It is probably quite natural to feel that we should add nutrients to an aquarium after planting aquatic plants in it. Although terrestrial plants are often encouraged to grow with fertilizers, they can only grow if they receive sufficient light and moisture. The same thing is true with aquatic plants. We must first create the environment to grow them in an aquarium. Nutrients become necessary only when various requirements, such as the substrate, lighting, filtration, water temperature, and CO2 addition, are met. If nutrients are added blindly to an aquarium at the beginning, aquatic plants cannot take them up and instead algae will proliferate due to excess nutrients in the water. If we provide adequate growing conditions for aquatic plants first and then supplement with proper nutrients, the aquatic plants will grow well.
Aquatic plants need nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and trace elements such as iron. Although nitrogen and phosphate are needed in large quantities, these nutrients tend to exist excessively in an aquarium because they are supplied by fish waste and uneaten fish food. On the other hand, potassium and trace elements are often in a short supply. One of the basic principles of nutrient supplementation in Nature Aquarium is to encourage plants to take up the excessive nutrients by supplementing lacking nutrients.
The Use of Liquid Fertilizers
The use of liquid fertilizer is the most convenient way to supplement an aquarium with nutrients. Although various liquid fertilizers are available lately, those that contain nitrogen and phosphate require some extra attention. Nitric acid (NO3) and phosphate (PO4), which originate from fish waste, uneaten food, or Power Sand in the substrate, exist in an aquarium. Although these nutrients are normally absorbed by aquatic plants, they can encourage algae to flourish if found in excess. Therefore, a type of liquid fertilizer that does not contain nitrogen and phosphorus is appropriate for normal use unless there are no fish in the aquarium or the aquatic plants are growing densely and nitrogen and phosphorus are in a short supply. Green Brighty STEP 1 through STEP 3 are not likely to cause algae to develop since they have no nitrogen or phosphorus. Green Brighty contains deep sea water that contains all the essential minerals required for plant growth in addition to the major trace elements such as iron, magnesium, and manganese. Brighty K is a liquid fertilizer that supplements only potassium. Potassium should be added daily since it promotes the photosynthesis of aquatic plants.
Basic Approach for Nutrient Supplementation
Aquatic plants cannot absorb necessary nutrients generally unless the nutrients are available in a good balance. Even if nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) exist excessively in an aquarium, the plants cannot absorb them if one of the other essential nutrients is lacking. Therefore, our basic approach is to supplement potassium and trace elements to encourage aquatic plants to absorb other nutrients.
The Use of Solid Fertilizers
Another type of fertilizer often used in Nature Aquarium in addition to liquid fertilizer is solid fertilizer that is inserted into the substrate. Power Sand that is used when the substrate is built will initially provide the basic nutrients. However, it loses its effectiveness in about one year. Using this timing as a guideline, the substrate can be supplemented with nutrients by inserting Multi Bottom or Iron Bottom. Multi Bottom is a stick type of solid fertilizer. Its surface is coated with trace elements. Once inserted into the substrate, it releases its nutrients slowly which in turn are absorbed by the roots of aquatic plants. Supplementing the substrate with nutrients is especially effective for rosette plants with strong root systems, such as Cryptocoryne and Echinodorus. In addition, Iron Bottom is effective for the family of Echinodorus, which has leaves that tend to bleach when iron is deficient. It is important to insert these solid fertilizers deep into the substrate. If a fertilizer stick is placed shallowly in the substrate or exposed in the water column, its nutrients leach into the water column and may cause cloudy water or algae to flourish. The use of Bottom Release enables you to insert it deep into the substrate securely.
The Use of Liquid Additives
While liquid fertilizers are added to an aquarium basically once a day, there are other additives that are used to solve a specific problem. For example, Green Gain contains naturally extracted plant hormones and highly concentrated trace elements which encourage aquatic plants to develop new shoots. Adding this product right after planting or trimming is effective for promoting the development of new shoots. ECA is fortified with iron and effective for improving the whitening of the leaves and new buds of aquatic plants. Iron is known to be absorbed and used by aquatic plants to synthesize photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll and carotenoid. Consequently, it not only improves a bleaching problem but also brightens up the green color of aquatic plants and intensifies the red color of reddish aquatic plants. The organic acids contained in ECA help aquatic plants to absorb nutrients through the surface of their leaves. Therefore, it would be more effective when used with a daily liquid fertilizer. Although adding any of these additives at a relatively small amount produces a good result, it can stain the water if a large amount is added or if it gradually builds up in an aquarium.
The Combinations and Dosage of the Liquid Fertilizers
The type of liquid fertilizer to be used depends on how long an aquarium has been set up and the growing condition of aquatic plants in it. The combination of Green Brighty STEP1 and Brighty K is a basic one for the early period after setting up an aquarium. Nitrogen and phosphorus tend to become excessive especially in the initial setup period of an aquarium, and supplementing potassium and trace elements encourages aquatic plants to take up the nutrients. The fertilizers should be switched to the combination of Green Brighty STEP2, which is trace elements fortified especially with iron, and Brighty K at three months after the setup when aquatic plants start growing vigorously. An addition of ECA is beneficial if the leaves of aquatic plants begin to bleach or if you wish to intensify the color of red stem plants. Since the amount of nutrients that aquatic plants absorb increases as the plants grow denser during this period, the amount of fertilizers added to the aquarium should be increased as well. Nitrogen and phosphorus may become deficient if only a small number of fish are kept in an aquarium with densely growing heliophytic aquatic plants. In such a case, heliophytic aquatic plants will grow better if the fertilizers are switched to Green Brighty Special LIGHTS. Also available is Green Brighty Special SHADE that is suitable for sciophytic aquatic plants.
Encouraging the Absorption of Nutrients
One of the principles of nutrient supplementation in Nature Aquarium is to add the nutrients that aquatic plants need when they need them. Although it is ideal to add a small amount of nutrients several times a day, it is more practical to add the required amount once a day every morning when the light comes on, provided that CO2 is added to the aquarium and lighting is adequate as well. Aquatic plants must be photosynthesizing and getting the energy necessary for growth in order for them to absorb the added nutrients. Aquatic plants sometimes fail to grow well even when adequate amounts of light and CO2 injection are available. In such a case, the cause may be the high total hardness of the water, which interferes with the aquatic plants’ nutrient absorption. Although it depends on the type of rocks, when rocks are used as composition materials, calcium and magnesium contained in the rocks leach in water and raise the total hardness. When a large amount of these elements exist in water, they interfere with the absorption of iron and other trace elements by aquatic plants and cause their leaves to turn white. In such a case, reducing the total hardness by installing Softenizer enables the aquarium plants to grow better.
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