This stuff is incredible! bought 100 gel caps at Sprouts for $3 and Osmocote + for $10 at homedepot last week. I've used like 10 capsules on my 20-gallon long and my plants absolutely love it! It helped speed up the recovery process of my melting Ludwigia Repens, and my swords and bleheris are growing like crazy! the sword and bleheri leaves grew from a bud (less than an inch long) to 4 inches in 2 days.
I'd love to do this but my only concern is the slow release casing around the fertilizer. From what I've read it doesn't ever break down so eventually you would end up with a bunch of empty "shells" all over the substrate. I'm not referring to the gel capsules.
You can roll the fertiliser in balls of clay. This also helps to add iron. Just dig around and you should find a good clay soil. BTW clay is actually any soil with very find particles - I suppose it is the surface area that helps the mineralisation of iron with aquarium plants. You still get iron in other soils, but I would imagine it is more freely leached into clay layers over time.
Your vids just keep getting better and better! Great editing skills!... When I heard about the Osmocote being discontinued last year, I went out and bought two bottles. Should be set for a very long time! Haha! Stuff goes a long way!
Yeah, I missed the boat on that one. There were still some left on eBay-- but too pricey, so I found this Dynamite stuff and I'm happy with it-- but I didn't even hear that they reformulated and started making that Osmocote Plus again. And thanks for the compliments on the video editing. I have learned a lot in the last year of messing around on RUclips, still have a ways to go, but much better than my original videos. And I always enjoy your videos as well, I can definitely tell you take time to edit them as well.
I just found out, Osmocote Plus has been brought back to market-- but the original formula was changed and no longer has Ca in it, so I think I'll stick with the Dynamite Plus. Tank on!
Cool. Good luck. I actually just came across your channel the other day. I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet, but its in my "watch later" queue. I look forward to seeing your tank progress.
Yeah...who knows? Maybe they changed the formula 7 years ago? Not to mention the Dynamite is like 4 bucks more per pound on Amazon Edit: oh, I think it’s the slow release one that hit discontinued, but the smart release is still there
My wife has five 20 gallon long tanks and presently has all five tanks stocked with fancy guppy's male and female and of course fry, She presently has all tanks planted with Jungle Val's in them. How many tabs should I use in each 20 gallon long tank and how often?? Thanks for all the information you and your wife provide on you tube you both have great video's on here. Thank You
Nick, Osmocote Plus has been back for a while now. Scott's sold the Osmocote Plus brand to a company in Israel who brought the newly named "outdoor & indoor" to the U.S. market. The new Osmocote Plus can easily be found on Amazon.com in various sizes. However, the new Osmocote Plus Outdoor & Indoor is inferior since it does not contain calcium, and they used P2O5 as the source for phosphates. Not as good as the original since it is missing Ca, but still okay since Ca can be supplemented other ways like using CaSO4 from Green Leaf aquariums. Heard Dynamite is good stuff too. Might have to try that since it contains Ca. How long have you been using it and what type of results have you seen?
Good info-- I actually had intended to make this video awhile back-- guess the world didn't stop in the meantime. I actually will stick with the dynamite plus since it does have the Ca in it (though you are right, not too hard to add in extra Ca). It has been working really well for me. Though I only use them (for right now) to supplement to my heavy root feeders since I am using relatively fresh mineralized topsoil. I have no complaints. Thanks for letting me know about this. It is always good to have options.
Ok, here's what I did!! I couldn't easily find either Zinc Sulfate or Calcium Sulfate so #1 I bought both the Dynamite and the Osmocote so it has both in there. And I made Root tabs out of both of them mixed into one capsule. And just planted them in my tank!! About 8 of them or so… # 2 here is the other thing I did… I have some amazonia soil and I wished I had put some in before I started the tank, sooooo I thought, "Why not put some Amazonia into gel caps so I can get some soil into my tank!!" And it's the Best soil out there… I put about 20 Caps into my tank… I have a ton of plants and they clearly needed more root tabs and more nutrients. I bought a few expensive plants, from the S.F. ADA Store - Aqua Forrest 2 months ago or so, and they definitely needed soil, the root tabs weren't cutting it… #3 I also put some all natural Red Clay in there about 2 weeks ago for more iron!! I think it has all the nutrients it needs now to grow beautiful colorful plants now!
