I was hoping that bag in the thumbnail was the secret sauce recipe to a $10 a year DIY all in one fert for low to mid plants .. you start trying to dose 10-15 tanks via easy green or thrive it gets $$$!

You are probably the most informative personality on KZfaq.

Nice video, Bentley, I am very much looking forward to the rest of this series.

I’ve been doing dry ferts directly into the tank for 16 years. You don’t need to use the full EI dosing. This is extremely cost effective. I splurge on Flourish Comprehensive for micros.

I've been really enjoying your videos Bentley! Thank you for sharing your knowledge you really made it easy to understand👍🐟🌿🌱❤️

Great video, I have been out of the hobby for a few years and this was the perfect video to brush up.

Excellent video Bentley I am currently using Easy Green and Sea Chem root tabs plants are doing well. Looking forward to the rest of the series on ferts.

Always interesting. Thanks for the efforts. Good stuff

I use Fluval Stratum for the substrate and I use Easy Green for the water column. I gotta say, it's a great combination.

Perfect timing, thanks Bentley

I use the aquarium coop ferts. I am using it because I haven't been too serious about plants, and it has been working very well. I am looking forward to the other videos in this series, as well as the horticulture program you are creating. Thank you.

I'm using the wet spot all in one fertilizer with seachem flourish root tabs. I dont have co2 but my plants grow pretty fast. Love the plants for profit series and I have learned alot from your channel.

I use EasyGreen and root tabs.... and fish poo. Can't forget the fish poo. :-)

Good information and perspective. Very helpful. TY

I recently added plants to my 36 gallon community tank and have been dosing using EI with dry ferts and flourish iron and flourish trace.

Informative as always.

Very cool! Thank you Sir!

Nice video Bentley! I use root tabs & liquid. I too like the “easy” option.

Great video lot of info .. I used to keep my plants with CO2 but got tired of trimming every week , now i used liquid fertilizer much better , less trimming .. Thank you for so explaining the differences between fertilizers !!

I use the Easy Green from Aquarium Co-op for my Hornwort and Java Fern. Plan on getting many more plants in the future!

I've been doing the Florish liquid with extra of liquid potassium. Some of my plants are doing fine but others such as Java Fern, Anubias and Mini AR are doing terrible bad. Thank you for the series. I'm just found your channel and I'm watching everything. I'm considering rooting fertilizers just because I'm a little bit lazy in dosing liquid fertilizers in my aquarium and I'm kinda giving up of java fern and anubias, since they are not root feeders, and I don't know what to do anymore. I still have high hope to the mini AR because I just added to my thank so they reason they might not doing well is just because they are still adapting to the tank. I have a 3gl tank. The others plants as rotala, big AR and King Lily are doing just fine. Thank you for the video again.

I love the content. Following!

Thank you. I’m just starting out and all the videos on 12 bottle systems are so overwhelming. I want something to help me get started while I learn and know enough to be cut loose with all these fertilizers. Just a suggestion, I would love a lecture format with a white board. Wishing you great success with your channel. I’ll be following!

Great video! Thank you ❤new to the hobby - aquariums fish and planted tanks. I have not tried any aquarium fert. And trying to figure it all out. My first try at underwater gardening was terrible…all my plants melted except for 2 of the 5 anubias I purchased in a pouch at my local big box pet shop. Trying again with a larger Anubis and a sword fern and some Java moss tiny 5 gallon tank with 8 endler’s 8 shrimp- white sand. Plants doing ok thx to light change and a little liquid co2.. will be adding co2 injection-maybe cartridge or diy cus I’m not adding a $300 co2 system to a 5 gallon tank. Although I have A 39 gallon tank waiting for me in my garage. Just want to feel comfortable before I’m responsible for 39 gallons of living things. Been an outdoor zone 11 Gardner 25+ years -but planting underwater is absolutely different type of gardening. It’s like I’m having to relearn plants. But I love it!

thanks for this information buddy . i used a liquid ferttilizer today . iv got easy plant and noticed a slight diffience on the plants by the evening under the tanks light the plants are picking up .as you say that chart is brillant and gives you an idea . espically what helps the plant and whats in the product to . like the comment about the spray bottle lol

Love the video lessons... I am currently using EasyGreen liquid. Trying to learn as I grow into the planted aquarium world.

Awesome thanks but I wish you did about month ago I was trying to figure it out. But I using easy green and nlocg mag. And root tabs

So i have tried the flourish route, the root tab route and even easy green. Every time I add ferts, I get HUGE blooms of algae. After watching your lighting videos, i am convinced that my issue has been to date lighting (or to much of it). will let you know.

