Liquid Plant Fertilizer Questions... please help!?

Question

Starting a new planted tank. It's gonna be a mixture of low, moderate, and high light plants. It's a 12 gallon tank, 48w of lighting, and floramax substrate (similar to eco-complete or fluorite).

I added Flourish root tabs, a DIY CO2 injection system, and I have Flourish, and Excel for ferts.

The only thing I'm missing, I think, is potassium and iron (which is present in the root tabs in some degree). I was told by the guy at the local fish store that I should dose with pure potassium and iron.

Should I get a poduct like API Leaf Zone (which says it contains potassium and iron, not sure the concentration or if it's really diluted with only a trace) or Seachem Potassium (which seems fully concentrated)? How important is the potassium? I don't want to over fertilize my plants.. This whole business of ferts are a bit confusing so if someone can help me make sense of it all, that would be great!

? · Accepted Answer

If you're using a T5HO system on the tank, you'd be entering high light territory and DIY CO2 may not be enough. Also be sure the plants you're planning to keep is compatible with Excel, which can melt certain species of plants. As to potassium and iron, no commercial product will be "pure" or "fully concentrated", because all liquid fertilizers are about 97% water.

One thing to keep in mind is that fertilizers is basically the last part of the equation when it comes to growing plants. Light comes first, which then determines how much CO2 is needed, which in turn determines how much nutrients (fertilizer) is needed. 48 watts of T5HO would be so strong that pressurized CO2 would be necessary to match it, and you would then need a dry fert routine to match the CO2. Because of the amount of nutrients that will be needed, liquid fertilizers would not be economical since again they're about 97% water.

Liquid Plant Fertilizer Questions... please help!?

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