I thought about mixing the fertilizers too. So I think you have your bases covered. And interesting way to get amazonia soil in there. Should work fine, but tedious. Have you ever seen "the bottle method" to add substrate? I have seen it used to add sand, not sure that it would work for amazonia though. Google it though and check it out. And natural red clay is a great way to add iron. So, when do we get to see a video of your tank?
Hahaha… Well, I have an 8 1/2 Gallon Tank that is BEautiful… For some reason the lighting, plants , everything are working out great. Very clear water and I don't know why… But my 29? Well, it's ok… lots of plants but it has a brown bacteria or something on some of the plants so the green is hidden a bit. Not sure how to get rid of that!
If you don't have any delicate fish in there and you have already tried safer things like blacking out the tank, you could always try H2O2-- google: The "One-Two Punch" Whole Tank Algae Treatment
NickMach007 Question. I have a 29 gallon loaded pretty good with plants, Wisteria, Fox Tails, Swords and 2 I don't know the name of.. all Green, one with some red in it… The Problem is, I have some brown stuff only on the plants, but only the Wisteria and the Fox Tail plants. And the brown stuff rubs off and underneath is healthy green plants. The new growth, on all the plants, is really green and beautiful and lots of growth and fast… But the older stuff has some brown gunk on it. The guy at the fish store who has 2 planted tanks and does this for a living thinks it is a Mild Bacteria and not to worry about it! He said to trim as much of it out and replant the green tops. The rest of the tank is fine. I had some green algae, but not bad, just scrubbed it off the back glass… I have Co2 but run it slow, about 1 bubble per 2 seconds or 1 bubble per second max and only for an hour or so… I have Finnex Fudge Plant + full spectrum lights. I run about 6 hours a day w/ Co2. So any clue what it is and how to get rid of it? I cut some out and replanted the healthy, green stuff. And also used some Peroxide which did seem to work a bit… And a 10% Water change. The fish are very healthy & happy and the filter is good. Not sure what's causing it either… My other tank has exactly the same substrate, a course sand/gravel, the same fish, same plants and filter and food, but the light is different! And No Co2 in the other tank…
Hard to say without seeing it. But whatever it is, the guy at the fish store is probably right. You could trim the plants (often times when I trim, I take out the cuttings, spray them down with hydrogen peroxide and let them sit for a couple minutes) and then replant the healthy portions and cut out all the diseased portions. But why not turn up the CO2 a bit? If it is algae, CO2 would help control it. Have you tried searching online to see if you can find a bacteria or algae that looks similar to what you have? Do you know what diatoms look like? From your description it sounds like it could also be diatoms. How long has the tank been set up?
So do you still think this Stuff is better than Osmocote? Thanks!! Oh, can we buy this at Home Depot or local stores? And I also watched njw1383's video yesterday about he miracle grow brand. Which brand would you suggest overall! Thanks!!
Honestly, all these brands work fine. If osmocote plus hadn't changed their formula, I think the Osmocote Plus was a really great product. But I really like the Dynamite Select-- it has a good proportion of micros (the Miracle grow is missing some of the micros that the Dynamite select has), but I think you would be fine with either product. If you can find one at your local Home Depot, that would be the one I would try. If you have to order online, I personally like the Dynamite Select.
Mike Kollin Hey Mike, just wanted to let you know that Osmocote Plus is now back on the shelves. Although it's not the original Plus formula everyone loved its a merger of our two most popular formulas. You can get both Osmocote and Dynamite Select at most hardware shops or big retail stores like Home Depot & Lowe's. We are both now up on Amazon as well if you're looking for it easily shipped straight to your door! Good Luck with whatever you choose!
Osmocote... if you send me a bag of osmocote plus the new stuff, I will do a video on youtube about it... I have over 100 video's on youtube and over 200 subscribers... :)
Cool. And I see you just posted your own video on this-- i just watched it. Yeah, all these are pretty much the same-- I hadn't seen the Miracle Grow version, but I assume they have micros in them as well.
ha ha yeah. I had this video all ready and sheduled to go live today and then I saw the video on your channel and thought, well bugger me, you beat me to it ha ha
Oh, it doesn't matter. We all make duplicates. It is not always about the only person (or the first) to post something. I think we each build on each others videos. I didn't know about the miracle grow version-- now I do. Keep it up
Thanks Nick! I have found another recipe online based on Walstad's methods. It's an all natural recipe and hopefully it's nice enough for my plants.. Will post an update when I receive my items :)
I added this in an already set up tank that I have for 2 months now. I have mollies, platies and guppies, and they don't seem to be affected--no behavioral changes as well. However, I'd keep an eye on invertebrates like shrimps and snails for this has copper in it. I will buy some ghost shrimps just to test theory.
