hoppycalif

I didn't comment on the PO4 because I have been dosing about 1.5 to 2X the EI dosage on PO4 to help control GSA. From what I have been reading, there is nothing wrong with dosing 1/2 tsp for a 100 gallon tank. When you consider the range of tank sizes the dosages are given for, it is obvious that accuracy in dosing isn't important. Tom Barr always says these dosages are just starting points, and you can start reducing them a bit, watching for adverse results, reducing a bit more, etc. I don't do that because I haven't been good at keeping my plant mass nearly constant. The increased plant mass as the plants take off means you need more fertilizer anyway.

blang

I have a 90 gallon tall tank. It has a sump so that adds to the volumn of water. My lighting is 2.4 wpg but is actually less because of the depth of the tank. It is fully stocked with fish and probably has a medium load of plants. It has 1/2 Flourite/1/2 gravel. It is about 2 1/2 years old. I do have algae but it is not awful. The only plants that do well are crypts. I've used various fertilizers but recently switched to the EI method.

1/2 tsp seachem equalibrium
1/4 tsp kn03
1/8 kh2p04
2 capful of Flourish excel daily

I do a 15-20% waterchange every three weeks which I really don't want to change.

Should I dose the nutrients twice a week? Are the amounts I plan to dose with a good starting point? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

hoppycalif

If you want to switch to the EI method you need to do so. Switching to that method means dosing more than the minimum of each nutrient, then doing about a 50% water change every week to avoid a too high build up of any of the nutrients. So, you should dose:
1 tsp of KNO3 three times a week
3/8 tsp of KH2PO4 three times a week, along with the KNO3
3/8 tsp of CSM+B three times a week on different days from the above dosing.

If you want to stick to 15-20% water changes every 3 weeks, you can't dose per EI. Then you need to look into PPS Pro as an alternative.

oregon aqua

One of the reasons i switched from E.I. that was working for me to PPS-Pro was i didn't have the time to do water changes on 4 tanks every week. and the buildup from skipping a wc gets pretty big. I have to say i was happy with E.I. but im even happier with PPS-Pro

blang

Thanks for the info on pps-pro. I am researching it now. The one think I don't like about it is the daily dosing so I need to think whether this will work for me.

I think your comment above is interesting. This is why I posted my original question to see if it could work with my setup. But I gather you would not recommend it????

hellohefalump

If my nitrates are already high (about 50) should I still add the KN03?

hoppycalif

If your nitrates are already high you should calibrate your nitrate test kit, by verifying that it gives the right concentration when checked against solutions with known concentrations of nitrate in them. Only then can you know that your nitrates are high.

50 ppm of nitrate in a well planted tank will be used up in less than two weeks, so unless you have a known continuous source of nitrates, such as a heavy fish load, you will still need to add nitrates.

lildark185

I just received my ferts and I'd like to know if my calculations are correct before I make my stock solution. I will be using a 750ml pump bottle which dispenses approx. 4.25ml each pump. This was measured by pumping once into a small vial which was then emptied with a 1ml pipette 4 times and a bit left over.

According to Chucks dosing calculator I should add the following:

KNO3: 54 tsp to the 750ml, each mL of which will add 1.19ppm of Nitrate x 4.25ml/pump = ~5ppm each day x 3 days= 15ppm

KH2SO4: 9 tsp to the 750ml, each mL will add .19ppm of Phosphate x 4.25ml/pump = ~.81ppm each day x 2 days = 1.62ppm

I will dose KNO3 on M,W,F and KH2SO4 & Micros on T,R, 30% WC on Saturdays and Sunday is time to kick back and watch the plants.

Please let me know if this would work and if I would be able to mix all of that into a single bottle. Thanks in advance.