# Is this safe for DIY root tabs?



## joeyk (May 30, 2016)

Looking to DIY some root tabs. I have this stuff on hand. Would it work? 

Open to any suggestions for a better alternative that's available locally 

Thanks!


----------



## Shary (Nov 6, 2014)

joeyk said:


> Looking to DIY some root tabs. I have this stuff on hand. Would it work?
> 
> Open to any suggestions for a better alternative that's available locally
> 
> Thanks!


Hello,

Have you tried these root tabs? I Osmocote if you want but I will be making my own Clay based root tabs. Let me know if you are still interested. Atleast they will be safe for the fish.


----------



## Lutefisk (Jun 29, 2014)

It looks like most of the N in those is as ammonium, which could be risky if they diffuse into the water column (as opposed to nitrate, which would be less of a big deal). Also, it seems the P and K higher than you need relative to N. Are they controlled release? I didn't notice any copy on the label that says "feeds for X months", where ideally X is as high as possible.

So not ideal, no, but if you use it in moderation, you probably won't have any huge problems. Before I got fertilizer salts, I used to add a few drips of Miracle Gro liquid to my tank on a semi-regular basis (had ammonium-N), and even my shrimps didn't seem to suffer for it.


----------



## EDGE (Aug 24, 2010)

The formula looks like it is designed to acidify the soil as well. P is High and K is relatively low compared to N for aquatic plants. 

Converting N to nitrate N is 4.4268. assuming they are converted by filter bacteria before being used by plants in the

P2O5 is x 0.436 to P then x 3.066 to PO4 
K2O to K is 0.83


----------