I bought and opened the aquarium co-op root tabs and noticed it is a powder form. Would it be okay to grind the osmocote plus into powder form for it to dissolve faster because i did an experiment putting osmocote in a cup of water and noticed it took many days for it to dissolve.
I don't have a precise answer since it probably depends on substrate, type of plant, how quickly the plants are growing, etc. But what I do is add a few tabs every week. But I kind of go section by section of the tank-- mostly focusing on plants that are heavier root feeders. So maybe I end up cycling all the way around my tank every 3-6 weeks (probably on average about 1x per month-- maybe a little more with heavy root feeders and a little less with other plants)
You have to use the capsules, Or else the fertilizer will flow into the water and be filtered out by your ummm filter... It helps keep the fertilizer down below the substrate level and keep it there where your plants want it. Its science, don't read too far into it.
is root tabs specific for certain substrates? I'm gathering materials, for one dirted tank and one fluorite tank, and I don't know if root tabs should be on my list for one tank or both. I am planning to make my flourite tank a high tech grow out tank, so it will be heavily planted with many different species.
Sure, that's why you need to read the ingredient list and see what's in them. Look at the labels for Osmocote Plus and Dynamite Select and you can get an idea of what is safe. If you can find similar products, then you can certainly use a different fertilizer. And as with everything, too much of any added supplement can be bad for your tank.
if i do this and just put it direct to a rhizome and wrap fairly thick polyester filling will it still work? or the over dossing will kill the plant? i dont have planted tank just plain gravel.
No. They should be evenly spaced out and burried close to the roots. You don't necessarily have to plant on top it. However, if you're just about to set up your tank, you dont need the gel caps. Pour a generous amount of O+ in the tank and add in the substrate so they stay at the bottom. The granules stays down after being water logged so you don't have to worry about them floating.
Bummer, we are not allowed to buy Gel Caps anywhere. We are restricted by law, and only drug manufacturers can purchase them in bulk. What can I use instead?
You are right, I just found out that Osmocote Plus is back, but the original formula was changed and no longer has Ca in it. So far I haven't had any problems with the fertilizer uprooting. Though I would imagine it could be a problem if you put in the tabs right before a trim. So far as long as I put in the tabs after trimming/uprooting, by the next weekend nothing comes up if I mess with the plants.
Yes. But of course don't just go dumping it in your tank, lol. If you push it into the substrate your plants will be able to utilize the nutrients, and it won't bother your fish. Of course, don't go nuts with it. You don't need that many root tabs. Focus on heavy root feeding plants, and space them out.
Should be ok-- just make sure you push them all the way into the substrate. (Well and go easy with them-- just need one every few inches-- and focus on heavy root feeders.)
I'm fairly new to this hobby but based on my experience, you don't need to add more iron. This helped a lot in stopping the melting of my plants and now they're growing back a lot faster than ever
+underscore thank you for this input. I did read an article talking about not adding too much iron to planted tanks -- that it does not help make plants more red -- brighter light does.
yes, im using 2 20-watt LED flood lights, which i got from amazon, for my 20-gal long. I hang them on top using metal rods and they are more than enough to keep my ludwigia repens and red lotus happy.
+underscore I read about a few people using these types of LEDs and liking how their plants grow with them. I am currently using two 23 watt CFL 5000K bulbs over my 20 gallon long tank.
Hmmm, what kind of shrimp? I have amanos (pretty hardy little guys) and they have done ok, so it may depend. But remind me what kind of shrimp are you keeping?
