How to Make THE BEST DIY Aquarium Root Tabs | Tutorial
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2024
- Making your own DIY Root Tabs is very cost efficient and it WORKS! These root tabs take advantage of a widely available fertilizer called Osmocote Plus by Scotts. Despite these being made for terrestrial plants, they work perfectly for aquariums as long as use them correctly.
~Get The Products I Used in this Video (Amazon Affiliate Links)~:
00 Size Clear Capsules:
amzn.to/3UGAOz8 (CAN)
amzn.to/3xX2sOF (USA)
Osmocote Plus:
amzn.to/3BRzKjb (CAN)
amzn.to/3CcSj2W (USA)
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~Osmocote Plus Nutrients~:
Nitrogen - 15%
8.4% Ammoniacal Nitrogen
6.6% Nitrate Nitrogen
Phosphate - 9%
Potash - 12%
Magnesium - 1.3%
0.9% Water Soluble Magnesium
Sulfur - 6%
6.0% Combined Sulfur
Boron - 0.02%
Copper - 0.05%
0.05% Water Soluble Copper
Iron - 0.46%
0.09% Water Soluble Iron
0.01% Chelated Iron
Manganese - 0.06%
0.06% Water Soluble Manganese
Molybdenum - 0.02%
Zinc - 0.05%
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~Social Links~:
► / tropiscape_aquatics
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~Music~:
Night Run Away - An Jone
#aquariumhobby #diy #osmocote
man, where was this channel hidden...glad i discovered it
I'm also glad you discovered it! ☺️
Love this. Your presentation and editing are really really good.
Thank you very much! 😄
Hello my friend. This is more than just a video, you put love and passion into it. Great job! Thanks for sharing this video! Always believe in yourself and keep doing what you love, good luck!👍🌹
Thank you very much! 🥰
Tip: making a small hole using a safety pin and pushing the air out of the tab will prevent it from floating..!!
Great idea. Thanks for the pros and cons. Keep it up
If, while first setting up the tank, I buried fertilizer deep in the substrate and capped it with sand, would the gel capsules be necessary? I’m setting up a planted tank right now and have some fertilizer lying around (golfgreen plant starter fertilizer). I feel like I should just be able to use that, but am worried about it leeching.
great video btw 🫶🫶🫶
Capsules won't be necessary. I usually sprinkle it on the bare glass bottom before setting up anything. This can be done with any type of substrate as well!
Just make sure to have enough substrate that it keeps the beads from breaching the surface.
If you're worried about leeching, you can periodically do water tests. Just be aware that you'll get ammonia spikes from the start.
That being said, I'm not sure how well GolfGreen fertilizer will do. It's a gamble as there could be an inorganic chemical that isn't safe for aquatic use. Definitely search to see if others have done it before with that fert brand. If there aren't any, you could try being the first!
@@TropiscapeAquatics Thanks!!
you can try poking a hole on each ends of the cap to let air get out.
Yeah, that would prevent it from floating. However, I'm not 100% sure if water hitting the beads will make it start leaching nutrients.
i just push them in individually with my finger. Its labour intensive but can be done. I only had to do 20 as its a small tank 5 gallons. Not impressed so far (its been a month). Seems to grow green water more than plants but maybe I need a different product. Theoretically it should work. Interesting method of yours and video.
There's a chance that you're not planting them deep enough (or the substrate is not deep to begin with), and they are breaching the surface, thus releasing tons of ammonia that caused the green water.
Using your finger is OK, but not ideal. When pushing them down, our fingers create quite a large hole in the substrate that might make it easier for the beads to get dislodged and breach the surface. You can shake the substrate as you remove your finger to get some to fall into the hole.
I mainly use them when I first set tanks up. They're the first thing I spread out in the empty tank.
@@TropiscapeAquatics yes I think you are right. First time I tried this. The green water suggests it.
@@thesolaraquarium Hope it works out the next time you try it!!!
Although, if you do want to avoid it, you could use Seachem Root Tabs that are specifically made for aquariums. Of course, this will be more expensive
If you are worried of over fertilizing i have a tip to put it in deep
Get an ice tray. Put 1-4 pallets in each cube. Poor water in to barely submerse the pallets. Push it in to the substrate. No gels needed. no floating. All melt. perfect!
@@jkim3323 thanks not a bad idea. Might try it in future. The plants were growing and healthy before I used the fertiliser so hard to tell if it helped. I might try it on some non-growing struggling sick looking plants to see if it makes a difference. I think if I see it turn around a sick or poor growth plant I can know if it helps.
