Aquarium OSMOCOTE Root Tabs | Do They Make them? Should you Use them?
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- Опубликовано: 4 окт 2024
- Osmocote DIY Root Tabs have been used in Planted Aquariums for Years and Years, Australia's Scotts corporation even make them for you, but Scotts USA doesn't want to know about it, telling people it doesn't exist, share this video with Scotts USA if you want Osmocote Root Tab fertilizer for your Planted Aquarium. (and they're also cheap to buy)
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Music - Stellar Wind by Unicorn Heads
See my Planted Aquarium playlist here ruclips.net/video/AF6Sai49izE/видео.html
They are a major pain if you don’t have deep enough substrate and Corydoras. My Cories dug them up and the beads spread EVERYWHERE! That caused a huge nitrate spike, once I removed a lot of the loose beads, the nitrates stabilised. I’ve made my substrate deeper but there is still an issue of you need to uproot a plant and the beads come up. So I’ve taken to wrapping them in nylon stocking pieces and securing the top with zip ties. So far so good! I love these mainly because they are SO much cheaper than Seachem and better quality than API.
The nylon stocking is a great tip Jessica, they sure are the cheapest fertilizer out there 🙂👍🏻
But again,don t you have ro atir the substrate in order to put the nylon "bag" in or take it out?
@@Panoslrf I don’t randomly place the bags so I have an idea of where they are. I just poke my finger in and I can feel them. If you place them close enough to a plant and pull the plant up, the roots will be attached to the bag. It’s better than having loose beads coming up in my case.
Irie from Jamaica, now you have me thinking out loud.... never thought of using this or checking it out.
hey Raliegh, it's been used by aquarium plant growers for many years now :)
Good shout mate, I hope people answer your call so this becomes available for everyone.
I know some folk have reported issues but I tried a different type of Osmocote with good results. If we could get this one I reckon there'd be more confidence in using it.
It's pretty bizzare, when the company that makes it, says they don't make it 🤣😂😅
@@AussieAquatic haha.. right.
@@DanielKeepingFish hopefully someone sends Scotts USA this video 😁👍🏻
Thanks Colin they look awesome 🌱🌱💪💪👍👍
Fertilizers ROCK 🌿🌱😁👍
Excellent video.. it's about time they woke up..
👍. Never used any..
I bet it is so expensive if ever sold here 🇨🇦.. 7 bucks is a great deal.
I have always loved your plants.
I don't think any aquarium company can compete with the massive Scotts corporation on price. It's an odd situation about Scotts USA refusing to sell it. People love politics.
@@AussieAquatic ya gotta be cause what company doesn't want to beef up profits
I have never seen these before Colin. This will save all of the mucking around making ones own Osmocote capsules, then having them dissolve while trying to bury them in the gravel. Looks like I'm off to Bunnings tomorrow! Thanks for the heads up.
I've got another Bunnings gem in my next video 😁👍
So two trips to Bunnings... hope I don't get too fat from all of those sausage sangas!
@@Gilsfishroom when does a bloke need any excuse to hop down to Bunnings for a wander around.........LOL :)
I will have to try this. 👍
I'd love to know if you can find them anywhere in your part of the world :)
One tab in a 40 gallon makes bubbles that don’t pop within 12 hours . It’s never killed any fish but I do wonder about the dosage recommended .
@@alans4281 bubbles that don't pop, usually means a layer of biofilm on the water surface. An easy way to fix it, is to lay a sheet of paper towel on the water surface for a second or two, and remove. It will absorb surface films and fix it instantly. 👍🏻
That's awesome, I'm going to look this up
You should, and at some point Scotts USA might actually listen to the Aquarium hobbyists who would like to buy it in the USA and Canada, if enough people contact them :)
@@AussieAquatic yeah i am going to get ahold of them and give it a try.
@@DreamWeaverPets 👍🙂
I like this set up so much
Glad you enjoyed it mate
@@AussieAquatic what type of substrate is on the bottom?
@@AussieAquatic is there a video on setting this up?
TIA
@@AussieRandomVideos I had 3mm inert dark gravel for decades with reverse flow UG and root tabs, then I tried my first aquasoil, then I tried part UG/part aquasoil, then 100% black quartz, and now bare bottom with a fine layer of iron sand.
ruclips.net/video/bqqQvNeOOc0/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/1GWQ8v3GHC8/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/cUDOYJkGfTA/видео.html
Love your videos, I have learned so much, thank you
I'm so glad!
Thankyou Bev, feel free to ask any questions along the way :)
Hey @AussieAquatic can you tell me all the igrediants of the water garden root tabs?
Thankyou for that. In watching your videos I have also see you mention Manutec Trace Elements and adding iron fertilizer. Can you do a review of how you use these products in conjunction with the tabs. As a newbie learning a lot form your videos.
Hey there, because of the high prices of aquarium branded products, I have been actively searching for effective, safe and affordable plant fertilizers. I'm a few years into the Manutek trace elements now, so it's a good time to do a review video 🙂👍
@@AussieAquatic how much water do you mix with the manutec in a bottle and how much do you dose in a tank per litre?