Thien Le get your planting tweezers and grab the root tab and shove it down as far as possible as close to your plants roots as possible. Yes 1 capsule per plant.
i bought 10 ghost shrimp and 2 died the day after. my tank is perfectly established but i put gel tabs of O+ a month ago. While there is a possibility that Cu is the culprit, it could also be because while transporting the shrimp, they got pretty shaken. as of now, the other 8 seemed to be happy. btw, I had shrimp deaths also prior to using O+, back when my tank was newly setup.
update: i think the major issue why my ghost shrimps died before was my water condition. now, 4 months cycled with perfect numbers, i havent seen any deaths from my ghost shrimps anymore even tho some O+ pellets are sticking out, they never seem to harm my ghost shrimps, in fact 3 had just been carrying eggs, tho i doubt any babies survived and were just eaten by my fish.
No, not bad, just not as good as the original formula. I recently learned that they left the Calcium out and switched to using a different source for phosphates. It would be perfectly fine to use, especially if you add back in the Calcium-- see the reply to your other comment.
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This stuff is incredible! bought 100 gel caps at Sprouts for $3 and Osmocote + for $10 at homedepot last week. I've used like 10 capsules on my 20-gallon long and my plants absolutely love it! It helped speed up the recovery process of my melting Ludwigia Repens, and my swords and bleheris are growing like crazy! the sword and bleheri leaves grew from a bud (less than an inch long) to 4 inches in 2 days.
Btw, you wont need bulk of caps if you have a small tank for each tab is good for half a year.
About how many gallons per tab do you use?
any update for hightech plant
Juliet Mead Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video and found it useful. Plenty more videos coming soon. And thank you for subscribing as well.
Never disappoints.
Thanks.
Your Impressive plant scape in the end credits... is making me click on your channel..! Wow!!
I'd love to do this but my only concern is the slow release casing around the fertilizer. From what I've read it doesn't ever break down so eventually you would end up with a bunch of empty "shells" all over the substrate. I'm not referring to the gel capsules.
You can roll the fertiliser in balls of clay. This also helps to add iron. Just dig around and you should find a good clay soil. BTW clay is actually any soil with very find particles - I suppose it is the surface area that helps the mineralisation of iron with aquarium plants. You still get iron in other soils, but I would imagine it is more freely leached into clay layers over time.
Your vids just keep getting better and better! Great editing skills!... When I heard about the Osmocote being discontinued last year, I went out and bought two bottles. Should be set for a very long time! Haha! Stuff goes a long way!
Yeah, I missed the boat on that one. There were still some left on eBay-- but too pricey, so I found this Dynamite stuff and I'm happy with it-- but I didn't even hear that they reformulated and started making that Osmocote Plus again. And thanks for the compliments on the video editing. I have learned a lot in the last year of messing around on RUclips, still have a ways to go, but much better than my original videos. And I always enjoy your videos as well, I can definitely tell you take time to edit them as well.
When making a new tank, i usually just open a few up and sprinkle on the bottom, seems to work quite well :)
Thanks Nick.... good info..... Didn't know Osmocote was discontinued.....Tank On Bro.............
I just found out, Osmocote Plus has been brought back to market-- but the original formula was changed and no longer has Ca in it, so I think I'll stick with the Dynamite Plus. Tank on!
Super helpful information. Love your channel, I'm subscribing!
Good diy going to have to try this once my planted tank is up and running
Cool. Good luck. I actually just came across your channel the other day. I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet, but its in my "watch later" queue. I look forward to seeing your tank progress.
Thanks nick
Owmocote plus is available all over the place. It's in the pink packaging.
Yeah...who knows? Maybe they changed the formula 7 years ago? Not to mention the Dynamite is like 4 bucks more per pound on Amazon
Edit: oh, I think it’s the slow release one that hit discontinued, but the smart release is still there
Very good DIY!
Thanks, Brian.
Awesome DIY and tips
Thanks, Slim.
I’m wondering if it would be more efficient while using a pill press
i love to see you do more videos. 2021
And how about copper? Is not harmful for fish and shrimp?
it's only 0.05%
Added to favorites for the useful info here.
Excellent. Glad it was helpful.
My wife has five 20 gallon long tanks and presently has all five tanks stocked with fancy guppy's male and female and of course fry, She presently has all tanks planted with Jungle Val's in them. How many tabs should I use in each 20 gallon long tank and how often?? Thanks for all the information you and your wife provide on you tube you both have great video's on here. Thank You
Man thos zinc prices really are unbeatable.
so it doesn't affect the fish??