I'm using Tropica Specialised. I wanted to grow Salvinia and Red Root Floaters but the only thing I could salvage was duckweed. It took a long time for me to figure out the lighting shortage and filter flow.

I use easy green a little iron now and then and easy carbon sometimes in the algae war also diy root tabs

I have a dirt tank with fluval plant substrate on top, fluval 3.0 and started dosing with easy green. Do I need to use root tabs as well? I have a couple crypts, red foxtail, a few others.

I set up my 20 gallon tank with eco complete, and then use about 15 root tabs all throughout the bottom layer. Just got done planting 15 bacopa plants and one green crypt. Hoping to get my hands on some wisteria soon. I do need to get some liquid fertilizer. Haven’t gotten that yet.

Hi, i have to learn more about liquid ferts. I use the Easylife ( all in one) and Easylife iron. But I doubt the effiency of it . It works but I have some issues with alge up and downs. I think brands call their ferts All in one but what is all exactly. Last time I read another brand has an all in one that also contains nitrates, but I learned " to keep your nitrates low" . Hope to learn it in your upcoming vid.

Currently using Easy Green and Seachem Excel, and phosphorous to dose missing nutrients. Unfortunately, Easy Green alone was leaving me with some deficiency causing thread algae. Used to use Easy Iron, but I think that was some of the cause of thread algae. Also, 3 tanks have CO2 and the rest dont. Interestingly the low/medium tech tanks are doing the best.

I love Easy Green!

Greatness ..

Something I never hear anyone talk about, every single time I have added a new fertilizer to a tank, does not matter if they're listed as "shrimp safe" I always have a death or 2. Not a huge issue when you have a solid colony, but when you're trying to start one off an 80$ ten pack it might be something to consider. I've been using easy green and I'm still trying to work out good doses. I fraction the doses and throw a one gallon dose everyday (5 gallon tank), or skip a day every third, taking it easy on my new shrimp. I was doing 2 full doses a week before. The thing is it depends so much on what you have growing, since I added guppy grass, I can't seem to get enough to my other plants. I trim the guppy grass, and the next day it's creeping out of it's space and blocking light again. For less plant mass and slower growers, better to dose lean. These fast growers are just eating it up, I bet I could throw 3 doses a week. My hornwort and myriophyllum help me keep a tab on iron, the growing tips of the milfoil will turn blood red when I'm iron rich, or turn green if I'm not, similar with the hornwort, iron rich will get me red hues in the stems especially at the nodes. Best way to do ferts is to watch your plants and step up carefully and gradually. Right now I'm playing it safe with my new shrimp, and in my other tank throwing 2 doses a week. I have a val that I'm almost ready to give up on tho, I cannot seem to get enough nutrients to it, I keep feeding it api tabs, and as soon as it runs out I start to lose it again. One last pro-tip, when you set up a tank, MEASURE THE WATER YOU PUT IN, you only get one shot with that, and if you miss it you will always be guessing lol

I was just reading up on this. It’s a tricky subject.

tricky subject covered well 👍 I'm yet to pick a favourite as I have problems with them all - seems the common denominator is the user!!

I set up a 20g tall back in January. I've been out of the hobby for about 10 years so I made the mistake of using Eco Complete plant substrate to cap some Elos aquasoil. The plants were growing very slowly and even melting back a bit, dosing aquarium co op root tabs and thrive fertilizer made the growth explode. If I would have known better, I would have used Fluval Stratum substrate instead of Eco Complete.

I'm hoping to learn ei so that I can find a balance again like I had with the easy green, but get good performance out of other plants. Which may just be that I need easy tabs for crypts and other tabs for other plants.

Good stuff as always. So in my 40 breeder I'm up to two pumps a day of easy green with around four bubbles a second of co2. I started dosing easy green as instructed as slowly starting adding more and more. I'm trying to achieve the Dutch look but it's much harder than I realized. I have about 17 types of plants and I still am seeing deficiencies in a few of them like the Neseae Pedicellata golden. The newest growth looks great but the bottom half is green with holes. So two days ago I ordered a ei dosing bundle and I'm very excited to see the progress on your experience. I'm still am using easy green on the rest of the tanks though because they are doing great with lower light and no co2.

