# Is NilocG Thrive suitable for low tech planted tank?



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

Thrive 500ml | Premium Liquid Fertilizer | NilocG Aquatics

Is NilocG Thrive suitable for low tech planted tank?

If the answer is yes:

According to the instruction, it's 2ml per 10 gallon. I have a 5.3 gallon tank. 

Should I dose 1ml per 5 gallon ( once a week ) or should I dose less? ( 0.5ml? 0.75ml? )

_I have multiple frogbit in my tank ( covers 40-50% of the water surface ), 3 anubias, and multiple dwarf sag. _


----------



## Smooch (May 14, 2016)

It is. For the plants you have, I would start with a tiny dose once every 2 weeks and see how it goes. You can test your tank to see if you need more or less at the end of the 2 week period.

Speaking of Thrive, does anybody know if it contains glut or not? I'm having crazy plant die off in my 10 gallon and I cannot figure out why. I treat the RO water that goes into that tank the same way as the 40.

I'll start my own thread later. I'm waiting for the mailman to deliver the GH/KH kit I ordered which should be here this afternoon.


----------



## awesometim1 (Oct 31, 2013)

Thrive does not have glut in it. I use it in my tank and plants are going crazy. I would recommend thrive for high tech or a tank with a lot of plant mass. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## DayOlder (Jul 12, 2014)

I currently am using Thrive in what I would call a heavily planted low tech tank, meaning for me only Carbon CO2 but with high PAR lighting. I started out dosing the recommended dosage twice/week and then after about a month uped it to three times/week. It is going to depend on your lighting, among other things, but I would start out on the low in and slowly increase until you start seeing algae or your plants react negatively. The smaller the tank the smaller that sweet spot is going to be.


----------



## tarrant (Apr 19, 2017)

They make a specific version for shrimp tanks that's dosed for one pump treats 5 gallon, been using for a couple weeks with really good results

I have your same plants plus more

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


----------



## frenziedpace (Dec 17, 2016)

I'm using 1ml 3 times a week on my 6g.
I've tried higher doses and lower but that seems to work the best for that particular tank.
It's a good easy to use product, you may just have to experiment a bit to find your best dosage.


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

Smooch said:


> It is. For the plants you have, I would start with a tiny dose once every 2 weeks and see how it goes. You can test your tank to see if you need more or less at the end of the 2 week period.
> 
> Speaking of Thrive, does anybody know if it contains glut or not? I'm having crazy plant die off in my 10 gallon and I cannot figure out why. I treat the RO water that goes into that tank the same way as the 40.
> 
> I'll start my own thread later. I'm waiting for the mailman to deliver the GH/KH kit I ordered which should be here this afternoon.


When you say tiny dose, how much approx? ^^;



awesometim1 said:


> Thrive does not have glut in it. I use it in my tank and plants are going crazy. I would recommend thrive for high tech or a tank with a lot of plant mass.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Is my tank considered ' a lot of plant mass ' or no? 



DayOlder said:


> I currently am using Thrive in what I would call a heavily planted low tech tank, meaning for me only Carbon CO2 but with high PAR lighting. I started out dosing the recommended dosage twice/week and then after about a month uped it to three times/week. It is going to depend on your lighting, among other things, but I would start out on the low in and slowly increase until you start seeing algae or your plants react negatively. The smaller the tank the smaller that sweet spot is going to be.


Hm... is 1ml per 5 gallon once a week a good start? 



tarrant said:


> They make a specific version for shrimp tanks that's dosed for one pump treats 5 gallon, been using for a couple weeks with really good results
> 
> I have your same plants plus more
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


Good to hear ^^



frenziedpace said:


> I'm using 1ml 3 times a week on my 6g.
> I've tried higher doses and lower but that seems to work the best for that particular tank.
> It's a good easy to use product, you may just have to experiment a bit to find your best dosage.


Wow, 1 ml 3 times a week? Is your tank low tech or high tech?


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Speaking of Thrive his thriveS any size bottle is 20% off. Good deal. Code is ThriveS 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Alf2Frankie (Mar 29, 2017)

One way to dial in your ferts is to increase them over time until you get nitrates above 20 ppm (or algae issues) then dose slightly less until you get it back just under 20 ppm. I would dose .5 ml 2 times weekly to start and see how that goes.