Nick, Osmocote Plus has been back for a while now. Scott's sold the Osmocote Plus brand to a company in Israel who brought the newly named "outdoor & indoor" to the U.S. market. The new Osmocote Plus can easily be found on Amazon.com in various sizes. However, the new Osmocote Plus Outdoor & Indoor is inferior since it does not contain calcium, and they used P2O5 as the source for phosphates. Not as good as the original since it is missing Ca, but still okay since Ca can be supplemented other ways like using CaSO4 from Green Leaf aquariums. Heard Dynamite is good stuff too. Might have to try that since it contains Ca. How long have you been using it and what type of results have you seen?
Good info-- I actually had intended to make this video awhile back-- guess the world didn't stop in the meantime. I actually will stick with the dynamite plus since it does have the Ca in it (though you are right, not too hard to add in extra Ca). It has been working really well for me. Though I only use them (for right now) to supplement to my heavy root feeders since I am using relatively fresh mineralized topsoil. I have no complaints. Thanks for letting me know about this. It is always good to have options.
And I just added an annotation in the video to correct the "osmocote plus has been discontinued" statement I made. Thanks again for catching this.
No problem my friend. Tank on!
i am from mexico and here alone with Osmocote flower and vegetable plant food is the green packaging and not if it works the same.
great video
can you just put organic potting soil in the capsules?
your 15-5-9 is your percentages N(15) P2O3(5) Potash (9)
so you suggest us to use dynamite in our aquarium?
Your link takes you to an Amazon page for 0 capsules, not 00 capsules.
Ok, here's what I did!! I couldn't easily find either Zinc Sulfate or Calcium Sulfate so
#1 I bought both the Dynamite and the Osmocote so it has both in there. And I made Root tabs out of both of them mixed into one capsule. And just planted them in my tank!! About 8 of them or so…
# 2 here is the other thing I did… I have some amazonia soil and I wished I had put some in before I started the tank, sooooo I thought, "Why not put some Amazonia into gel caps so I can get some soil into my tank!!" And it's the Best soil out there… I put about 20 Caps into my tank… I have a ton of plants and they clearly needed more root tabs and more nutrients. I bought a few expensive plants, from the S.F. ADA Store - Aqua Forrest 2 months ago or so, and they definitely needed soil, the root tabs weren't cutting it…
#3 I also put some all natural Red Clay in there about 2 weeks ago for more iron!!
I think it has all the nutrients it needs now to grow beautiful colorful plants now!
I thought about mixing the fertilizers too. So I think you have your bases covered. And interesting way to get amazonia soil in there. Should work fine, but tedious. Have you ever seen "the bottle method" to add substrate? I have seen it used to add sand, not sure that it would work for amazonia though. Google it though and check it out. And natural red clay is a great way to add iron. So, when do we get to see a video of your tank?
Hahaha… Well, I have an 8 1/2 Gallon Tank that is BEautiful… For some reason the lighting, plants , everything are working out great. Very clear water and I don't know why… But my 29? Well, it's ok… lots of plants but it has a brown bacteria or something on some of the plants so the green is hidden a bit. Not sure how to get rid of that!
If you don't have any delicate fish in there and you have already tried safer things like blacking out the tank, you could always try H2O2-- google: The "One-Two Punch" Whole Tank Algae Treatment
NickMach007 Question. I have a 29 gallon loaded pretty good with plants, Wisteria, Fox Tails, Swords and 2 I don't know the name of.. all Green, one with some red in it…
The Problem is, I have some brown stuff only on the plants, but only the Wisteria and the Fox Tail plants. And the brown stuff rubs off and underneath is healthy green plants.
The new growth, on all the plants, is really green and beautiful and lots of growth and fast… But the older stuff has some brown gunk on it. The guy at the fish store who has 2 planted tanks and does this for a living thinks it is a Mild Bacteria and not to worry about it! He said to trim as much of it out and replant the green tops. The rest of the tank is fine. I had some green algae, but not bad, just scrubbed it off the back glass…
I have Co2 but run it slow, about 1 bubble per 2 seconds or 1 bubble per second max and only for an hour or so… I have Finnex Fudge Plant + full spectrum lights. I run about 6 hours a day w/ Co2.
So any clue what it is and how to get rid of it? I cut some out and replanted the healthy, green stuff. And also used some Peroxide which did seem to work a bit… And a 10% Water change. The fish are very healthy & happy and the filter is good.
