How to know your aquarium needs fertilizer?

Dosing fertilizer in an aquarium is a pretty confusing step for every planted tank owners. Most hobbyists often wonder how to know their tank needs aquarium plant fertilizer, which fertilizer to dose, how to dose and so on. In this article, I am going to tell you how to know your aquarium needs fertilizer.

The first factor to look out for is the amount and intensity of light you are providing to your aquarium. In high intensity light environment, plants tend to absorb more nutrients. As a result, for excessive absorption, a scarcity of nutrients may occur. On the other hand, in low light tanks, plants don’t absorb much nutrients. So, these tanks typically do fine without any further supplement of fertilizers. Now, it’s time for you to know what type of light, how much intensity of light you are offering to the tank. It solely depends on the species of plant you have. Some plants need high light to thrive (i.e. Rotala Macrandra) and some do fine with less intense light (I.e. Anubias nana). If you have plants that do well in high light, then it’s safe to dose fertilizers. Click here to know more about it.

The second factor to look out for is Carbon dioxide. With additional carbon dioxide supplement, plants tend to absorb more nutrients. Again, the need of supplementing carbon dioxide is directly Co related to the amount of light. If there is highlighted in the tank, the plants will need additional carbon dioxide. With additional carbon dioxide, you’ll also have to dose fertilizers. On the other hand, in low light tanks, there is no need to supplement additional carbon dioxide. As a result, there is no need to dose fertilizers.

The third factor to look out for is if your plants are showing any nutrient deficiency. If they are, it is probably because there is not enough nutrients in the water column and you need to start dosing fertilizers.

So, that’s how you can know if your aquarium needs any fertilizer or not. If you are still confused, comment below and I’ll get to you as soon as I can!


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

https://www.algone.com/fertilizing-aquarium-plants