----------



## frenziedpace (Dec 17, 2016)

Korilakkuma said:


> Wow, 1 ml 3 times a week? Is your tank low tech or high tech?


Low tech for that tank. I do a 50% water change weekly.
If I do any less nitrate is really low at the end of the week. I dosed more for a few weeks but algae was starting to pop up and nitrates were a little high at end week.
That's just what works for me. 
Start slow, test ,observe and adjust.


----------



## frenziedpace (Dec 17, 2016)

How long has your tank been set up?
Do you have an inert substrate?


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

Alf2Frankie said:


> One way to dial in your ferts is to increase them over time until you get nitrates above 20 ppm (or algae issues) then dose slightly less until you get it back just under 20 ppm. I would dose .5 ml 2 times weekly to start and see how that goes.


That made a lot of sense. Thank you!



frenziedpace said:


> How long has your tank been set up?
> Do you have an inert substrate?


I'm not sure what an ' inert substrate ' is, but I'm using eco-complete. Tank was set up about 2 days ago. 

I had anubias and frogbit for about a week or so. I was waiting for the substrate, malaysian driftwood, etc to arrive, which is why it's only been 2 days.

On a side note, I was told that my kh & gh is high ( 10 kh & 14 gh ) 

Was it because of the substrate? ( my bag of eco-complete smelled sulfuric... ) 

Or maybe it's also because of Riverside, CA water quality?


----------



## awesometim1 (Oct 31, 2013)

Depends on what you want. If you want the plants to be healthy and fill in quickly, use some ferts(just a little) but otherwise, probably not necessary. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

awesometim1 said:


> Depends on what you want. If you want the plants to be healthy and fill in quickly, use some ferts(just a little) but otherwise, probably not necessary.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'm going to follow Alf2Frankie's advice and dose 0.5ml twice a week and see how that goes.


----------



## nilocg (Jul 12, 2010)

Korilakkuma said:


> I'm going to follow Alf2Frankie's advice and dose 0.5ml twice a week and see how that goes.


I think this would be a good option assuming you have something that can accurately measure out half a ml.


----------



## York1 (Dec 18, 2014)

nilocg said:


> I think this would be a good option assuming you have something that can accurately measure out half a ml.


I use syringes i get off e b a y that measure in .1 increments for all my nano tanks


----------



## nilocg (Jul 12, 2010)

York1 said:


> I use syringes i get off e b a y that measure in .1 increments for all my nano tanks


Perfect


----------



## Alf2Frankie (Mar 29, 2017)

@Korilakkuma For future reference, "inert" substrate is just substrate that has no additives or nutritional value for plants and does not affect water parameters. So gravel and sand are inert while Eco-complete is not because it has some nutrients beneficial to plant life.

When I dose anything smaller than 5 ml I use this syringe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ4BZ15?psc=1 or with a pipette just know 20 drops = 1 ml.

Good luck!


----------



## OldeFishLady (Apr 25, 2017)

clownplanted said:


> Speaking of Thrive his thriveS any size bottle is 20% off. Good deal. Code is ThriveS
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hey, saw the ThriveS post and am on their website: NilocG and cant get that coupon code ThriveS to work. 
Am I on the right website?
thx a [email protected]!


----------



## OldeFishLady (Apr 25, 2017)

You can use insulin syringes...1cc - or I get my syringes from https://www.jefferspet.com
this is a great resource for all pets, but, I use the 60, 30 5, 6, 1 cc syringes in my tanks
for ferts, feeding, pulling water for testing, to name a few

I also got one of the 'feeding tubes' - w/ looks like a catheter, but I got it to test it out and see if the feeding tube can get food/frozen/live down to the bottom of tank to the fish that don't hang out at top
My danios grab almost everything, so I use a syringe or that feeding tube to get the stuff past those food hogs.


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

nilocg said:


> I think this would be a good option assuming you have something that can accurately measure out half a ml.





Alf2Frankie said:


> @Korilakkuma For future reference, "inert" substrate is just substrate that has no additives or nutritional value for plants and does not affect water parameters. So gravel and sand are inert while Eco-complete is not because it has some nutrients beneficial to plant life.
> 
> When I dose anything smaller than 5 ml I use this syringe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ4BZ15?psc=1 or with a pipette just know 20 drops = 1 ml.
> 
> Good luck!


