How To Make: DIY Aquarium Plant Fertilizer (Iron)

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The addition of fertilizer to a planted aquarium can make a world of difference as far as plant growth goes. While dosing fertilizer is not always necessary, it can help revive plants that have been subjected to nutrient poor water conditions which may have caused yellowing leaves and or stunted growth.

Iron(II) or Ferrous Iron is a vital micronutrient used by our aquarium plants. Some plants require Fe in high quantities, while others seem to grow just fine without supplementation. It's common to add Fe into the substrate in the form of a root tab fertilizer, providing the plant roots with an ample amount of usable Fe(II).

However, Iron can also be added directly to the water column. We want our Fe to remain in the ferrous form Fe(II) because that is the form which can be used by plants. Unfortunately, Fe(II) is quickly oxidized to Fe(III) which can precipitate with OH ions and is not a usable form. This transformation of oxidation states is largely controlled by pH, a lower pH will facilitate more available Fe(II).

Other liquid Fe fertilizers exist, but we have found using Fe(II)SO4 is by far the least expensive.

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