redtheinspector

Hi
I am a bit confused by the EI mixing/dosing. I have KN03; K2S04, KH2P04 as well as FE chelate 10% and Barr's GH Booster. I want to mix & dose for 65 gallons of water. I have contacted the local water supplier and got the following info.
N03 - 2.2 ppm; P04 .024 ppm; K 2.7 I beleive the next step is to subtracted this amount from the mean taget range suggested by Tom Barr. I have also tested the water with new API kits. I have a PH of 7.6 with a KH reading of 6 and a reading of 5 for K . All other readings are zero
Both tanks are filled with plants and some fish.
More info..... I have been double dosing Excel for about a week to combat BBA. I expect to be on C02 in May of this year. I am also using seachem gravel fertilizers.

My problem ... now what do I do. This is a big challege for a non chemistry hobbist. Can someone assist please?
Thanks,
redtheinspector

supersmirky

Hi Kamon. Flourish Excel is only a source of carbon in lieu of CO2

surpera1

how do you gauge whether to increase or decrease the dosage ? just experiment with it ?

redtheinspector

I am far from being an expert but......
According to Tom Barr you can't OD the tank, with one exception - P04
I read that it is suggested that you use the same doses for a minimun of 3 weeks.
Regards,
red the inspecttor

mahchay

can anyone tell me if the 50% water is actually safe for the fish? isn't that a little too much for the little guys?

mahchay

also are those 3 fertilizers the only thing i have to add for optimal health for my plants???

Seattle_Aquarist

Hi mahchay

A 50% water change is safe. I match the tank temperature +/- 5 degrees. I fill with a bucket and I dose with a dechlorinizer (like Prime) before I add it to the tank.

Yes, KNO3, KH2PO4, and trace elements (like CSM+B) are the basic elements in fertilizing the with the EI method.

Kypros

i would concur with my buddy Roy. I have been doing 50 % EI water changes for one year now with no apparent fish stress. I even put Prime into the tank as I add the water through a Python, which is probably not the most preferred method-but it works.

Vadimshevchuk

I want to start dosing this in my 29 gallon. However it is not planted to dense so i want to dose half the required ferts. Does this mean i can change 25% of water instead of 50? Also what is the example for the 29 in the beggining. It does not show up on my screen. Thanks so much. =D


BTW Hopefully it will help me get rid of my hair algae and the GSA

Seattle_Aquarist

Hi Vadimshevchuk,

The purpose of the 50% water change weekly is to remove excess nutrients. Just because you are dosing 1/2 normal doesn't mean that you won't have excess nutrients, I would still do 50% weekly water changes. BTW, 50% weekly water changes help fish grow faster and larger as well!

Keep in mind that your 29 gallon tank is not really 29 gallons. After adding substrate and hardscape you probably have 20 - 25 gallons of water so dose accordingly. Here is the EI dosing schedule:

10- 20 Gallon Aquariums
+/- 1/8 tsp KNO3 (N) 3x a week
+/- 1/32 tsp KH2PO4 (P) 3x a week
+/- 1/4 tsp GH booster once a week(water change only)
+/- 1/32 tsp (2ml) Trace Elements 3x a week
50% weekly water change


20-40 Gallon Aquariums
+/- ¼ tsp KN03 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
+/- 1/2 tsp GH booster once a week(water change only)
+/- 1/16 tsp (5ml) Trace Elements 3x a week
50% weekly water change

Hair algae could be a sign of too much light and GSA is typically a sign of too little phosphate. Hope this helps!