i went some time ago looking for O+ locally without searching on line where to get it. after a few hours i finally settled on regular osmocote.
i still had plenty of diy clay root tabs, so it was some time before i used any osmocote. when i started using them, though i did the fertcicles. i thought out a few ways of keeping the osmocote balls from settling to the bottom, but couldn't get over the idea of one of my kids eventually putting one of the fertcicles in a cup and drinking it and was tired of trying to shove them in the substrate behind obstacles in my tank before they melted and/or slipped out of my hand.
so i made up some pills...
just over 700 to be exact
it wasn't long (couple seconds) before i figured out this wasn't going to be a happy experience, but i didn't want to freeze or make anything for a long time. so i came up with this...
my procedure was as follows...
1 pluck capsule from bag and separate top and bottom
2 place bottom upside down into bottom of funnel and pour osmocote in
3 holding funnel and capsule above bowl, lift funnel off of capsule and replace top of capsule
4 toss full capsule in box and repeat
*** i used the container lid to hold the osmocote that was going into the funnel and replaced the excess run off from the bowl as necessary
took a couple hours, but all in all, it was worth it. i no longer have to make root tabs when i need them.
but then there was the question of how to successfully get them deep enough into the substrate fast and easy. after some searching i came up with a solution...
it's a baby medicine syringe from a bottle of little tummys gripe water found at any wally world and probably most pharmacies. i just cut the tip off and added the rubber band to set the stopper length. sinks right in and the plunging action helps to release the capsule at the desired depth.
i've had good results thus far. i just dose my micros in the water column. i don't have to fuss with making anything any more and the syringe has been a life saver IMHO.