Thrive vs Easy Green: Which Aquarium Fertilizer is the Best?

Your aquarium plants are turning yellow and are on the verge of dying. So, you need the best fertilizer to keep them alive. In today’s market, Thrive and Easy Green are the two most sought-after fertilizers.

But choosing the best one between them for your planted tank is critical. So, which one to choose in the thrive vs easy green debate?

Now both these fertilizers are quite similar in nature. However, their difference is in their dosage rate. Here Easy Green can be used less compared to Thrive. Moreover, there’s a price difference in the products. We can see that easy green is the expensive one here. So before deciding you need to factor that in.

Loving the short preview? In this article, we’ve done a detailed explanation of these two fertilizers. It’ll give a much clearer view and hopefully help you to choose the right one for your tank.

Therefore, if you have some spare time, give this a read.

Quick Review

Before going into the detailed comparison, let’s have a quick overview. Let’s check out the basic differences between the thrive and easy green all-in-one fertilizer. 

Now we’ve got a basic idea about the two fertilizer products. Let’s get into the detailed comparison.

Detailed Comparison

Knowing the preview, we now can get into the depths of details. We’ve categorized some basic questions regarding both of these products. Just like we’ve compared the popular tiger bloom and big bloom in detail. We’ll do that with this as well. 

What Is In The Fertilizers?

The fertilizers must have all the essential micro and macro-nutrients. Most of them are made to be water-soluble for the plants to absorb easily.

The components that are in Thrive are normally mentioned in the thrive fertilizer label. You can find the ingredients for the easy green in the same way as well.

Here we have a list of the compounds used in both the thrive and the easy green. This list will help you understand what each fertilizer contains and the nutrition type it needs.

Macronutrients

The components the fertilizers consist of can be divided into two categories. One is micro and another one is macronutrients.

The amount that a plant consumes in mass volume is called macronutrients. The following is a table of the amount of macronutrients of this fertilizer-

Component	Objective	Amount in Thrive	Amount in Easy Green
Nitrogen (N)	• Plays an important part in photosynthesis • Responsible for fast growth of the plants	2.5600%	2.66%
Phosphate (P2O5)	• Increases the immunity of the plants • Helps in Root development	1.5800%	0.46%
Potash (K2O)	• Increase immunity to fungal diseases • Stabilizes bud formation and plant growth	9.7400%	9.21%
Magnesium (Mg)	• Activates important enzymes • A core part of the chlorophyll	0.3200%	0.7%

Micronutrients

The amount that a plant consumes in less volume is called micronutrients. Here’s a table comparing the amounts of micronutrients between these two fertilizers.

Component	Objective	Amount in Thrive	Amount in Easy Green
Boron(B)	Helps in cell wall formation and maintains the stability of the plant structure.	0.0080%	0.015%
Copper(Cu)	Improves the immune system of the plants to fight against diseases.	0.0002%	0.00%
Iron(Fe)	Participates in the synthesis of chlorophyll.	0.4200%	0.13%
Manganese(Mn)	Helps in plants development and growth	0.1680%	0.036%
Molybdenum(Mo)	Makes the use of nitrogen easier for the plants.	0.0006%	0.00098%
Zinc(Zn)	Assists in the formation of some carbohydrates and chlorophyll.	0.0038%	0.0072%

These are basically the compounds in each of the products. Both of these fertilizers are non-organic and the chemicals are well suited for aquatic plants.

Winner: Here both of these fertilizers have almost all the required nutrients, so this is a tie!

How Much Does it Cost?

The thrive and easy green fertilizers both are more or less the same product with different qualities. So they cost within a certain mid-range budget.

Both of these two fertilizers’ cost varies with their packaging amount. However, the easy green is a bit expensive compared to thrive. The difference between these products’ prices is not too far apart. For this reason, they have quite competitive pricing. 

Winner: Here Thrive takes the lead!

Is it Available?

Both the fertilizers are available extensively and in huge quantities. You can find both of these products in your local botany shop. Depending on your needs you can buy them in various quantities. 

However, make sure you have a little left in stock before you buy a new one. Because these are quite high in demand and might run out.

How Versatile is it?

Nilocg Thrive and aquarium co op easy green fertilizer are both liquid fertilizers. Liquid fertilizers are normally used in tanks that contain water column feeder plants. 

To elaborate, the plants that take nutrients using their physical pores consume these fertilizers. They absorb the nutrients from the water. 

The ingredients of both of the liquid fertilizers are water-soluble. As a result, these components get mixed up with the water easily. This, in turn, helps the plants to easily consume the nutrients through their body. 