Not sure what's causing it either… My other tank has exactly the same substrate, a course sand/gravel, the same fish, same plants and filter and food, but the light is different! And No Co2 in the other tank…
Hard to say without seeing it. But whatever it is, the guy at the fish store is probably right. You could trim the plants (often times when I trim, I take out the cuttings, spray them down with hydrogen peroxide and let them sit for a couple minutes) and then replant the healthy portions and cut out all the diseased portions. But why not turn up the CO2 a bit? If it is algae, CO2 would help control it. Have you tried searching online to see if you can find a bacteria or algae that looks similar to what you have? Do you know what diatoms look like? From your description it sounds like it could also be diatoms. How long has the tank been set up?
Any health problems to ur fish using this?
I cannot find any gel capsule in my area, is there ant way to do root tab with out using gel capsule??
You had me at Blue gloves and Cat hair...
*Question:*
Someone online suggested poking a hole in the gel capsules. What's the effect of doing this?
The ammonia nitrogen in dynamite does not cause a mini cycle?
Any slow release fertilizer will work? or i need to look for something else when buying ferts?
So do you still think this Stuff is better than Osmocote? Thanks!!
Oh, can we buy this at Home Depot or local stores?
And I also watched njw1383's video yesterday about he miracle grow brand. Which brand would you suggest overall! Thanks!!
Honestly, all these brands work fine. If osmocote plus hadn't changed their formula, I think the Osmocote Plus was a really great product. But I really like the Dynamite Select-- it has a good proportion of micros (the Miracle grow is missing some of the micros that the Dynamite select has), but I think you would be fine with either product. If you can find one at your local Home Depot, that would be the one I would try. If you have to order online, I personally like the Dynamite Select.
Mike Kollin Hey Mike, just wanted to let you know that Osmocote Plus is now back on the shelves. Although it's not the original Plus formula everyone loved its a merger of our two most popular formulas. You can get both Osmocote and Dynamite Select at most hardware shops or big retail stores like Home Depot & Lowe's. We are both now up on Amazon as well if you're looking for it easily shipped straight to your door! Good Luck with whatever you choose!
osmocotegarden Thanks!!
Osmocote... if you send me a bag of osmocote plus the new stuff, I will do a video on youtube about it... I have over 100 video's on youtube and over 200 subscribers... :)
very interesting. I use Miracle grow in mine
As in the blue powder version of miracle grow?
NickMach007
No it looks pretty much the same as the osmocote plus.
Cool. And I see you just posted your own video on this-- i just watched it. Yeah, all these are pretty much the same-- I hadn't seen the Miracle Grow version, but I assume they have micros in them as well.
ha ha yeah. I had this video all ready and sheduled to go live today and then I saw the video on your channel and thought, well bugger me, you beat me to it ha ha
Oh, it doesn't matter. We all make duplicates. It is not always about the only person (or the first) to post something. I think we each build on each others videos. I didn't know about the miracle grow version-- now I do. Keep it up
Where I live, all I can find is Miracle-Grow, have your ever tried dosing with that brand?
I so wish I was able to find this in CANADA.
All I'm left with doesn't have any micros in them :(
That sucks. You could always make some clay root tabs and add in your own macros and micros. Have you tried that?
NickMach007 Nope! Never heard of that! I'll Google right away!!
Lots of recipes out there. Here is one example of a pretty solid recipe: ruclips.net/video/1L1_l6oeLF8/видео.html
Thanks Nick!
I have found another recipe online based on Walstad's methods.
It's an all natural recipe and hopefully it's nice enough for my plants..
Will post an update when I receive my items :)
DViau Aquaria can you send me that recipe if you still have a link to it? Or tell me what you googled
Does it contain copper? Cuz i have shrimp and snails...i dont want them to die, but i want my plants to grow healthy and crazy.
Is their nutrients in the fertilizer? And how much would you put in a 10 gallon carpeted tank?
hi after the gelusil cap disintegrate in water won't the Osmocote mix up in water....
it does not harm the fish ?
I added this in an already set up tank that I have for 2 months now. I have mollies, platies and guppies, and they don't seem to be affected--no behavioral changes as well. However, I'd keep an eye on invertebrates like shrimps and snails for this has copper in it. I will buy some ghost shrimps just to test theory.
underscore ok thanks
I bought and opened the aquarium co-op root tabs and noticed it is a powder form. Would it be okay to grind the osmocote plus into powder form for it to dissolve faster because i did an experiment putting osmocote in a cup of water and noticed it took many days for it to dissolve.
