adamt

I'm getting closer to having my tank setup which means I'm closer to having to decide on a dosing regime.

It's been a monsterous job getting everything ready but I'm almost there. I decided to replace the floors in the room where my aquarium will be so that postponed setup by a couple months. In that couple of months I have been brainstorming a lot. I went from building a regular fish only aquarium to a relatively high tech tank with all the bells and whistles.

I installed an RO unit and will be using that for my source water. I had a terrible time before just using tap water with my fish tanks so I want to start from the ground up. I don't know much about all this fertilizing jargon but I have been doing a bunch of reading in the last few weeks. I'm hoping somebody can filter through a lot of that and give me the cut and dry.

I need some serious beginer help. I am confident that once I get going with this I will get the hang of it but I don't want to have a shaky foundation and try to compensate for it later when I have a fully planted tank on the line. I did this with my first fish aquarium, and it is hell. I want to have a solid start and go from there.

So my main questions are-
1. What do I need to reconstitute my water so it is acceptable for plant life?

2. What testing equipment do I need to get for pps discus mix?

3. What fertilizers do I need to get?

I think that should cover my first round here. I do have a little insight on some of the questions I asked but I would like some more input.

Thanks in advance
Adam

Edward

Hi Adam
New aquariums usually don’t run perfectly. Changing strategies and adjustments are unavoidable. It does take time.

Most tap waters are unsuitable for growing plants to their best potential. This is due to mineral contents and chemicals added by water city departments. RO is a great instrument, but we need to differentiate between levels of different products. Hi-S RO systems remove ~99% of minerals. Hi-Flow RO systems remove ~75% of minerals. This has an impact on supplied Ca, KH and so on. What RO do you have? What is your tap Ca, Mg and KH?

Substrate may play an important role in terms of dissolving minerals in the water column due to CO2 presence. If this is true water changes have to keep levels under control.

How large is your aquarium and what lighting. Do you have pressurized CO2 available.



Edward

adamt

Thanks for responding- I was beginning to think that this was a lost cause.

I am not sure how to tell the difference in the two types of RO units you stated above. If it helps you, here is a picture of the unit I have



I'm really going to show my ignorance on this one. Can I measure Ca and Mg with a GH test kit?

If I remember right, my water from the tap is KH 5 degrees- but I'll double check that when I get home today.

I have a 60g Tall tank. The dimensions are 48"X12"X24"
I have a 2X55w kit from ahsupply.com and I do have a pressurized Co2 system.
I have been toying with the idea of adding a little more lighting but I'm not sure how to go about it. I think another 2X55 is overkill.

For my substrate I put in a laterite mix with regular epoxy coated gravel that I got at my LFS. This may not be good, and I'm willing to change it since the contents of my tank have gotten dusty since all the construction going on at my house with the floors.

Thanks for your help
Adam

Edward

Hi
What you could do is test incoming water and outgoing water for KH and GH. It looks like you have two RO membranes for increased output. On the bottom are three filters. Probably, #1 is mechanical filtration, #2 is carbon and #3 is DI. You don’t want to use the DI. Take water before the DI filter.

The light you have won’t grow much on the bottom because of the 24” height. More powerful lights would be better. There is no risk of too much light.

Pressurized CO2 grows plants much faster. For best results adjust needle valve to 1 bps (bubble per second). Make sure all the gas is dissolved and doesn’t escape to atmosphere. No need for a regulator, no need to test.

For gas exchange, filtration and surface cleaner I would use two Powerheads with Quick Filters and one Cascade 300 HOB filter. No air pump needed.







Laterite is generally good because is inert and doesn’t react negatively with water.

In FAQ on Fertilizing forum is how to test for Mg. You need GH and Ca test kits. For Ca you can use CaSO4. Keeping Ca at 10 to 30 ppm is easy. Don’t worry about Mg as is dosed by PPS solution.

Needed test kits are NO3 and PO4. Compounds K2SO4, KNO3, KH2PO4, MgSO4, CaSO4 and some TE (Trace Element Mix). If you really like this hobby I recommend a Conductivity Tester. It is cheap, lasts forever and is useful with aquariums and RO water.


Thank you
Edward

adamt

Thanks again for the reply.
Incoming water is 5*KH and 11*GH
The RO water is less then 1 if not 0 on both readings

From what I understand about the RO unit, the top membrane is either a coco fiber, or carbon filter for improving taste and removing odor.