Now, you may wonder, can I use thrive in my shrimp tank?

The answer is yes! But normal thrive contains a small amount of copper, it’s toxic to invertebrates. This is where Thrive S comes in. Unlike Thrive, Thrive S does not contain copper. It is specially formulated for your precious shrimp tank. It contains all the other essential nutrients.

However, easy green is copper-free, thus you can use it in your shrimp tank. 

Another concern is if liquid fertilizers can be used in reef tanks. Coral reefs are different from plants. They need different types of nutrients to grow. 

Coral reefs require calcium, nitrogen, and phosphate for their nourishment. The other components in all-in-one liquid fertilizers will be wasted in a reef tank. So these fertilizers are not suitable for reef tanks.

Easy green is said to be perfect for low, high or medium-tech tanks. However, most hobbyists prefer to use their tank-specific fertilizers. Rather than using one fertilizer for all types of tanks.

On the other hand, Thrive has a huge product line for different requirements. Whether you have a low or high-tech tank, they have the specific fertilizer for you. Here are some of them- 

Can it Harm My Child or Animal?

Yes, these fertilizers can harm your child and animal when consumed. Because these contain various harsh chemicals which can be dangerous and cause health complications. Hence it’s better to keep them out of their reach. 

If you have any pets you need to keep the fertilizer away from them. It might cause a severe reaction in them. The severity of the reaction might depend on the amount consumed. 

A small amount may cause a normal stomach upset. However, you should check if your pet’s having a breathing problem. Ingesting a lot of fertilizer can be the reason behind it.

In this case, you should take your pet to a veterinarian as soon as possible. Otherwise, there can be grave consequences. You may also wonder what’ll happen to other organisms in your aquarium.

Does It Smell Bad?

Now fertilizers have a pungent smell to them because of their rich chemical concentration. Both Thrive and Easy green isn’t an exception. 

Now the smell is quite strong hence it attracts pests and insects. Moreover, inhaling the smell isn’t very good for you as well. You’ll see that the smell makes you feel dizzy when applying to the aquatic plants. 

However, as it gets diluted with the water, the smell disappears. So, you don’t have to worry about your house stinking! But in case the tank does stink, you need to clean it thoroughly. Because it might be that the tank’s dirty.

What Is The Dosage Rate?

The number of times you need to dose your tank per week is the dosage rate. It usually depends on the type of your tank. It also varies with the type of fertilizer you use.

For Easy Green, you’ll need to dose once/week for a low to medium-light tank. Easy green treats 10 gallons of water with 1 pump. If your tank is medium to high-light, you need to double the dose. 

For a 50 gallon medium-light tank, a bottle will last about a year. The amount of dosing also should be monitored regularly. For this, you can use test kits to measure all the vital water parameters. 

These test kits will provide you with information on all the water parameters. It also includes the amount of nitrate. You should always maintain 10-20 ppm of nitrates in your tank. 

You should change your dosage rate according to the amount of nitrates in your tank. If it’s exceeding the threshold, reduce the dosing rate.

So, how often should you use thrive?

This is something that depends on the number of plants in your tank. If your tank is an average planted one, then dose once a week. However, if your setup is highly planted, dose 2-3 times a week. But remember to keep the amount of nitrate in check. 

One pump of thrive fertilizer dosing can treat 10 gallons of water. At this rate, a 500 mL bottle will last about a year for a 55-gallon tank. 
Winner: You’ll need less amount of Thrive than Easy Green for a certain amount of water. Also Easy green is more expensive than thrive. So by using Thrive you’ll save a lot of money as well.

How Should You Use the Fertilizer? 

So, how to use easy green fertilizer or thrive fertilizer? Both of these fertilizers are pretty easy to use. They usually come with a handy pump. The amount of water per pump treat is given on the label of the bottle. 

Normally, 1 pump treats 10 gallons of water. So, you’ll have to calculate the amount of fertilizer needed according to your tank size. Then, press the pump according to your needs. Yes, it’s that easy!

You may wonder what to do if my fertilizer is bulk in size. In that case, you can always use a handy pump. Here are some recommendations-

You can choose any of them according to your requirements.

Are There Any Side Effects? 

Side effects are quite common with fertilizers, even if those are organic. Sometimes that can happen due to excessive use of fertilizers. This is because this causes plants to become dependent on them. Moreover,  it can poison the plant and kill them altogether.

An increase in nitrate can be a huge problem in your tank. So, it’s better to know if these fertilizers increase the nitrate level. Thrive is usually famous for not giving the nitrate level a spike. However, there are some questions with Easy Green.

