jobes

samD62

I read somewhere that a guy was going to try using Jobes houseplant spikes broken into smaller pieces and placed in the substrate. I can't find it anywhere now and was wondering how it turned out.

Has anyone ever tried that and if so how did it do as an alternative to high priced flourish tabs or root tabs at LFS.

thanks for any info
sam

Would it not be my luck that after I posted this I found the original post by Scalar.

Byron

Another member, 1077, also uses these, if memory serves me correctly. If he spots this thread, he will likely comment.

samD62

Thanks, the other thread I saw was against using them. I was wondering if it was safe or not for the plants and fish.

Byron

You might weant to send 1077 a PM. I might be getting names mixed, between jobes and Osmocote...anyway, 1077 will sort us out. I've tried none of these, whatever the name, and I always caution on using any fertilizer product intended for terrestrial plants because they frequently contain nutrients best left out of an aquarium. Seachem's Flourish Tabs work well, and are safe.

samD62

Thanks for the info Byron, I will haveto ask 1077 about it.

redchigh

Osmocote plus sealed in gelatin capsules or balls of clay work fine. Plant spikes are NOT aquarium safe- They are too water soluble.

Plant tabs are only a little more expensive than flourish tabs... I don't think the price difference matters when you take into account flourish tabs last longer.

I would use Osmocote and clay when I first set up a tank, but not as tabs. If you want to save money, it's cheaper to buy clay and powder fertilisers. (since all you need is the potassium nitrate an a csm+b)

Alternatively, just buy root tabs online. Usually way cheaper than LFS prices.

samD62

Thanks for the info. It really seems it would just be better to buy the root tabs. Too much involved with the clay and ferts. by the time you get everything and make pellets you really don't save when you factor in the time involved.

redchigh

Well, I make my own, and using clay is much easier than the gel caps. With the powders and clays, you can make 40 for about $4 and almost an hour. (buy you have to buy the powders and clay in bulk, so it takes almost a year or two to turn a profit)

1077

I use Osmocote" Pot shot's" found at lawn and garden store and Ace hardware.
Push em deep into substrate, and replace at four month's.
Used jobe plant spikes and killed shrimp's
No problem's with the Osmocote "Pot shot's" .

samD62

Thank you 1077,

Frequent Water change is the code to live by. Right now I'm dealing with brown algae so I'm not gonna use anything and I cut the lights down to 8hrs until it is gone.

Will update when I see some changes. Thanks again everyone for the advice.

Sam