's, pygmy habrosus Cory's, cherry barbs, rili shrimp, cardinal tetras, amano shrimp and snails. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWestCoast Posted August 8, 2022 Author Share Posted August 8, 2022 (edited) I strained mine through a sterile piece of bandage wrap and washed the bottle out real good with a mix of water and some peroxide. poured the fertilizer back into the bottle and stuck the bottle into my small fridge with the temp at 50-55. I'll check in a few days to see if the mold comes back. Edited August 8, 2022 by MrWestCoast 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWestCoast Posted August 16, 2022 Author Share Posted August 16, 2022 Just a quick update. It's been a bit over a week since I strained the liquid fertilizer and put it in the fridge. I am not seeing anymore fluff in the bottle. Hopefully it stays that way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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