Other than OSMOCOT PLUS WHAT FERTILIZER CAN BE USED FOR PLANTED AQUARIUM? DO YOU HAVE ANY CHEAPER BUT GOOD FERTILIZER SUGGESTION?
There are guides on making your own fertilizers using dry ferts/salts. They can generally be cheaper than buying liquid ferts. However, depending on your location, it might be difficult to obtain the ingredients. Other than that, I don't recommend using any garden liquid fertilizers for aquariums.
I use a bobby pin and put hole on both sides, never come out😊
In my region the osmocort that's the cheapest is for fruits and vegetables. Will it work?
It should work, but make sure to check the nutrients that it gives. Some might not contain any trace elements. Technically, the Osmocote I'm using is also for flowers and garden use.
what is the difference between osmocote and Osmocote plus? Enough to cause problems with fish and/or snails? Thanks, Rod.
Osmocote Plus contains Trace elements which plants need. I've used them with fish, snails, and shrimp and they are all fine. Just don't use too much and plant them really deep so that the beads don't breach the surface.
Can i use different type of osmocote? Like 14 13 13?
It should be fine! I'm not 100% sure on this, but I believe different osmocotes types may or may not contain trace nutrients such as iron in them
Could I just freeze the osmocote then put it in the substrate?
You could, however, I don't know if there are any negative implications when it comes to cold temperature and plant roots (thermal shock???). Personally, I would not take the risk.
@@TropiscapeAquatics it’s not a nano tank it’s a 45 gallon and it’s is a deep substrate
@@DaughterCesar The size of the tank shouldn't matter. I'm looking more into the possibility of damaging plant roots and health when it comes to potential thermal shock.
@@TropiscapeAquatics true
This contains copper so how will this effects shrimps in the long run?
As long as they're used correctly, and they don't breach the surface, it should be fine. I've used them with shrimp for a long time now and they seem fine. Treat it just like any other fertilizer that contains copper and don't over do it
How many is the max i should use in 10 gallon?
The diameter between each tab is 1.5 inches. Given this, you can measure the width and length of the tank and go from there. 10 gallons can come in different sizes, so I can't give a definite answer.
one more question, I am planning to use ice cubes, approx. how many pellets are there per tab?@@TropiscapeAquatics
It's really hard to say, given how each Osmocote bead is not uniform, some can be larger or smaller than others.
I asked ChatGPT on this, and it stated that each bead can be from 2 mm to 4 mm. It then used 3 mm to estimate how many beads can fit inside a 00 gel capsule. It said 64 beads, which I don't think that's right...
I would aim for about 10, but if you can get your hands on size 00 gel capsules, that would be your best bet as opposed to using ice cubes. Plus, 00 capsules would be more consistent than ice cubes, as ice cubes can be in different sizes.
Is it harmful for fish or shrimp?
If you use them correctly, they are safe. I've been using them for a long time now without any issue with fish, snails, and shrimp.
The only issue is if you don't plant them deep enough and they breach the surface where they may leach a ton of nutrients, which may raise the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate to dangerous levels. It's the same concept as overdosing any type of fertilizer.
I mean, why use the gel tabs?
Gel capsules won't really mess with your tanks' water chemistry and they are quite small. Gel tabs dissolve in water over time thus releasing the fertilizer into the substrate. You could freeze osmocote into aquarium water but that could get messy and ice cubes can get large depending on how you make them.
@@TropiscapeAquatics yeah but all that time you spent putting them in caps, why not just put them in your substrate. Doesn't take that long with tweezers, and you can spread them out easier without using too much.
@@mtgtomescourer I've broken a few beads in the water while I was doing this and made a mess. It also depends how big of an aquarium you have. I know it has a 1 1/2 inch radius per capsule so I know how to plant these appropriately instead of guessing on the radius of each bead. I use gels to prevent the beads breaking or releasing any ferts once it hits the water. I do see where you're coming from but I find that gels work for me.
I guess you can freeze some osmocote in ice tray with aquarium water or water prepared for aquarium. It might be easier 🤔
@@Espiga.fontes True, but then you risk changing the temp albeit not by much but it might be something people want to avoid especially in nano tanks. Plus, ice can be a little slippery so it can be a pain to add and depending on how the ice is made, the ice can be a lot larger than gel capsules
Or just let your fish poop be the fertilizer
Not every tank can do this and not every plant can utilize it to the same extent. The amount of nutrients generated from fish waste may not be enough if we take plant mass, plant species, livestock mass, water flow, lighting (intensity + duration), and CO2 (if using any) into account.
Does the gelatin capsule fully dissolve in water?
Yup! They completely dissolve in the water. Plus, they're inert, so it won't mess with water parameters