My fertilizer stick saga

[wheelyfeet]

Ay yi yi, what a problem one little fertilizer stick turned out to be. I placed one Hagen Nutrafin Plant Gro Fertilizer Stick beneath the gravel of my 3 gallon tank.

According to the ingredients, the nitrogen is supplied by ammonium nitrate, and the phosphate is supplied by ammonium phosphate.

My ammonia levels went through the roof (somewhere between 4 and 8 ppm). Since, from what I've read, the NH3 and NH4 maintain a certain balance depending on the pH level, some of the ammonium had to be converting to free ammonia (my pH is 7.6).

My nitrite levels also rose through the roof. I have done 2 80% water changes and 1 50% water change since removing the stick. Now my ammonia levels are back to zero. I am still working on nitrites.

I searched Hagen's website and noticed that they no longer list this product. Perhaps they are reformulating.

I have learned my lesson. Read ingredients and beware using anything that can't be dosed in such a small tank.

[amanichen]

It's interesting that they'd add ammonium into an aquarium fertilizer, when fish and bacteria can provide enough nitrogen based compouns. What was the water dosage for a single stick?

The stuff I quoted in the other thread was liquid, and not stick form. It's possible that they have different ingredients.

[wheelyfeet]

It's interesting that they'd add ammonium into an aquarium fertilizer, when fish and bacteria can provide enough nitrogen based compouns.

Isn't it though? One person I spoke to used them successfully in a very heavily planted and lightly stocked 40 gallon tank with no problems. But I have a three gallon with three plants!

What was the water dosage for a single stick?

They did not include a water dosage. The directions said to put one stick under EACH plant. Can you imagine what that might have done?

The stuff I quoted in the other thread was liquid, and not stick form. It's possible that they have different ingredients.

I have some liquid as well. The ingredients are different. The liquid seems to be mostly a source of trace minerals rather than fertilizer. However, I'm a little scared to add anything to my tank now!

[amanichen]

I wouldn't be scared, just be cautious. Dosages like that shouldn't be done per plant, they should be done per gallon to maintain a certain concentration of each nutrient, and then they usually recommend you test to see when you should re-dose. It's weird that Hagen would do something like that.

Products like this are useful for larger plants, especially ones that root. For years, my parents and I would fertilize the lily plants in our pond using fertilizer tabs buried in the pots. But again, this was only 10 tabs per plant, and in a 500 gallon pond.

[amanichen]

Here's a thread I found:

www.fishcrazy.co.uk/forums/index.php?board=21;action=printpage;threadid=7536

Like me, someone in that thread is very surprised that solid fertilizer for aquariums would contain ammonia, and other nitrogen based compounds.

So far, this is the only instance I've heard of this problem, and the above link is the only online post that I can find about it. I was hoping to find more information as to when the product was on the market, and why it contains ammonia.