Easy green and another liquid iron I have used thrive in past and I really am thinking of mixing my own because it’s very expensive to use as much as I need

I'm wondering about perhaps adding vodka or vinegar in small doses as is done in reef aquaria. I don't know how plant available this source of carbon is. In reef aquaria it is done for beneficial bacteria not plants. I'm always coping with the dark green algae/bacteria that grows on Anubias and Java fern. That and BBA seem to be the big problems in my current planted tank. I'm sure the real culprit is my fish load but those Pelvicachromis make a lot of babies! Cheers and can't wait for the root tab episode. I worry that the jell covered tabs add to surface film. I currently use the little clay bricks. Cheers, Chris

I have to agree with Alyssa below. I adore Aquarium Coop but, among their products, Easy Green is not a favorite. I hope they might re-tool it at some point. I've personally had much better results with NILOCG's Thrive line and with Tropica's liquids. I don't know why but I'd encourage Aquarium Coop to re-formulate. I also like Seachem's root tabs ADA's "bottom plus" root tab sticks --in both cases because they are solid tablets and don't float up like the other brands that are gel cap style.

I use Ada brighty k and mineral, seachem nitrogen and phosphorus (with Ada pumps haha they fit right on! ) :)

I switched to from Seachem Flourish liquid to Easy Green Liquid about a month ago. My plants are responding better with Easy Green. I’m still using Seachem Flourish Root Tabs because my root feeding plants perform well with it. Also, I am still using Seachem Trace. Occasionally, I dose Seachem Iron.

I like using root tabs because I do a lot of water changes.

Great video! Personality with my highly planted tank I overdose tropica specialized (everyday) and do regular water change at about 70% every 5-7 days. Of course using CO2 and high lighting. 8hour cycle. The only caveat to what I do is your water must be the same. Ie PH, hardness, temperature. (For this shrimp and fish)

I use el and it's the best el with strong light and presurized co2

Another nice video! Recently switched from Seachem's liqued individual lineup to NilocG Thrive. Saves all kinds of time and takes lots of the work out of dosing, especially when trying to dial in a new tank. I'm still interested in trying other all in ones though as well. Feel like i need to dose more but get string algae when i do... still working on dialing it in with this all in one. Any recommendations for other AOI's?

I'm using easy life profito and easy carbo co2 shots. Dosege them daily of 1/7 fertiliser and shot of co2. Plants do great even high tech plants grows wery well.

I've been using Easy Green and root tabs from Aquarium Co-op. I haven't been using as much Easy Green as I should because I get Nitrate spikes. This week I had 30ppm in my 55 gallon before dosing 5 pumps, the next day it spiked to 80ppm. I think I may have a magnesium deficiency so will try the Thrive. Thanks for the very informative video!

I use easy green and root tabs.

I use EZ Green and root tabs

Great Video! Except you did not light the gorgeous guppies so we could see them...cruel. :0 I use Easy Green (feel same way about Flourish!). I use both root tabs and liquid since I have a mix in my tanks. I was adding iron (apparently too much) and got a nice healthy crop of hair algae. grrr.

So, on my few nano planted tanks I use Easy Green. However, I have an old very established 55 gal planted thank that I have just started using an all in one fert from Greg Sage at Select Aquatics. I also put in some root tabs made by a local aquarist and I added a DYI CO2 system to see what effect that will have, if I like it I plan to add a compressed system.

Niloc G micros and macros. Red clay in a “neutral, black lava substrate.

I have tanks that are stocked enough that they keep about 20ppm of nitrates pretty consistently, so I dose flourish trace, potassium, and phosphate. I'm not sure if I'm doing things right by using this method; what are your thoughts? I just wanted to avoid adding more nitrates... I also use aquavitro mineralize (magnesium and calcium) and easy iron, and easy root tabs for crypts and swords. Plants are all doing well, but not sure if it's because of me or in spite of me. I bought pump heads for the seachem products, so the biggest annoyance of seachem is the cost of dosing 4 planted tanks. I need to look into mixing my own for sure.

My LFS has a liquid fertilizer all in one and there own root capsules, plants doing good even flowering. Except moss and I think you hit the nail on the head in your live stream. Trying some susswassertang now seems to be doing well. Question if I try Easy green the next time I order do you think I would be upsetting the apple cart? I kind of go with if it’s not broke don’t fix it. Drive the greenhouse owners nuts looking for old varieties for garden I grew up raising with my father and I’m in my fifties.

I use dry ferts from NilocG.

