Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've got a pack of root tabs for my 280, and I'm thinking of breaking them up to spread the love around. No plant's gonna be as hungry as the amazon swords, but since I'm running straight sand, I figure it's a good idea to divide the Seachem tabs into smaller bits for the smaller root feeders. The big guys will get a full tab, no problem.

Will breaking them up or crushing a few affect their effectiveness, or will they just dissolve on me?

Breaking them in half or quarters should be fine, but I'd advise against crushing them entirely. It's likely to speed up the dissolution process too much. If you've got enough plants to spread them around and don't overdo it, I'd definitely give cutting them a try.

kokomo wrote: ↑Thu Apr 07, 2022 3:42 pm Breaking them in half or quarters should be fine, but I'd advise against crushing them entirely. It's likely to speed up the dissolution process too much. If you've got enough plants to spread them around and don't overdo it, I'd definitely give cutting them a try.

Thanks kokomo. I think I'll just cut them in half then, that way I can still get some decent coverage without risking them dissolving too quickly.

Cutting them in half should be fine but if you go too small, like into eighths or smaller, you're gonna get a huge release of nutrients all at once. That's not what you want. Bury them as deep as you can and just halve them if you can, that should spread the love without overdoing it.

kokomo wrote: ↑Thu Apr 07, 2022 3:42 pm Breaking them in half or quarters should be fine, but I'd advise against crushing them entirely. It's likely to speed up the dissolution process too much. If you've got enough plants to spread them around and don't overdo it, I'd definitely give cutting them a try.

That's a really good point, I didn't consider that at all. Splitting the tabs would cover more area, but it'd reduce their lifespan. I'm thinking maybe using full tabs and just spacing them out more would be the way to go.

I'd suggest placing them strategically, kinda like between your main plants, so they have to stretch their roots a bit to reach the tabs. That way, when it's time to replace them, you can just drop the new ones right under the roots. And trust me, having a good pair of long, thin pliers will make a world of difference.

bereb wrote: ↑Thu Apr 07, 2022 3:35 pm I've got a pack of root tabs for my 280, and I'm thinking of breaking them up to spread the love around. No plant's gonna be as hungry as the amazon swords, but since I'm running straight sand, I figure it's a good idea to divide the Seachem tabs into smaller bits for the smaller root feeders. The big guys will get a full tab, no problem.

Will breaking them up or crushing a few affect their effectiveness, or will they just dissolve on me?

You'd genuinely risk dumping way too many nutrients into the tank, sparking a catastrophic algae explosion. Followed by an apocalyptic deluge of biblical proportions. Before those quails even make it to Sinai.

I've been using Jobes Spikes for nearly two decades as my go-to substrate fert. I cut the sticks into varying sizes based on the plant species and size. For a big sword, I'll place several smaller pieces under the plant from different points, ensuring the ferts are accessible to as much of the root mass as possible. I tend to add these ferts about four times a year.

It's an inexpensive way to do substrate ferts, but there's a catch - the Jobe's spikes are slow release. If you're someone who likes to frequently change plants, this might not be the best option for you. Unearthed dissolving stick pieces can quickly lead to an algae explosion.

I've been using these spikes for over 20 years now, and I've probably spent around $50 on them. This was mainly due to my initial purchase, which involved trading some LF bristle nose born in my tanks with a forum member in Florida. We don't typically have the intended target plants for these spikes in my area, so I had to get creative.

Just to clarify, I'm using Pack 5101 - not to be confused with the Jobe's Palm Spikes, which are Pack 01010.