API Root Tabs Aquarium Plant Fertilizer

[Robby Jacobson]

could these be use as alternative to seaweed extract?

http://www.petco.com/product/112621/API-Root-Tabs-Aquarium-Plant-Fe...

Thanks

Rob

[Keith Rowan]

personally, i would not use them..unless i investigated pretty thoroughly

stuff like this is usually made for aquariums and ornamental fish tanks.. not for tanks that have fish meant for consumption..

you can find maxicrop with iron on amazon.. even quite a few hydroponic stores carry it

[Robby Jacobson]

http://www.apifishcare.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=217

it says it will not harm fish.

I guess I forgot to say that this system will be using goldfish for this year. In the future we will be moving to edible fish.

[Keith Rowan]

it might not harm aquarium fish, but it might not be ok for fish you plan on eating! 

it's made mostly from clay and carbon (look at the msds sheet) but the "additives" that they do not identify would stop me from using this in a fish tank that i plan on eating fish from, especially since they note that it can be an irritant to the skin and eyes

there's also a note to "Preven spillage from entering drains, sweres or water courses."

that item is what i personally would consider a "RED FLAG" for this produc and not use it

[Jon Parr]

True, but will it harm the humans that eat the fish? IDK, but that is the question to research. I've used a handful of CRF's in my growbeds before, worked excellent. They are little pellets made for soil crops, "controlled release fertilizer", very cheap and available at any home improvement store or nursery, in case you're having trouble finding maxicrop or too impatient to order it (I know I am)

[Keith Rowan]

i understand the impatience, but if you're too imapatient to do all the research, then you're just asking for trouble..i ordered maxicrop w/ iron from amazon the first time i got it within a couple days...

your fish might be ok, and if you'd rather not know for sure if it's going to harm you or not, that's completely up to you.. if it works it works

[Jon Parr]

We must have been typing at the same time, Keith. I agree, red flag on the API sticks, at least warranting more research. Always better safe than sorry. I don't know, for that matter, how safe CRF's are either, but they are made for food crops, and are just inorganic nutes. Maxicrop is kelp, and I'm not so sure kelp is a safer bet with ocean pollution and japan's meltdown. Crappy world. All the more reason to not supplement with anything other than compost from your own garden, with worms and scuds to break it all down.

[Robby Jacobson]

It's not impatience. I just saw this at the store and was wondering what others thought. If people thought it was ok, I might have tried it in a project that I am starting soon. I agree with all of you after looking deeper, and this is what forums are for.