Dosing nitrate and phosphate

On 21 Oct 2003 07:18:22 -0700, (Giancarlo Podio)
wrote:

I've been using Flourish K and N for about a year, they are both great
products however as many others have done, now that my supplies are
running out I'm mixing my own to save some $. The PMDD article is
aimed at reducing algae, while limiting phosphates will work, it will
also limit the growth of your plants. Phosphate does not = algae in my
opinion, a balanced nutrient load and good plant growth will fix many
algae problems. If you have a high light tank with CO2 then you
shouldn't have any problems keeping a PO4 level of 0.2-0.5ppm in the
water colum (as long as nothing else runs out such as NO3,
traces....), if you have a slower growing tank it's sometimes best to
keep phosphates in the substrate, if this is the case, Flourish Tabs
are rich in phosphates.

You can compare the contents of Flourish, Trace and Tabs he
http://67.89.4.174/aqua/fert_table.htm

Sometimes I with Seachem had chosen better names for Flourish and
Trace, they can be very misleading. Flourish Trace and Flourish Trace
Supplement would have been better titles IMO

Hope that helps
Giancarlo Podio


I'd go the mix your own route but I don't have the time to get
involved with it.FWIW the Flourish nitrate and phospate products
are working great for me so far. I have a high light/CO2 set up and
you're right,NO3 and PO4 are essential to keeping the plants going
and the algae in check.