Could I ask, does your fillet system take the fertiliser you are putting in take them out of your tank

240 gallon low tech,high effort!..Sunlight provide intense mid day lighting..bright light the rest of the day via window and Fluorescent fixtures. So far, Iron gluconate has GREATLY improved plants. Can't recommend it enough to people. I've added potassium..not sure if it made a difference. I've mixed in garden iron+zinc..helped somewhat. Lastly I've tried an acid fertilizer made for gardens. I put in like a teaspoon in the big tank to see what happens. I think it would take more...but no hurry. I wonder..if you ground aquarium carbon to a very fine powder..would plants uptake it then? Have you heard of "feeding" carbon that way?

you are so great. love the way you explain things i am a beginer in plants in my 55 galon aquariun i just bought the light strip from Fluval plants led 3.0 it cost me $300 LOVE YOUR VIDEO . I AM USING Fluval Plant and Shrimp Stratum AND I DO NOT NOW how to fertilize my aquarium I have amazon swards plants anubias i would love to hear your comment on my tank THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR VIDEOS

Dear Bentley, I found your videos (older and new) very helpful especially when I already know the subject, because always there is something new or small detail that gives the answer. Thank you for that! There is something I am curious about though. I am using injected CO2 in my 12g Tank which has low to medium demanding plants. I already know, that CO2 must start, before the lights kick in. But there is something not clear. Does this mean, that CO2 must start when the lights are completely off, or while we have our sunrise (Aqua sky user here 😜) eg. For the past few months, I use the first method. Lights are completely off and CO2 1,5 hours before sunrise. Thank you in advance and keep up the good work!

I really like the Thrive all in one - I have the low tech for one tank and the regular for another of my tanks. I use their root tabs as well. I used to use Easy Green, but for whatever reason, in MY tanks, it tends to lead to a BGA infestation. Maybe it’s just my bottle... and now that you mention the extra magnesium in Thrive products, I’m wondering if my bottle of Easy Green could be amended with magnesium supplementation to produce the results I get with Thrive.

Good video. Do you think that root tabs are the best way to go?

My well water has about 20ppm or so of nitrates in it. Is there a fertilizer beside Flourish that doesn’t contain much Nitrogen? Specifically one of the new “easy” pump types.

I started with homemade root tabs and Easy-Green. I lost all my stem plants, rotted from the bottom up. Now I'm just using NilocG's Thrive Caps for my amazon swords. Also I'm no longer fighting algae problems and the swords are doing great. Not really a big fan of Easy-Green since my plants all died and algae was everywhere.

Dirted deep sand bed, trumpet snails and fish food. No co2 and no fert dosing. Easy and works great!

I have a tank with a DIY UG filter which is heavily planted with water column feeders and some marginals in baskets hanging off the back down into the aquarium. I started suffering nutrient deficiency, which I presumed was potassium, so I decided to test out the liquid potassium supplement, which did almost nothing before it was used up (wonderful waste of money). I searched around, and ended up just getting some potassium chloride powder from a whole foods place for cheap. My java ferns finally started doing better, but my marginal plants were still suffering, so I used the f*ck-around-and-find-out method of mixing some generic NPK that I already had for my garden plants (I think it's like 10-20-10) into some water and pouring that water to the tank for some extra N and P. That helped the marginals a lot, even though my test strips are sill showing 0 phosphate. Maybe they're not sensitive enough tests? Anyway, I'm also experimenting with dosing ammonium hydroxide for even more N, since the marginals seem to need more N than the aquatic plants. I know adding nitrate would be safer, but if I keep the ammonia levels low, it'll be fine enough, and apparently nitrate absorption can rise ph while ammonium absorption can lower ph, and my ph does tend to climb a little. Urea could be an alternate way of adding N which is very similar to adding ammonium as far as ph goes, but could be a tad safer. Also, I was having some algae issues too, but that has since improved after I started adding fertilizer.

Can you talk about the safety of fertilizers as it applies to snails? Thank you!

I have been using Easy green but it tends to create algae in the tank.So, I tried to switch to Thrive S (shrimp safe fertilizer).I tried once full dose and Java fern that was green went to full light yellow with brown spots and I had to clip off the leaves.So, recently, when I did water change, I dosed half dose of Easy green and half dose of THrive S to test out for fry tank (not the shrimp tank to test out just to be ok with fish first). It seems ok after 24 hours but not big change. To see the result,it may take 1-2 weeks so I am thinking of dosing the same combo way next water change time. But mixing all in one liquid fertilizer is not a good idea? With Thrive S, some plants looked perked up,greener but some went to yellow and with Easy green full dose, it tends to make algae but leaves seems keep green so I tried to take good things from each fertilizer. If combo did not work, I will try maybe like 80% amount of full dosage with easy green and see how it goes.If mixing was not good idea then, I could dose half dose easy green day 1 and day 4, I could Thrive S but with shrimp tank, combining method would be better to keep the water parameter as same as possible? Thank you.

