What Are The Different Types Of Aquarium Fertilizer in The Philippines?

What are the different types of aquarium fertilizer?

1. Liquid fertilizers
2. Nutrient-rich substrates
3. Fertilizer Root Tabs
4. Natural Fertilizer

If you are planning on building an aquascape or thinking of upgrading your fish tank, you may be interested in buying aquatic plants. These will make your aquarium more lively and make your fish happier. To effectively take care of your plants it is useful to know the different types of aquarium fertilizer in the Philippines. To know more, keep on reading!

Nutrients Your Aquatic Plants Need

Before we can tackle the different types of fertilizers you can find in the Philippines, we first have to know about what they carry and what to look for. Just like all living things, nutrients are important in a plant’s survival. These are divided into two—macronutrients and micronutrients.

Macronutrients consist of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, while the micronutrients are iron, manganese, chlorine, copper, boron, molybdenum, cobalt, and nickel. Different fertilizer brands combine both nutrients and others separate them, so it is important to know about these before buying one.

Different Types Of Aquarium Fertilizer In The Philippines

There are different types of fertilizers because not all plants consume nutrients and grow the same way. Some ingest these through their roots, while others get them from their leaves. Listed below are the different types of fertilizers.

Liquid Fertilizers

Liquid fertilizers are poured on the water depending on the dosage guidelines in the packaging. But this may change depending on the number of plants and fish you have in your aquarium.

Having a large number of fish in your tank means that you have enough macronutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. If you don’t have plants this may lead to a lot of algae growth. For this situation, having an all-in-one fertilizer with all the macronutrients and micronutrients can oversupply your tank with nitrogen and phosphorus.

Using liquid fertilizers can also depend on what life stage your plants are in. For example, an iron-rich fertilizer is used when a plant starts to grow, and a potassium-rich one is used when it stops growing.

When using liquid fertilizers, make sure that your plant is the type that feeds through the water to maximize efficiency. Examples are anubias and bacopa. This is because when you overpour this fertilizer, you can easily change the water hardness.

Nutrient-Rich Substrates

Substrates are used because of many reasons. It is mainly used as decoration, a fish’s home, as a medium of bacteria, or as a way for plants to absorb nutrients. It has many forms such as sand, gravel, and soil.

There are packed substrates that have enough nutrients to support the growth of aquatic plants. But not all plants will benefit from this setup. Before you put one, think of how your plants like to be fed. Packed substrates are beneficial for heavy root feeders like amazon sword, cryptocoryne, and dwarf baby tears. With this type of fertilizer method, you don’t have to worry about algae.

These substrates will last a good year or more before the nutrients are gone. When this happens, you have to replace the substrate without harming the fish and plants. You can also opt for the nutrient sticks to enrich the soil once more.

Fertilizer Root Tabs

If you do not have a nutrient-rich substrate, fertilizer root tabs are a good option. You can stick these directly near your root feeders and not have to worry about changing the soil every year. This will slowly dissolve, so you can put one every few months. The disadvantage with this is you do not know exactly when you run out, or how many plants in the area it fertilizes.

Natural Fertilizers

Some aquascape enthusiasts prefer natural or homemade fertilizers in their aquarium, but others think that the latter requires more effort than just using ready to use fertilizers in the market.

To do this, some people use dirt or house plant soils instead of aquarium substrates. Another technique is to focus on good filters and let the natural ecosystem do its work.

Key Takeaway

If you want to purchase aquatic plants for your aquarium, you may be wondering how to take care of them. One way of doing this is to provide them with enough nutrients so they can grow well and live long in your tank. The different types of aquarium fertilizer in the Philippines to choose from are liquid fertilizers, nutrient-rich substrates, and fertilizer root tabs. If you have extra time, you can also explore natural fertilizers.

If you are interested in aquatic plants you can check our list of products here. We also offer other aquascaping needs such as aquarium soils, substrates, filters, livestock, fish food, lights, tank, and hardscaping options.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to message us. You can also reach us through our email inquire@aquascape.ph. We will answer your inquiries from Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 6 pm. We’d love to hear from you!

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