Yep! I bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CFJ51X4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 a while back.
@Alf2Frankie Thank you for the substrate explanation! 
@nilocg Thank you for responding to my thread


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

Just checked water parameter today... holy!

Time for a 50% water change... and I think I'll skip on adding fert for now. D:


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Korilakkuma said:


> Just checked water parameter today... holy!
> 
> 
> 
> Time for a 50% water change... and I think I'll skip on adding fert for now. D:




It seems your tank is not quite cycled. Maybe another week. Do you have media you could put in there from an already cycled tank?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

clownplanted said:


> It seems your tank is not quite cycled. Maybe another week. Do you have media you could put in there from an already cycled tank?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes it's def not cycled. My planted tank has only been up for 3 days. I don't have any other tank for cycled filter media...

Edit: I checked my tap water to see if it had the same amount of nitrite - and it did. OMG!

I did not end up doing 50% water change because of this. What should I do??? :'(


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Korilakkuma said:


> Yes it's def not cycled. My planted tank has only been up for 3 days. I don't have any other tank for cycled filter media...
> 
> Edit: I checked my tap water to see if it had the same amount of nitrite - and it did. OMG!
> 
> I did not end up doing 50% water change because of this. What should I do??? :'(




Just let it cycle. I would add a bit of fish food to get more ammonia in there to ensure you get the bb you need. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

clownplanted said:


> Just let it cycle. I would add a bit of fish food to get more ammonia in there to ensure you get the bb you need.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Even if there's a betta in it? o_o

I was looking into bacteria supplement ( dr tim's ) to speed up cycle. I wonder if that'll work.


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Korilakkuma said:


> Even if there's a betta in it? o_o
> 
> 
> 
> I was looking into bacteria supplement ( dr tim's ) to speed up cycle. I wonder if that'll work.




If you already have a fish in there then no need to add. Did not know you had fish in there already. 

Do you know anyone with a fish tank close by that you could get a little of their media from? This would be the best thing you could do. 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SingAlongWithTsing (Jun 11, 2015)

Korilakkuma said:


> That made a lot of sense. Thank you!
> 
> On a side note, I was told that my kh & gh is high ( 10 kh & 14 gh )
> 
> ...


Inert substrate = no CEC (cation exchange). Eco-Complete has low CEC iirc.

Most likely it's the water quality. My kh is 10~11 and my gh is 14. I'm in San Bernardino, i think that's about 15 mins from Riverside.


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

clownplanted said:


> If you already have a fish in there then no need to add. Did not know you had fish in there already.
> 
> Do you know anyone with a fish tank close by that you could get a little of their media from? This would be the best thing you could do.
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I don't have a friend IRL. ( yep, sad! )

* Sulks *



SingAlongWithTsing said:


> Inert substrate = no CEC (cation exchange). Eco-Complete has low CEC iirc.
> 
> Most likely it's the water quality. My kh is 10~11 and my gh is 14. I'm in San Bernardino, i think that's about 15 mins from Riverside.


Yep, we're about 15-20m away... and yes, it's the tap water quality.


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Korilakkuma said:


> I don't have a friend IRL. ( yep, sad! )
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I am sure your LFS would hook you up with some used media if you asked. Tell them you need to speed cycle a tank and need some cycled media. Seriously. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SingAlongWithTsing (Jun 11, 2015)

Korilakkuma said:


> I don't have a friend IRL. ( yep, sad! )
> 
> * Sulks *
> 
> ...


most of the plants in my tank do fine with our tap water. i havent tried stuff like syngonanthus or eriocaulon yet though.


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

clownplanted said:


> I am sure your LFS would hook you up with some used media if you asked. Tell them you need to speed cycle a tank and need some cycled media. Seriously.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Ok, I'll try calling around tomorrow.



SingAlongWithTsing said:


> most of the plants in my tank do fine with our tap water. i havent tried stuff like syngonanthus or eriocaulon yet though.


That's good to hear.


----------



## nilocg (Jul 12, 2010)

Korilakkuma said:


> Ok, I'll try calling around tomorrow.
> 
> 
> 
> That's good to hear.


