Who Gives A Fish Forums

I'm about to give my 200L tank a complete plant makeover with some low-maintenance additions and driftwood. Fertilisers - do I really need them, or can I get away without? I've heard mixed opinions, so I'd love to hear what you guys think. If I do need them, what are some good, affordable options? I'm not looking to break the bank on a tiny bottle that'll be gone in a week. Something a bit bigger would be ideal, thanks.

I've had some great results with Seachem's Flourish system, specifically the Excel, Iron and trace.

Even when I'm using just a quarter of the recommended dose, I've noticed a pretty significant difference in how often new leaves sprout, how big they get, and how quickly they grow.

Lighting definitely plays a big part, but without a good fertiliser, growth is noticeably slower.

I'm a bit of a minimalist when it comes to fertilisers, I just use Seachem root tabs and that's it. I'm not exactly diligent with dosing, it's more like every 6 months or so. I've found that giving plants space to do their thing really works for me, the less I mess with them, the better they seem to grow.

For my setup, I've found Seachem Flourish root tabs work well for the crypts and Echinodorus, while a lower dose of the liquid Seachem Flourish suits the rest of my plants. They're mostly slow-growing, easy plants, so I don't follow the bottle's recommended dose - instead, I use about a third of that.

I've had great success with Sera Florena - it completely transformed my plant growth. No matter how much light you throw at your plants, they just won't thrive without the right nutrients. I found that with regular doses of fertiliser, my plants started showing noticeable growth every week. The leaves became bigger, darker green, and started producing runners and branches. I was even able to take cuttings and plant them in other tanks.

Before using fertiliser, my plants would just slowly decline and I'd have to replace them every few months.

I've had a similar experience to coltin, where I've noticed a huge difference in plant growth since adding fertiliser. I'm currently using TNC Lite, mainly because it's great value and doesn't contain nitrate - my tap water already has around 30ppm, so I don't want to add more. The only issue with TNC Lite is that it's a bit light on other nutrients compared to the standard formula, so I've started adding the full weekly dose every three days. I've got a lot of fast-growing plants, and they seem to thrive on the extra nutrients - if I just add the standard dose, I start to get algae, as the light outstrips the nutrient levels.

I've had anubias, Java fern, and Amazon sword thriving in my tank for over a year now, no fertilizers needed.