Cool info thanks
Your welcome 🙂👍
I just bought some of this last month for my tanks.. it seems to be doing ok..
Excellent news Tim 😁👍
Thanks a lot Colin for this efforts . In belgium I searched them but there is only osmocote but not aquatic there is one not from scott is labeled as universal.
we never need to use much of this style of fertilizer, but it it very effective :)
I've been using this product in my freshwater aquarium for more than 10 years now and one bag lasts a very very very long time.
The tabs themselves are quite large so I break off the little fertiliser balls all from one tab (they are all clumped and stuck together to make up one whole tab), collect them and distribute them into size 00 gel capsules. That one tab makes around 20 gel caps. I then push the DIY gel caps deep into the substrate all around my tank floor and close to my root stem plants and it works like crazy.
This product is marvelous.
it sure does :)
Are these suitable and effective for epiphytes?
Excellent question.
90% of these plants are all epiphytes and grow like crazy, but I am also using regular liquid dosing of trace elements.
@@AussieAquatic thanks!!
Thanks for the videos Collin. I'm picking up a pack from the big green shed tonight. Did you have any problems with the blue balls (supposedly wetting agent)? I read somewhere someone was alarmed by bubbles forming on the water surface (from their air stone) after putting these into their substrate. I noticed you just pushed the whole piece into your substrate without breaking them apart.
G'day mate,
I'm still using it and all good.
The main thing is that the substrate is deep enough to push it all the way down, and in 1 piece 😊👍🏻
I had a comment from David de Brequet asking about "foaming" bubbles on the aquarium surface after putting the Osmocote root tabs into his 5 foot aquarium, which had him really freaking out. No problem David, I'm making a video right now on the subject, but meanwhile, here is an excellent video from Irene @Aquarium Co-Op ruclips.net/video/CtvklyqUHZY/видео.html
Hey mate are you using undergravel filter on that tank?
Yes 😊👍🏻
Another question, did you find it caused bubbles on the surface? I have quite a lot of air stones and I put some tabs in today and have a fair bit of bubbles now. I figure it will settle
Honestly Michael, I've never had bubbles on the surface, and I do run airstones every night. 👍🏻
It is quite common for aquariums to have a surface biofilm, which is probably allowing bubbles to form. Quickly lay a piece of paper towel, kitchen towel on the water surface, and that will remove it.
@@AussieAquatic yes ! It`s amazing to see just how much of that film can be removed like that ...I do it all the time.
Hi mate I also live in Melbourne and just found your channel today. Lots of great tips and info there. Love the look of your tank and just wondering what you use for remineralising and boosting GH and KH in tap water ? I have seen you using Epsom salt in a one video. Do you add anything else? Currently I’m using blue crystal salt and not sure if that’s any good for the plants since the packaging doesn’t say exactly which minerals it contains.
Hi, great to hear from you.
KH is really important for us in Melbourne to maintain PH stability, my product of choice is Aquasonic KH Generator powder.
For GH I've been using Epsom salt for years.
Finally, I do like to add Rooibos tea into the tanks for humic acids and tannins.
Results have been great.
Thank you very much!!! That explains why I’m having a hard time maintaining the Ph I will definitely give your method a go.
Hey mate just wondering if I need to add any form of calcium in to the water to raise the GH apart from KH generator and epsom salt
Not a matter of need for GH, but if you want to add a measured amount of crushed shells or coral, it always helps the KH.
Thank you…!!!
Do you still dose liquid fertiliser while using these tabs?
Yes I do, see my fertilizing routine here ruclips.net/video/QtVtVbFPg3g/видео.html
@@AussieAquatic Oh wow that was a fast reply, thanks!
Also the dosage instructions are pretty unclear in how to use them. It says for over 30 liters to use 4 tabs.. is 4 tabs the max or do you just keep going? So 60 liters is 8 tabs and so on?
i hope they don’t sell it for aquariums… because i fear the rip-off price😢. price will probably go up 10x😂
not yet anyway :)
This has copper which will kill your shrimp
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Root tabs are a bit different to liquid fertilizers, because they do not go into the water column where the fish, shrimp and snails are.
Root tabs are trapped under the substrate where the plant roots will grow towards them to extract the nutrients they want. The root tabs do not release the nutrients all at once, causing a sudden spike, but instead release the nutrients very slowly at minute doses to not be toxic. I hope that helps :)
I had 100's of breeding red cherry shrimp in this tank for over 2 years without issues.
I have just started using the common fertiliser (osmocote). The non-fish safe product (contains urea and other nitrogen forms). They don’t deliver to me or sell the pond one in my local Bunnings unfortunately so I had to improvise. I have found the deep sand dirted substrate (1 inch dirt, 2 inch sand) has locked it out of the water column and early experiments are doing well. As you say it is possible to lock it into a substrate and I expect the plants will clean up any contamination in the water column if there is any.