Naturally, any owner of the aquarium wants his living corner to be as real and beautiful as possible. That is why, here are always present all kinds of plants that serve not only as an ornament, but also as a shelter for many inhabitants of the home underwater world.
Like any other, aquarium plants need various additives and care, otherwise the sense from them will be small. The most reliable and economical option many aquarists consider self-made fertilizers for aquarium plants. As practice shows, they are obtained not a little, not worse, and even better than some purchased ones. In addition, their preparation is cheaper, and each can regulate the number of chemical elements for each type of plant individually. We will tell you about this in detail in our article.
What are fertilizers for aquarium plants?
Since all plants absorb different substances and components with the help of leaves, the most convenient is to fertilize with liquid additives. They, like multivitamins in the human body, never get in the way and are quickly absorbed, improving overall health, and are necessary at any stage of development. Liquid fertilizers for aquarium plants can be injected into the water once a day or a week, and this procedure should be carried out in the morning so that in the process of photosynthesis, all the useful substances quickly enter the plant.
There are also dry tableted top dressings. They can be brought into the aquarium at any time of the day in the root zone of plants, so that useful substances quickly reach their destination.
What is included in self-made fertilizers for aquarium plants?
This kind of fertilizing for plants is very common. Agree, it is much more convenient to make the right fertilizer for your aquarium by calculating the right amount of all elements individually than buying a cat in a bag, without knowing for sure which components are included in the purchase additive. Homemade fertilizers for aquarium plants are very simple to prepare, and are very cheap. However, as practice has shown, they act no less effectively.
There are many recipes for nutrition and good plant growth, but one universal means does not exist, each of the plants requires its own number of certain elements. For example, cryptocoryns need greater iron content in water for greater growth, and valliensneria from a slightly increased concentration simply dies. However, there are elements without which your aquamir can not normally exist, that's why they serve as a fertilizer for aquarium plants.
And so, potassium is one of the most important components contributing to the rapid growth of plants. If it is not enough in the water, which happens more often, brown spots begin to appear on the leaves of the plants, because it always forms part of fertilizers.
Iron is also an indispensable and very important element. It promotes the formation of chlorophyll. Thanks to the iron, the leaves of the plants do not turn yellow, and they retain their juicy rich color.
Different nitrates are allowed to use only small amounts, and then to improve the assimilation of phosphate plants, which are formed in the process of vital activity of fish and the entire aquarium.
If your aquarium has increased water hardness, then fertilize aquarium plants should be supplemented with magnesium, it softens the water. Sometimes, to prevent the growth of bacteria and improve the dissolution of elements in water, use hydrochloric acid.