How is the cycle coming along? Did adding established media seem to help?


----------



## Esteban Colberto (Mar 7, 2017)

I didn't read the whole thing so I'm just offering my own information. I have a heavily planted 30 gallon tank. I started using the entire Seachem line including Flourish, Excel, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and Iron. Also used Seachem root tabs, Stability to cycle and mini-cycle the tank and Prime to dechlorinator and binder.

I'm running two Aquaray GroBEAM 600 Ultima LED light which gives me low to medium light depending on deflection. I do not inject CO2 and I'm running low light plants as follows:

Ludwigia Broad Leaf (Ludwigia repens)
Sword Kleiner Bar (Echinodorus 'Kleiner Bar')
Cryptocoryne undulatus (Cryptocoryne undulatus)
Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis)
Anacharis (Egeria densa)
Bacopa (Bacopa caroliniana)
Marsilea hirsuta

After several conversations with some other plant growers I decided to switch to nilocG Thrive as I liked the all-in-on setup and it's less expensive. Right now with my light and plant setup I am running a siesta light cycle of five hours on, four off, five on to interrupt the algae cycle and to let CO2 build back up. I'm using the follow additives:

Seachem Excel - Daily
nilocG GH Booster - After my weekly water change
niclogG Thrive - Two pumps the day after a water change. Instructions would say 3 pumps twice a week but that was overkill and it left a film on top of the water. My plants are growing like crazy and I'm having hard time keeping up with the trimming of the Anacharis and the Wisteria. 

Brown algae is my problem but after breaking up the light cycle and dropping the nutes back a bit I'm seeing less algae and bigger plants. Just my personal experience and I hope it helps.


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

nilocg said:


> How is the cycle coming along? Did adding established media seem to help?


Hi Colin,

My tank is cycled!  I used Dr Tim's one and only bacteria supplement and my tank was cycled in a week. My water parameters has stayed @ 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 40 nitrate ever since. 

There's not a lot of fish store around my area... so I couldn't get an established media to help with the cycle. 
( 2 stores around my area are saltwater only - and I do not trust petsmart / petco ) 

By the way, I have scrapped my original low tech tank.
It's going to be high tech _soon tm_. 

Plants ( from aquarium plants factory ) and regulator ( from GLA ) are coming tomorrow! * excited *

( I left the Anubias plant in there so my betta has some cover. It'll be given away once the new plants arrive )


----------



## Esteban Colberto (Mar 7, 2017)

Wow what a pretty tank! Love the lilly pipes. The hardscape with that single plant... perfect.


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

Esteban Colberto said:


> Wow what a pretty tank! Love the lilly pipes. The hardscape with that single plant... perfect.


Thank you XD it's not going to stay that way for long, though. ( Anubias will be removed )

I'm adding Micranthemum Micranthemoides, Eleocharis sp. 'Mini', and Staurogyne Repens. Not sure what other plants I'll add in there just yet.


----------



## Esteban Colberto (Mar 7, 2017)

Part of me wants to offer to buy you another tank so you'll keep that one as it is. I could meditate to that every morning. Then again I can't wait to see what you do with more plants. Cheers!


----------



## nilocg (Jul 12, 2010)

Its looking really good, simple and clean, I like it.


----------



## Korilakkuma (Jun 6, 2017)

What it looks like now. 

I stuck with Eleocharis sp. 'Mini' and Staurogyne Repens for now.


----------



## Esteban Colberto (Mar 7, 2017)

In my heavily planted low tech 30 gallon I use 2 pumps the day after a water change and that's doing me fine. Instructions say 3 pumps twice a week but I found that to be too much. I also use GH Booster and Seachem Excel. I do not inject CO2. Good luck!


----------



## nilocg (Jul 12, 2010)

Esteban Colberto said:


> In my heavily planted low tech 30 gallon I use 2 pumps the day after a water change and that's doing me fine. Instructions say 3 pumps twice a week but I found that to be too much. I also use GH Booster and Seachem Excel. I do not inject CO2. Good luck!


Do what works for you. Dosing guidelines are just a starting point or suggestion to start with, every tank is different. Sounds like you have found what is working which is the end goal.


----------