For starting a new tank 96x24x30 how many 00 caps should I use on the bottom of the tank
How long until one should replace this DIY root tabs? Good video by the way.
I don't have a precise answer since it probably depends on substrate, type of plant, how quickly the plants are growing, etc. But what I do is add a few tabs every week. But I kind of go section by section of the tank-- mostly focusing on plants that are heavier root feeders. So maybe I end up cycling all the way around my tank every 3-6 weeks (probably on average about 1x per month-- maybe a little more with heavy root feeders and a little less with other plants)
i saw this but i bought osmocote for vegetable, tomato herb and garden. Would this still work as well?
this fertilizer is not harmful to fishes ? Does it say safe for fish, on container ?
Do we need capsules at all or we can just put Fertilizer into gravel?
You have to use the capsules, Or else the fertilizer will flow into the water and be filtered out by your ummm filter... It helps keep the fertilizer down below the substrate level and keep it there where your plants want it. Its science, don't read too far into it.
add some with water to ice cube tray freeze it then just add the ice cube under the gravel
is root tabs specific for certain substrates? I'm gathering materials, for one dirted tank and one fluorite tank, and I don't know if root tabs should be on my list for one tank or both. I am planning to make my flourite tank a high tech grow out tank, so it will be heavily planted with many different species.
AWESOME
Is this safe for snails? Or will it kill them
Do your tabs dissolve completly? I find they surface back to the substrate as a white pebble
Is this soluble in water?
How use this capsule, weekly or monthly?
How many capsule need for 1 feet tank?
Is there any fertilisers you don't want to use which could hurt the fish??
Sure, that's why you need to read the ingredient list and see what's in them. Look at the labels for Osmocote Plus and Dynamite Select and you can get an idea of what is safe. If you can find similar products, then you can certainly use a different fertilizer. And as with everything, too much of any added supplement can be bad for your tank.
how do you remove them after they are depleted ?
Is this safe for fish ?
Will trumpet snails uproot these root tabs
yes if you have lots
awesome video bro I'm on it
It cost 19 bucks and the Osmocote costs 9 bucks for the 2LB.
if i do this and just put it direct to a rhizome and wrap fairly thick polyester filling will it still work? or the over dossing will kill the plant? i dont have planted tank just plain gravel.
i need opinion on you pro guys. im noob. all my life only own a bare tanks. just recently wanted to try earth tank. cheers
How Offten do you does one of these little Caps.?
So you put a capsule with your fertilizer into the gravel and plant ontop of that?
Wont the capsule disapear in water?
No. They should be evenly spaced out and burried close to the roots. You don't necessarily have to plant on top it. However, if you're just about to set up your tank, you dont need the gel caps. Pour a generous amount of O+ in the tank and add in the substrate so they stay at the bottom. The granules stays down after being water logged so you don't have to worry about them floating.
+underscore Ahh okay, thanks..
can i put it in without the capsule?
Hi do you still recommend dynamite select over osmocote plus?
Bummer, we are not allowed to buy Gel Caps anywhere. We are restricted by law, and only drug manufacturers can purchase them in bulk. What can I use instead?
+Shredd Mortem ice cubes, some at a time to not drastically cool your tank
+krystal duncan i tried ice cubes. it melts even before reaching the substrate. it ended up as an osmocote rain instead.
I heard osmocote plus is back? Not sure though. But what are your thoughts about the fertilizer coming to the top when uprooting plants for trimming?
You are right, I just found out that Osmocote Plus is back, but the original formula was changed and no longer has Ca in it. So far I haven't had any problems with the fertilizer uprooting. Though I would imagine it could be a problem if you put in the tabs right before a trim. So far as long as I put in the tabs after trimming/uprooting, by the next weekend nothing comes up if I mess with the plants.
it has nitrate in it, does that no harm the fish?
no
is this product safe for discus fish? Just wondering cause i have never done a diy root tab yet.
Yes. But of course don't just go dumping it in your tank, lol. If you push it into the substrate your plants will be able to utilize the nutrients, and it won't bother your fish. Of course, don't go nuts with it. You don't need that many root tabs. Focus on heavy root feeding plants, and space them out.
does this raise nitratts
Goof stuff, great info=)
Thanks!