Great video, I was wondering if you have a low tech, mid light, aqua soil setup with both root feeders and water column feeders should you start dosing fertilizer like easy green immediately or just do big water changes for the next couple weeks first?

Using simple green and flourish root tabs. Very inconsistent on both to be honest. Hope this series includes routines and how to stick to them.

Why do my plants turning yellow I used Roots table when I set up my tank and I had my tank setup for 1yr and I got the light that came with the tank

I just ordered Easy Green, was torn between that and Buce Plant's UNS All in One Plant Fertilizer but there's so many people using and swearing by Easy Green I figured, as a fert and planted tank noob I should go with that...I mean I've done planted tanks but this is the first time I have nearly every inch of my tank filled with plants, and I fear they will starve off.

Just looked at the main nutrients in this packet of API Root tabs: Total nitrogen: 3%, Available phosphate: 1%, Soluble Potash: 1%, Iron: 5%. No Mg. But tons of iron. Would this be considered a root tab used most for very iron-hungry plants?

NilocG dry ferts. PPS pro.

I use aquarium Co-Op Fertilizer. And make my own root taps

One thing about using the caps to measure with-- don't 🤗. I put the liguids in a jar of one sort or another and use a syringe to measure with.

So... @7:40ish you mentioned that fish introduce CO² into the water column. So... The more (or bigger) the fish, the less injected CO² is required? - just a thought! 🤔

Next video!!!!!

Awesome video man! I have been having a bit of trouble with green dust/spot algae in my high tech high co2 planted tank. I started adding some phosphorus a couple days ago, but what else would you recommend I do to stop it? I have some expensive plants and I don't want to lose them

Hi can someone tell me how I know if im over fertilising my tank.

Are you still living in Kent? I living in Auburn, my wife want to buy some gappy from you

What is better easy green or thrive ?

First off stem plants always rot for me. I haven't found the solution to that. But here's my fertilizer history: I started with easy green tabs and liquid, did not use the easy carbon. Noted that my swords and val were very slow to grow but crypts and sprite growing well. Sprite reproducing like mad. No water changes for maybe 6 months. Per parameter testing. Added co2, and a second light as it was my thought that if the stem plants had more light at the base, maybe they wouldn't rot an inch from the inert petco "sand". Switch to thrive+(wrong water profile) and denerle iron tabs as well as flourish tabs, dependent on expectation of iron consumption. Cyanobacteria emerges near the surface, never near the sand. I have red root floater it likes to grow on, and baby floating sprites. Emergence of green spot algae. I think maybe the cyanobacteria came in on some Christmas moss which unfortunately got over run and thrown out. With thrive+ being new and co2 being set up for over a month, crypts have slowed and died back slightly, val and swords reproducing and growing much taller. Parameters now out of whack. Regular water changes now necessary.

Easy Green and Easy Iron, auto-dosed 4ml a day on a planted 180. Easy root tabs quarterly under my Swords and my Val.

Me I use just a little bit of marine aquarium salt. No Corey from aquarium Co-op did not give me the idea. To be honest from what little I've heard him talk about, I think he was using too much.

palatau... Ca tu kalsium dey

you were showing Potassium phosphate, not Potassium sulphate

I made like 600 diy root tabs only to hear they are not as good. Welp at least I have backups

Would be nice to see Greg Sage's plant fertilizer in your review. Although I currently use "Easy Green", I think Greg's formula is worth a try. selectaquatics.com/Plant%20Fertilizer.htm Thanks

Powder ferts save you money. You don’t pay for water in the liquid ferts.

Keep in mind that, when you have shrimps, that the fertilizer doesn't contain any copper. Shrimps + copper = death. Cheers.

If you hit the thumbs down twice, it takes of the dislike, so do it

Great video my friend!! Planted Tilapia fry tank, insta pg_aquaponics

i got 1:00 into the video and thought it was amazing until you put the text over your face.. its a shame you did that, if it was in the corner at the top or bottom it would have had the same affect with out covering yourself in the frame.