Root Tabs- Are they worth using and which ones are the best?

Tug

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Jan 5, 2009
1,150
9
38
Washington, DC
See the forest for the trees.

As far as explosive disagreements are concerned, burp. Excuse me. You missed the point. Nothing is always true, man. But, how often do you pick a name brand product over a generic brand made by the same company, only sold under another name. Why? Because the generic lacks the supposed credibility of name brands. I have watched a few people walk away from aquariumfertilizer due to mislabeled products. Again, a credibility issue. Convince people to look elsewhere and that is what they due. You get your fertilizer from AF. Let me ask you, where else would you get it from? A few places, but not many. I agree with Tom, if a company is no longer hungry, if their happy with were their at, then there is no need to advertise. That does not negate marketing on some level and what that marketing is meant to do is to instill in our trust that a thing is credible. Just because a commercial or an ad is marketing, marketing strategies do not always use commercials or ad campaigns.

Word of mouth is a prized marketing tool. Especially when it is from a reputable source. That is what a commercial tries to recreate, a real person (actor) of some repute (famous actor) telling us why they like a certain product (acting).
csmith; said:
That's not always true, man. Take aquariumfertilizer.com. I've never seen a commercial or an ad for them. I'd never even heard of them until a little while back. Why do I get my ferts from them now? Word of mouth.

I have no idea how this thread got hijacked. I'm sorry for my part. After reading the truth about RootMedic Complete, it sounds like a great idea as a product or as a DIY project.
over_stocked;51760 said:
Most of the money made with this product goes right back into this hobby through sponsorships, purchases from hobbyists, and other contributions. I am far from getting rich.
Take the moral high ground if you wish. Deny the truth if you must. But, if you didn't think you could make some cash, if only to give it to someone else, you would not have tried this. I do not deny that being selfless has it's own reward, but when the bill comes due, most people expect to get paid.

Some of us are looking for validation (this could be me), maybe someone that starts an informative web site like this one, is creating something with credibility that provides more direct exposure to their ideas. You could just be a generous guy with a lot of stuff to give away. Sorry, I made it sound as if you are doing it for the money - I never said you would get rich from it though. What do RCS go for these days, $1.20 a pair?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Tom Barr

Founder
Staff member
Administrator
Jan 23, 2005
18,699
786
113
Tug;51831 said:
I have no idea how this thread got hijacked. I'm sorry for my part. After reading the truth about RootMedic Complete, it sounds like a great idea as a product or as a DIY project.
Take the moral high ground if you wish. Deny the truth if you must. But if you didn't think you could make a fast buck, even if only to give it to someone else, you wouldn't be doing this unless you are a true altruist. Even they have their reasons for doing things.

Hell, I charge some for this site, but I lose more than I make, I'm much better off selling Starougyne, RCS, fires, working at In n Out Burger.
I give away most of the stuff, but try to to make the hobby pay for itself somewhat too. That's all I ask.
Most do this hobby not for $, rather, for fun.

But if they have some $ coming in to pay for it etc, then it's not a bad deal.
I nor Justin, nor you are on these forums to make $$.

I really have only seen one person ever get greedy with clubs, hobbyist in the planted tank group and it's someone you all know.
Almost like diva. You all know who it is.


Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Oreo

Guru Class Expert
May 6, 2010
251
0
16
SOoo.... about these osmocote pellets...

How many of these balls do you use at once? Lets say I made ice cubes about one inch on each side. How many osmocote plus pellets go in this one ice cube and then how many ice cubes do I use in the tank?
 

ibenu

Junior Poster
Mar 18, 2009
9
0
1

Tom Barr

Founder
Staff member
Administrator
Jan 23, 2005
18,699
786
113
Oreo;51838 said:
SOoo.... about these osmocote pellets...

How many of these balls do you use at once? Lets say I made ice cubes about one inch on each side. How many osmocote plus pellets go in this one ice cube and then how many ice cubes do I use in the tank?

5 grams per sq ft is decent for most situations.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Tom Barr

Founder
Staff member
Administrator
Jan 23, 2005
18,699
786
113
ibenu;51839 said:
The sticky at the start of this forum subset (Co2 fertilizer..) talks about how to get it into your substrate,, http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/7330-Easier-than-gel-caps-adding-osmocoat-the-existing-aquariums But I didn't find the amounts to use.. terrestrial plants it's 5 grams per square foot I believe, or approx 1 teaspoon.. But I have put very concentrated lumps in my substrate under groupings of rotallas and mermaid weed...

This is about right, you can certainly add more, or patchy distribution.
Depends on how rich you wanna go, neve rheard to anyone over doing it.