Hey Brian, do you think the copper in these can effect shrimp? It looks to small to matter but IDK.
Should be ok-- just make sure you push them all the way into the substrate. (Well and go easy with them-- just need one every few inches-- and focus on heavy root feeders.)
@@NickMach007 thank you so much for educating me on this. No more wasting money!!!
NickMach007 do you have to add any added iron to the tank when using the root tabs? Thanks!
I'm fairly new to this hobby but based on my experience, you don't need to add more iron. This helped a lot in stopping the melting of my plants and now they're growing back a lot faster than ever
+underscore thank you for this input. I did read an article talking about not adding too much iron to planted tanks -- that it does not help make plants more red -- brighter light does.
yes, im using 2 20-watt LED flood lights, which i got from amazon, for my 20-gal long. I hang them on top using metal rods and they are more than enough to keep my ludwigia repens and red lotus happy.
+underscore I read about a few people using these types of LEDs and liking how their plants grow with them. I am currently using two 23 watt CFL 5000K bulbs over my 20 gallon long tank.
+Joni Solis that and The Light Led do is much more clear and just nicer(in my opinion)
Is it a size 0 capsule?
Hey Nick! What's your say on these for a shrimp only planted tank? Thanks for your attention.
Hmmm, what kind of shrimp? I have amanos (pretty hardy little guys) and they have done ok, so it may depend. But remind me what kind of shrimp are you keeping?
NickMach007 Crystal red shrimp high grade :-|
It should be fine. Just make sure the tabs are well buried in the substrate. And a little goes a long way...
NickMach007 thanks brother ;-)
Pedro Madeira what about ghost shrimp? and fish?
Can I use Thrive / Flourish Excel along with this
Yes thos are liquid fertilizers, your plants actually want both; ferts in the water column, and ferts in the substrate.
hello, I'm new to planted tank hobby. So may have a dumb question ... how you place the root tab? 1 root tab per plant or what?
Thien Le get your planting tweezers and grab the root tab and shove it down as far as possible as close to your plants roots as possible. Yes 1 capsule per plant.
Where did you get the fert from??
is this ghost shrimp-safe??
It has copper in it and invertebrates don't do well with metallic elements. However some people say that their shrimps don't mind the O+.
i bought 10 ghost shrimp and 2 died the day after. my tank is perfectly established but i put gel tabs of O+ a month ago. While there is a possibility that Cu is the culprit, it could also be because while transporting the shrimp, they got pretty shaken.
as of now, the other 8 seemed to be happy.
btw, I had shrimp deaths also prior to using O+, back when my tank was newly setup.
update: i think the major issue why my ghost shrimps died before was my water condition. now, 4 months cycled with perfect numbers, i havent seen any deaths from my ghost shrimps anymore even tho some O+ pellets are sticking out, they never seem to harm my ghost shrimps, in fact 3 had just been carrying eggs, tho i doubt any babies survived and were just eaten by my fish.
Doesn't osmocote have copper in it?
@Mr Penguin I have a walstad tank, and I was going to bury it underneath my amazon sword in my 5.5 would that be okay?
Can I use organic fertilizer?
Not a good idea due to the risk of germs unless it has been processed first. But to be honest I used to use rabbit poo in its neat form.
Can I add the CA as a dry fert?
Yes, you certainly could. You could use something like CaSO4
y gloves doe?
Do not buy the Gel Caps at Whole foods. OMG!!! EXPENSIVE!!!
Good earth sells them in Bulk for a lot cheaper and you get more too!!
Agreed. Also eBay is a good source-- great price too.
:)
Mike Kollin Of
It's out of season and your gloves don't fit. :(
:medium
amazon
Is the New Osmocote Plus bad? Please Answer.
No, not bad, just not as good as the original formula. I recently learned that they left the Calcium out and switched to using a different source for phosphates. It would be perfectly fine to use, especially if you add back in the Calcium-- see the reply to your other comment.
Thanks Nick! Appreciate the good information. Keep the videos coming. I'll keep watching, thumbing, and liking.
Thank you for taking the time to watch! I greatly appreciate it.
I thought it was drugs I was like wtf is this is this acid or something I'm so stupid.