FW planted nutrients

[FitoPharmer]

I was looking at some picture of nice freshwater tanks again today and I decided to try out some CO2 and fertilizer. I have a Fulval shrimp tank right now. I only have super hardy plants like java moss and fern but even they look sickly.

Are there any places in Canada that sell freshwater fertilizers like this? http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizer.html
Is Flourish Excel a decent CO2 replacement?
Is there a cheaper generic version of the active ingredients in Flourish Excel?
For my small tank is a yeast CO2 reactor fine or should I look at a pressurized system?

Also if you have a link for planted tanks posting that or PMing me would be greatly appreciated.

[Cugio]

I would recommend a full pressurized system of a paint ball canister or a 5 lbs bottle. Nothing beats pressurized co2. Using Excel in combination is good for battle algae if you are suffering from that. I wouldn't use Excel or an alternative as it is known to inhibit breeding with your shrimp (if that matters to you).

I used to buy my dry ferts from Greg Watsons website (aquarium fertilizers dot com) but he stopped selling due to personal reasons. Green Leaf is still your best bet. You can go to the hydroponics stores in your area, but you are still going to pay a lot more than what you need.

I am currently using the full seachem line up, but make my own stock solutions for everything, except for Iron and Excel.

visit "aquarium plant central". Great community there.

[Kgrizzle]

Hello ok I guess first man is look into co2 it can be a pain in the ass my roomate has a fresh water tank and he only runs exel and yea big als sell a cheaper brand which my roomate also runs in he's tank and just wondering do u have spiral grass u could part with

[FitoPharmer]

Cugio- That is what I expected, a solenoid would be a must right? Thanks for the heads up on the shrimp not breeding with excel. I guess I can just order everything I need and just get KNO3 at my local hydro store since it cannot be shipped? Just to make sure I understood you correctly you mix all your own ferts accept for iron and excel? Is there any specific reason you do not use a dry iron mix? I checked out that site and it looks like it will help me out.


Kgrizzle- I think i used to have spiral grass, but it died off. Probably due to lack of nutrients. I picked it up at my local Petland.

I had a few more questions about shrimp,
Can multiple species be housed together? I was told yes at the pet store, but it seems my algae shrimp ate my cherry shrimp.
Will shrimp breed successfully with fish in the tank, right now I have some tetras. The plant population is pretty sparse, but I imagine that will change once I start CO2 and fertilizer.

[Cugio]

You can get KNO3 (monopotassium nitrate) shipped in individual 1lbs bags. I would not order more than 3lbs though, otherwise they might think your building a .....

An electronic solenoid is a must if your going with pressurized co2.

I would not mix the different varieties of shrimp. Just keep it as the same and no mix breeding will occur. Not every type can breed with each other. Crystal shrimp and Red Cherry shrimp can breed together.

I had guppies successfully living with cherry red shrimp with no problems. But, the new borns will get eaten by the fish. Just make sure you have lots of crevices in your driftwood for the shrimp to hide in when they are new born or molting.

[FitoPharmer]

My algae eating shrimp have only had eggs once in 6 months. Are they harder to breed then cherry or crystal shrimp? Or is it likely a water issue?

[Kgrizzle]

My roommate uses excel like I said an flourish and trace and had had emense success in Breeding cherry shrimp using spiral grass... He had a 10x 10 patch of spiral and put 30 cherry shrimp and every month he had sold back to the Lfs about 100 shrimp... Also his java moss has multiplied by about 20 in a month just using the stuff I said and using 4 t5 ho lights and weekly 20% water changes

[reef-keeper]

Leaf Zone by API works really well and can be bought at your LFS

[Kgrizzle]

He also adds iron to the tank aswell

[FitoPharmer]

LOL, I got a better response here then on the planted section of a very popular FW forum. Almost a week and zero responses.... I will just repost here.

I had a few more questions about setting up my Fluval Ebi shrimp tank.

Are cherry shrimp easier to breed then amano shrimp?

I am looking for a small pressurized CO2 system now, but in the mean time will a 2L yeast reactor be worth my time to setup for my 9-10G tank?

What would be a good to diffuse the CO2 in my small tank?

[Kgrizzle]

All we can comment on is I think cherry shrimp are very easy to breed... We don't use co2 like I had said before