Which is the Best Aquarium Plant Fertilizer For Your Tank?

Your aquarium has a ton of beautiful plants that help keep the water clean and create a gorgeous aquascape. While plants are a great way to add natural beauty and provide shelter for your fish, they also need proper care to thrive. From sufficient light for photosynthesis to supplemental nutrition, you can’t neglect your plants! Aquarium plants do need fertilizer! If you’re curious about the best aquarium plant fertilizer for your tank, read on here to learn more about the different types and brands.

Types of Fertilizer

There are two basic types of fertilizer: liquid and tabs. They’re made to support the two ways that plants feed. If you have a lot of column-feeding plants that derive nutrients directly from the water column, you need liquid fertilizer. Do you have a lot of root feeders that get their nutrients from the soil? The best aquarium plant fertilizer for you is root tabs!

Tabs

Tab fertilizers are small chunks of compressed fertilizer that work best in gravel or sand. You bury the tab around the base of your root plants, and they’ll dissolve over time.

1. Thrive

Thrive is a well-known manufacturer of fertilizer and other aquarium products. They offer a root tab fertilizer that promotes lush growth in your plants. Full of iron and potassium, it ensures strong root development! You’ll need one tab per square foot of aquarium.

2. Microbe-Lift

Another fertilizer favorite, Microbe-Lift Liquid Iron Plant Fertilizer, is packed with the essential element iron. This fertilizer provides iron in a form that is easily absorbed by plants. What makes it one of the best aquarium fertilizers is that it doesn’t have any nitrate or phosphate that promotes algae growth.

Liquid

Just like the name says, this is a liquid fertilizer that you simply add to the water of your tank. This is one of the best aquarium fertilizers because you don’t need to dig down into the substrate or mix the water. Follow the instructions on the bottle to add the right amount for the size of your tank.

3. Thrive Plus

Thrive has a number of great all-in-one fertilizers that are ideal for unique environments. They have one option made for high-tech tanks with CO2 and another for planted aquariums with shrimp. They offer some of the best aquarium plant fertilizers for your tank because each one is designed for a specific environment.

4. Brightwell Aquatic's Liquid CO2

The FlorinAxis Liquid CO2 Fertilizer is a special choice in Brightwell’s lineup because it is perfect for aquariums with live aquarium plants. This fertilizer will add what plants most readily absorb and need to grow robustly — liquid CO2 — without adding any algae-causing elements.

Buy What You Need Here!

Now that you know that aquarium plants do need fertilizer, it’s time to find the best one for you! There are many types of fertilizers designed for your specific tank environment. Find the best aquarium plant fertilizer based on the needs of the plants and animals in your tank when you explore your options at Modern Aquarium.