I'm sure it can be done, but I've not heard of it yet.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

over_stocked

Junior Poster
Jan 3, 2010
16
0
1
Brandon, Sd
Tug;51831 said:
I have no idea how this thread got hijacked. I'm sorry for my part. After reading the truth about RootMedic Complete, it sounds like a great idea as a product or as a DIY project.
Take the moral high ground if you wish. Deny the truth if you must. But, if you didn't think you could make some cash, if only to give it to someone else, you would not have tried this. I do not deny that being selfless has it's own reward, but when the bill comes due, most people expect to get paid.

Sorry, I missed this as I don't come around here as much as I like. Seems as though you have a dead set opinion about me and my product--which is fine. You are entitled to think what you want.

What you don't understand is really how little money there is to be made at a hobbyist level and the amount of time spent to make that little bit of money. I have almost recouped my INITIAL cost, but my ongoing expenses make it so that actually taking home any significant amount of money is not part of the game, right now. Think of 3 or 4 product prototypes made by an actual fertilizer producer, a few test runs through a capsule filler, quality testing, analysis testing, becoming incorporated,, website, shipping, printing, packaging, etc, etc, etc.

I sell to aquariumfertilizer.com to help make it worth my while at all. Just the energy consumed in packing and shipping product is a lot--especially considering I am a paramedic who works nights and has a young family.

The amount of time I spend answering messages and emails about things completely unrelated to to RootMedic is pretty large. 1-2 hours a day is spent responding to emails, messages, forum posts, etc. I have to double check quality of a producer on a daily basis, since they seem to have some consistency problems. When USPS screws up, I reship--at a loss--no questions asked(which, BTW, seems to be a lot lately... ugh).

I do all of this as a service, rather than a way to make a QUICK buck. I can bet YOU wouldn't do this much work for the few bucks I take home at the end of the month. I started making fertilizer and expirimenting with the options and choices(see there are like 4 new products at rootmedic.net) because I wanted to give something that worked--but at a better price than the big names. I just can't stomach 8 or 9 bucks for 10 tabs. I also wanted to make something superior, which on some fronts I believe I did. I got into this because I was sick of paying those prices. 9/10 of my sales comes during one of my almost constant sales. I keep the price down because I personally have a hard time justifying the higher price, despite the fact that people have willingly paid it.

I appreciate Tom's comments. Not because Tom is the holy grail of aquarium plants, but because he understands this "business". I am a hobbyist. Sure, I'd LOVE to make money in this hobby, but we all know businesses like this come and go. IF it was an easy buck Greg wouldn't have sold. Tom charges here, but I imagine his real job pays a bit better than the amount of time he spends responding to messages on 3 or 4 forums. If I wanted to make a quick buck, I'd pick up a shift at work--for time and a half plus 13 bucks an hour(we're in a shortage right now and they are desperate) I would make a hell of a lot more money than I am doing this and would spend less time doing it.

As an INDIVIDUAL, making money doing this is just nuts.
 

Tug

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Jan 5, 2009
1,150
9
38
Washington, DC
Not many things that I am dead set against.

But, take from my comments what you will. If you feel it is personal, I never intended it to be. You have a vested interest. I understand that.
 

chad320

Prolific Poster
Jun 1, 2010
39
0
6
49
Illinois
I have been using osmocote for years. Its cheap ($5.00/1.25lbs.) and a bottle will last a LONG time. I cant say for sure that its the osmocote but I have no trouble getting crypt wendtiis 2 1/2 ft. tall and looking healthy as can be. When I rescape my 65g in the next few weeks im going to use rootmedics capsules and osmocote as a first layer. Ive tried rootmedics product and am satisfied with the results. I recommend on an existing tank to use the ice cubes of osmocote. Most root tabs are marketed to a specific group of people (planted tank growers) so there cost is higher than what it would be for a larger group of people ( gardeners in general) hence the lower cost/same effectiveness of osmocote.
 

hbosman

Guru Class Expert
Oct 22, 2008
277
1
18
Leesburg VA USA
I've ordered and received products from RootMedic three times. I am quite happy with the service and products, I will order more in the future.
 

barbarossa4122

Guru Class Expert
Dec 29, 2009
975
0
16
NYC
I decided to go out tomorrow and get some Osmocote Plus and do the ice cubes. I understand that I need about 5 grams/sq ft which is about 20 grams for my 55 gallon tank. Now, how many weeks or months do they last in the aquarium ? Btw, I have goldies and they like to dig a lot. Is this still a good idea to do the Osmocote Plus ice cubes ?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

barbarossa4122

Guru Class Expert
Dec 29, 2009
975
0
16
NYC
I finally bought OSMOCOTE PLUS 15-9-12, 4.5lbs from Amazon for $ 24.43 shipping included. I figure I do not have to buy root tabs for a few yrs now. Just water and ice trays:) Btw, I like the RM and Pfertz tabs but, I would like to make my own and see how it goes. I heard only good stuff about the Osmocote.
 
Last edited by a moderator: