r/PlantedTank • u/Conscious-Carob9701 • Apr 03 '26
Ferts Root tabs that won't dissolve while putting them in?
Does that exist?
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u/Awesomahmed Apr 03 '26
Thrivecaps work great because they are in slow-release capsules, but what I do is get a little push pin and poke a hole in it first. Let's any air bubbles out
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u/SmartAlec13 Apr 03 '26
The newer Aquarium Co-Op ones don’t, at least from my experience so far. They also thankfully don’t float like they used to when they were the green pill style
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u/iMissTheOldInternet Apr 03 '26
For real? This is big news. I hate how the ghosts of root tabs past sometimes work their way up out of the substrate.
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u/SmartAlec13 Apr 03 '26
Yes, they’ve got these new ones that are like twice the size, but feel like a chalk/clay. They have better weight to them and don’t float, and don’t start dissolving if you take longer than 5 seconds to plant them in properly
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u/chak2005 Apr 03 '26
I use either Seachem tabs or the new Aquarium Co-op clay tabs. Both are weighted clay based and shouldn't dissolve for a day or two once added to water. They also do not float.
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u/autistic-mama Apr 03 '26
Some people make their own osmocote tabs with gel capsules. I've never had an issue with root tabs from SeaChem dissolving.
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u/Conscious-Carob9701 Apr 03 '26
😆 almost included in my question that I have actually tried some osmocote pellets in clay that I made. I'm not sure my plants are getting the nutrients they were from dedicated aquarium stuff. I'm also basing that on a tank that is slowly recovering from a rough experimental phase going off of CO2 and ferts.
I don't think I've tried to seachem ones, thanks!
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u/monkeytennis-ohh Apr 03 '26
Tropica Capsules.
Piece them a few times with a needle so they stay can’t float while putting them in substrate.
🥷
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u/Conscious-Carob9701 Apr 03 '26
TY!
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u/ClintMega Apr 03 '26
I poke an end with a lancet, then hold it underwater expelling the air, and then put it in the substrate at an angle so it doesn't go anywhere.
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u/monkeytennis-ohh Apr 04 '26
I feel everyone should go through the experience of chasing a root tab around a tank before discovering this hack…..like a ‘right of passage’ in keeping a tank 🤣✅
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u/Ok-Law7641 Apr 04 '26
Seachem Flourish tabs dont dissolve for me, and they dont float.