I will order 1 more 2X55W light kit from ahsupply. As far as the rest of my equipment, I have a Rena XP3 cannister filter that I was planning on using. On the return line I have built a Co2 Reactor, an inline heater, a co2 monitor controller input, and most importantly a garden hose adapter for doing water changes. It is the pride and joy of my setup at this point and I would be heart broke if you told me I shouldn't use it. Here's a picture of it.


Also, I already own a regulator for my co2 cylinder.

I don't mind spending money on this hobby at all. I like the secure feeling that I get from having nice equipment. Please don't be bashful about recomending things for me to get just because they cost a little more then the bare minimum.

I remember reading about testing for Mg. It's kinda foggy so I'll read up on it again later. I think it went something like subtracting Ca from GH because the make up of GH is primarily composed of Mg and Ca so if you subtract Ca from GH you are left with Mg?

I have some additional questions for you as well:

1. Can you recomend somewhere to get the Ca and PO4 test kits?

2. Were you referring to the CaSO4 for reconstituting the RO?

3. I have read a lot about Gregg Watson's fertilizers, would this be a good place to buy them or do you have another recomendation?

4. Is it possible to auto dose any of these fertilizers? I was thinking about buying a reefdoser so It would make maintenance a bit easier.

Thanks again! I really appreciate your help
Adam

Edward

Hi
Carbon, sometimes made of coco fiber, is necessary for removing Chlorine. Chlorine is harmful to the main RO membrane.

There are two choices to use the lights. First option is to run 220W for 8 hours. Second option is to run 110W for 10 hours and the other 110W for 6 hours in the middle. The second option is very attractive and creates dynamic environment. I recommend additional 4W to 7W incandescent single bulb for night light, running only few hours for viewing pleasure.

You have built nice stuff. We need something to clean the water surface. The easiest and most reliable is the HOB filter. It takes surface oily film down. You can leave the unit without filter inserts only for the benefit of the waterfall and gas exchange.

CO2 controllers are not CO2 regulators. They are pH regulators instead and this causes problems in low KH waters. It will never work properly. You need a simple needle valve adjusted to 1 bubble per second and forget about it. No pH no KH testing.

You have the GH – Ca = Mg correct. For the Ca and PO4 I use Hagen Nutrafin kits. CaSO4 can supply all the necessary Ca in RO water, 20 – 30 ppm Ca works the best for plants and the test kit. There is really no need to add anything else to the RO water. Don’t worry about KH, plants and most fish don’t need it.

KNO3, K2SO4, KH2PO4, MgSO4 and TE mix are good to get from Gregg or local hydroponics or plant supplies store. The CaSO4 is good to get from a Chemical supply store. One pound will last you for ever.



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Quote:

Originally Posted by adamt 4. Is it possible to auto dose any of these fertilizers? I was thinking about buying a reefdoser so It would make maintenance a bit easier.

Yes, great idea. This is where the TDS conductivity meter comes in. A double AquaMedic Doser does the job.



Get four Check valves. One goes on the end of intake hose inside reservoir. Next goes right on the output from the doser. These are necessary for proper operation.



Two one-liter reservoirs are needed. Here is the recipe for your 60gallon aquarium.
Reservoir #1:
K2SO4 23 grams
KNO3 26 grams
KH2PO4 2 grams
MgSO4 16 grams

Reservoir #2:
TE Trace Element Mix 32 grams

Then fill up to 1 liter with RO water. Adjust your doser to inject 15 ml in the aquarium once a day every morning. The reservoirs will last over two months. Now it is a matter of deciding what conductivity maintain in the aquarium. Because water conductivity goes up due to plants metabolism and fertilizers we can monitor and regulate maximum allowed conductivity in the aquarium. Good value is around 300 uS. When it goes over the 300 uS then turn your RO on. Don’t over do it. Old water is valuable. It kills algae and grows quality plants.

So the only testing you need to do is TDS and Ca. The CaSO4 is a powder and can not be dosed liquid because it doesn’t dissolve. Luckily it needs to be added only after several weeks.

If you need to recalculate the fertilizer amounts for other dosing rate feel free to ask.



Thank you
Edward

adamt

Thanks for replying and sorry for taking so long to get back here.

I have an AC70 for an HOB and I also have a CO2 regulator. I forget what brand it is off the top of my head but it is a regulator.

I have been working on my Home theater the last couple of weeks so it will take a minute to shift back into the aquarium world. Your post has included plenty of stuff to chew on for a couple of days.

Can you reccomend a TDS meter. Perhaps a digital one, in the $100 range hopefully.

Also I was wondering if you could attest to most TE solutions going fowl after storing for awhile. I've read that TMG is good for not doing this.

Thanks again.
Adam