Tropica+N&P needs more P (PO4)

[Dusko]

Hi all,

I was doing some tests with Tropicas Aquacare+N&P liquid fertiliser.

I was testing in 3 different fully planted tanks (low/medium/medium lights).

2 tanks get CO2, one Easy Carbo only. Dosed 2x weekly (I also tested 3x) with Tropica liquid N&P.

Each aquarium had for long time GSA problems (on Anubias and C. parva)

Now I started adding extra KH2PO4 together with the liquid Tropica N&P and GSA is not coming back on glass nor on plants. Also C.parva seems to be growing lil faster.

I am ordering NUTRAFIN product called PLANTGRO NPK = 0.6-0.3-2.4
I like this product containing less N, more P and lots of K.

Tropica declaration sais; NPK = 1.34 - 0.1 - 1.03

I wish Tropica adds a bit more of P and K to this mixture.

Regards, Dusko.

 

[Tom Barr]

You might email Claus and Troels.
They are welcomed to email me about adding more PO4 and it's relationship to GSA.
But Claus said this about dilute formulas: simply add more.
That;s fine if you do not mind more NO3/K+.
But if you want to help increase the PO4, just add a couple of teaspoons of KH2PO4, which cost less, to the Tropica product.

My conversations with Claus some nearly 10 years ago in SF led to those products. Prior they just made the Trace mix. Same with SeaChem and Kent and others.

Sort of turned the entire notion about PO4 back in the mid 1990's on it's end.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Dusko]

In the last 5-6 month I was very much focused on GSA, on Anubias and Cryptocoryne parva leaves.
Someone on this forum had a problem recently with C. parva while dosing AquaCare+NPK (good CO2,EI, etc)
I had the same problems for some time now. I started dosing, together with AquaCare+NPK, also KH2PO4.
Here is the result and is working in my other tanks as well;

In the past time, even though dosing often + keeping good CO2 this C. parva would get GSA and some sort of black algae (same as Anubias), but now with extra KH2PO4 no algae at all (with good CO2 or regular Excel).

AquaCare should add more PO4 to their NPK mix.

Regards, Dusko.

 

[Tom Barr]

I think they are little conservative, most folks are.

PO4 at higher levels to rid certain algae species was a long known thing.
I'm prettty liberal with dosing KH2PO4.
Generally rather high levels.

You can mentioned it and explain.

Hard to go wrong with K and PO4.

NO3 seems to be the only thing folks ever worry about anyway.
Like that's bad or something.

They generally make it dilute, so folks do not OD and also so folks use more if they have denser planted tanks, remember many only have 10-25% of the tank planted in many cases as far as the general public aquarium owner.




Regards,
Tom Barr