STOP Fertilizing Your Way to Algae Disaster!

[@AquaJoyClub]

I love your editing style - so good! Love the voiceover - well done! Way to make a video about fertilizer so entertaining :D. This channel deserves waaaayyyy more subs!

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

I had no idea that your comment was marked for spam, and it took me a full month to notice it... My apologies. KZbin didn't even notify me 🤦 Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! 😊

[@Aswanth_ks_]

I been using lean method, it's doing nice job. My plants are look healthier and i don't have to trim my plants i don't like regular trimming

[@Sinserg]

I went for the lean fertilizing method, it has worked fine for me, my plants are still alive and kinda healthy and the tank has been set up over a year now, I tried with the Seachem schedule, it did not work for me, my tank started to develop green hair algae, black brush alage and staghorn algae, I guess I did not have the correct type of plants for such schedule, I was able to recover from that, took me about a month to get things right again.

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

That's super interesting! I had the best plant health with the Seachem schedule! My Rotala Macrandra and H'ra were the most red I've ever seen! I could've probably got them even more red if I completely omitted using Nitrogen, but that would've probably hurt the other plants more.

[@Sinserg]

@@TropiscapeAquatics Interesting, I guess it has to do with what plants water and substrate you are using, so many variables when it comes to fertilizers in planted tanks, I guess we have to experiment a little until we find what works for us, oh and by the way I didn't know about that third method of fertilization, I will look into it thanks for sharing!

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

Yup! I'm on that mission to find that one method where it's consistent across the board, and PPS might be a contender

[@CatFish107]

My style is 75gal guppy moshpit, jungle AF, with pothos and monstera out the top. Every couple days or so, try to remember to squirt liquid fert, use gel caps with osmocote, and busted up jobes fert spikes as root tabs in gravel. Jungle val, variety of swords, variety of cryptocorynes, frogbit, salvinia, duckweed, sagitaria subulata, some different mosses, a few anubias, and several free floating masses of wendelov fern. Probably 30 to 40 feral hogs, er sorry, mystery snails. I managed to finally wrangle the algae through 2 separate photoperiods, and shortening them until it chilled out.

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

You've got quite the setup! Also, you have permission to call them for what they are. Feral Hogs, err, Mystery Snails. Ah, the good ol' siesta lighting period. I gotta try that out sometime and make a video on it!

[@Darnss123]

im not sure if you'll see this comment but i commented on your other video. i have been looking all over for a video like this dude i accidentally stumbled upon it after watching your video on nutrient defficincies. Please take this advice as a grain of salt. add in paranthesis "(comprehensive fertilizing guide)". if i saw this a few weeks ago it would of helped so much. but the title of your video doesn't directly say that. just my $0.02. please don't take this comment as disrescpetful but just as a tip.

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

Yeah, I feel you on that. It's something to experiment with. If I remember correctly, my aim was to teach the difference between different fertilization methods. The clickbait worked previously with the video before (The Surprising Reason Your Aquarium Plants Aren't Growing) and I wanted to see if I could recreate that with this one. Feel free to give as much criticism as you want! I'm always trying to find the best way I can make content for others! Also, feel free to correct me on any information I present. But, be prepared to back them up with any sources or sound logic. I always want to make sure the information I present is accurate given its context!

[@Darnss123]

@@TropiscapeAquatics bro ur a cool a$$ guy. binge watching all ur vids rn.

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

No u! My past vids might not be the best compared to now. Just a heads-up 😅

[@qifry5367]

algae dont grow on plant but on aquarium wall so annoying

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

It sucks, especially in the corners or on the silicone!

[@theaquaticdesert]

great video pretty much everything was perfectly accurate! I use Neo soil and the company's instructions says do not use any liquid fertz for at least 2 months and so far my plants have been growing pretty fast reference ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/invGXmqufKZsg9E ) these are the results I got so far and the time I started dosing their liquid fertz I only got bba on slow growing plants that's about it. nothing else. diatoms of course occurred during the first two weeks but then amano shrimp and few cleaning crew mates helped eliminating that.

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

Nice tank! I love the little solo rotala that's in the middle of the moss! 😆 Never tried Neo soil before. Hopefully it's readily available in Canada. If they say not to use liquid ferts for the first 2 months, then it must be packed full of nutrients!

[@theaquaticdesert]

@@TropiscapeAquatics it is! I’m also using it on my bigger tank (newly setup) the carpet is growing pretty quick! Just had some flow issues which i think caused (Green blue or blue green algae) which was annoying lol i had to brush it off now it’s almost completely gone.

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

@@theaquaticdesert Hopefully you don't have to resort to using antibiotics or something like Chemiclean. Blue-green algae/cyanobacteria are a pain to deal with.

[@theaquaticdesert]

@@TropiscapeAquatics I’m doing two water changes in less than 2 weeks (so like every 5 days a water change) and sucking out most of the cyanobacteria as I’m brushing I’m pushing it towards the hose to pull it out. And I’ve faced it before but I didn’t let it grow at all. That’s how to deal with algae chemicals are not really the solution.. they either harm/stress the livestock and slows plants growth and pretty expensive :)

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

@@theaquaticdesert That's interesting. While I agree that chemicals are not the way, it was the only way for me. I never had any luck controlling it with manual removal and water changes. It always kept growing back pretty fast. The only thing that worked was nuking it with Chemiclean. Perhaps I wasn't too consistent with water changes. I've got other theories on why manual removal didn't work for me, but I'll save it for another day or a video ;). I don't want this comment to turn into a novel, lol. If I ever get it again, I'll try to be more persistent, but I haven't encountered it for like 2 years now.

[@deadpoet415]

I was having issues with BBA for years. But I finally realized how to solve it. And, yes, it was because of the fertilizer. I have a high bioload tank (lots of fish) and use a very low tech light. I have tonnes of aquatic plants that are low maintenance (swords, anubias, and bacopa) and have strong filtration. The answer is NO FERTILIZER! At least, not anything liquid that is put into the water column. I basically just use root tabs only; and only when the plant shows any signs of deficiency. I also have a second nano tank (12 gallons) with the same situation with the exception of a stronger led light and more stem plants (bacopa, creeping jenny, ludwigia, anubias, java fern, salvinia) and I use no fertilizers. The bioload from the large stock of fish plus the food that enters the tank seems to be enough to keep my tanks algae free and my plants and fish happy and healthy. The plants grow super slow. But that's what I want! Low maintenance and no green algae or BBA! And I can also use a third example with my pond outside! So never mind these 3 methods if you have my same setup and goals in common. DON'T USE ANY LIQUID FERTILIZERS!

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

Sounds like the fertilizer you were using was a bit more highly concentrated than you needed or you were giving more than you needed thus giving you algae. Considering your plants, if you were to use a method, lean would be best as it aligns with your tank goals (low concentration and low maintenance). Either way, it's awesome that you found a solution for your issues! I've done no fert tanks before and their great! However, each tank is different so the no fert route isn't for everyone. Although, the amount of money you save can really add up!

[@deadpoet415]

@@TropiscapeAquatics the method I have is so lean.. there's no fertilizer at all! Lol! I don't recommend that for everyone. Luckily I have plants and water parameters that allow me to get away with that. Although it is possible that I will go back to liquid fertilizers again if there are any deficiencies.

[@TropiscapeAquatics]

@@deadpoet415 I love that statement! "It's so lean, there's no fertilizer at all" 🤣