So, does easy green increase nitrates?

In short, no, easy green doesn’t increase nitrate! This fertilizer has nitrogen as its ingredient but no nitrate. The nitrogen gives the plants nutrition to keep the photosynthesis cycle its key ingredient. 

However, even if you’ve used too many fertilizers there’s a way you can mitigate it. You can use a protein skimmer, nitrate, or phosphate pads to help absorb the excess. Moreover, GFO, carbon, or a deep sand bed can also be quite helpful.

Now when it comes to Thrive, they don’t have nitrate compounds in its ingredient. Lack of nitrate can cause the plants to wilt and fade their color. This is a serious problem for a plant as that’ll reduce its capability to photosynthesis. 

Moreover, it’ll slowly die due to the deficiency. Slowly killing it with the lack of nutrition. You’ll need to increase the nitrate level by using nitrate supplements like potassium nitrate to treat the deficiency.

Even in the case of easy green fertilizer, it’s the same. But it’s due to copper. Easy green doesn’t provide copper nutrients in its blend thus creating a deficiency. Hence you need to use Copper sulfate or copper oxide to help reduce the deficiency.

Winner:  This too is a tie, as one has nitrate and another has a copper deficiency.

What Kind Of Result Can You Expect?

In the end, the result matters. Because you’re using fertilizer routinely with the intent to see improvement of your plants. Hence if properly used you should get a positive outcome within a few days of applying. That’s the indicator of good quality fertilizer. You can also enhance the growth of your aquatic plants by using an enhancer.

What is the best bud enhancer?

Bud enhancer has a high level of phosphorus. So applying this you can increase the flowering stage growth and boosts the blooming process. Although using bud enhancers is a double edge sword. As too much use could kill the plants. Also, it would be toxic for your aquatic animals.

Using a tempered amount, bud enhancer works well. Here are some good-quality bud enhancers we recommend.

These bud enhancer products are the best ones available in the market. You can use them to get better plant growth.

Thrive

Thrive fertilizer is nutrient-based fertilizer. It helps with the growth and health of the plants. Using thrive results in better immunity, a good rate of photosynthesis, and most importantly, a growing and happy plant. This is achieved by the chemical compounds used in the thrive fertilizer.

Easy Green

The easy green fertilizer can also bring very good results. As its benefits are quite the same as the thrive fertilizer, we can say easy green can also bring better health to your plant. As well as the growth of the plant gets significantly increased.

Easy green also has the benefit of its impact on aquatic animals. Fish, crustaceans, and various aquatic animals get the nutrition benefits from the fertilizer as well. Which is a win-win situation for all the members of the aquarium biosphere.

Winner:  We can say that Easy Green has a slight edge here. 

Are There Any Extra Benefits?

Both of these fertilizers are great for aquatic plants in your aquarium. As well as both of them provide nutrients and immune compounds to boost the plants’ immunity from various diseases. The versatility of these fertilizers makes them good for soil-based plants as well. These products are very useful for other soil-based and hydroponic plants. 

Most of all, the fertilizers being a liquid soluble product makes them the most important and uniquely better options on the market.

So, Which One is Better?

Now after seeing this thorough discussion, we can say that both these products are great. But the easy green fertilizer gets the best of thrive by some few margins. We can say that it’s the better one to use.

This doesn’t mean Nilocg thrive fertilizer isn’t any good. It has equally great properties for usage and versatility for both aquarium and soil-based plant fertilizing. But the point where easy green gets the upper hand is its positive points for the aquatic animals as well. 

And that’s all about the comparison between thrive vs easy green!

FAQs

Does Easy Green have copper?

No. Easy green doesn’t have copper in its ingredients. So, using easy green, you’ll need to use copper solution to compensate for the lack of it in the fertilizer. That way, you’ll get the best outcome for your plants.

How do I apply thrive to my lawn?

Applying thrive fertilizer to your lawn gives you a healthy grass lawn. Use about 2ml of the fertilizer in 10 gallons of water and spray it over your grass regularly. You’ll see the result within a few days.

Is Easy Green Snail safe?

Easy green fertilizer is safe for snails. The fertilizer doesn’t have any toxic compounds that could affect the health of the snail population and all the other types of invertebrates. You can use it without any fear

Conclusion

That’s all there’s about thrive vs easy green. We’ve tried to give you a clear view of which one would be the best option for you to buy.

Now for a small bonus tip is that you can separate the tank and use both of these. Then when you’re convinced by the performance you can pick one.

Have a great day!