Phyto fertilizer options?

[Thalia]

I have these leftover from my freshwater tank, I also have blue crystal Miracle-Grow. Can I use any of these to successfully grow phyto? I'm in rural Canada so finding f2 is tricky and expensive ($60+/bottle). If I really have to I'll buy it, but if I don't have to it'd be nice.

 

[mcarroll]

Is it hard to get a seed culture?

If so, then I'd pony up for the F2 solution and play it safe.

If it's not hard to come by, then I'd probably experiment with what you have first and see how it goes.

(I think folks have posted about this before.)

 

[pooootiqe]

Here’s the f/2 recipe (could omit the silicate if not doing diatoms)

https://ncma.bigelow.org/PDF Files/NCMA algal medium f_2.pdf
I recall it ends up with roughly 50ppm NO3 and 3 ppm PO4, perhaps ask ChatGPT to do the conversions.

F/2 has a lot of iron and manganese, perhaps check if the freshwater fertilizer is sufficient tor the trace elements. There’s also quite a bit of vitamin added in.