Fertilizers

An overview of the ADA philosophy and approach to fertilization for planted tanks.

The short answer is that you should start dosing water column fertilizers as soon as you have plants in the new tank and no later.

New plants have no established root system, which limits their ability to draw nutrients from the soil.

Why are my aquatic plants yellowing or stunting? Does my planted tank have a nutrient deficiency? What nutrients do my aquatic plants need? This guide discuss plant nutrients and deficiency in planted tank.

Do you need to fertilize your planted tank? What kind of nutrients do plants require to grow well? This comprehensive guide give the insights to planted tank fertilizing 101.

Will adding more iron make my red aquarium plants redder ?

This seductively easy path is unfortunately heavily based on survivorship bias. The few examples that do make it are paraded as the norm when it is not a dependable method for most folks.

How to use dry fertilisers to make your own fertiliser? Follow this guide.

Do I really need fertilizers for my aquarium? There are so many choices in the market- which is the right one for me?

Should we use root tablets or dose directly into the water column for your planted tank? What works and why...

Fertilizer labels can be confusing. This is how to read fertilizer labels for your planted tank or aquarium.

What is 'Estimative Index (EI)' and why is it so popular in some segments of the planted tank community?

Somewhere along the hobby came the belief that plants with large root systems were "root feeders" while stem plants with smaller root systems fed through their leaves.​..so, is it true that root feeders do better with root fertilization in your planted tank?