kimbm04r PPS Feedback Forum

[kimbm04r]

PPS Feedback Forum
kimbm04r

When did you begin using PPS?
Early June

Do you find the PPS system easy to use?
yes

How often do you do a water change?


Do you use CO2?
yes
Pressurized

What is your aquarium's water volume?
20 gallon

What type of lighting do you use?
PC Retrofit from AH Supply

How many watts of lighting do you have?
55W

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Please describe the condition of your plants.

I have algae (beard?) on several of the plants. They all seem to be growing quite well. I have several new leaves on the Red Melon Sword (one appeared with holes but the last two seem to be fine), the floating (and planted) hornwort is also growing as is the Anacharis but they seem to be leggy. I lost all the Glosso almost as soon as I planted it but that may have been from the shrimp in the tank (will they eat it?). The Riccia is growing as well but seems to be a lighter green color than I thought it would be, I have some floating as well. The Broad Leaf Sagittaria doesn't seem to be doing to much at all as well as the other blade plants. One particular plant (not sure what it is, micro sword?) even has "shredded" leaves on it now.

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[Edward]

Hi
Not sure if I am reading it right.
7.6, 0, .25, 3, 15, 9, 11 Tap Readings
7.6 pH
0 ppm NO3
0.25 ppm PO4
3 dGH
15 dKH
9 ppm Ca
11 ppm Mg

You have Mg readings but no Ca readings. How do you do it?

Running Eco with RO requires 80% water changes every week because this substrate is dissolving. We can make a good program to accommodate this routine if you are ready to handle so many water changes.

If you have RO available then get an inert substrate instead. Then you dose only the stuff that is necessary for the plants to grow healthy.

Thank you
Edward

[kimbm04r]

Thanks for the reply.

My readings were as follows: The readings on the sheet were for the RO and the readings below were for the tap water following the same pattern as the RO.

RO - - Tap

Ph - 6.4 - - 7.6
NO3 - 5 - - 0
PO4 - 0 - - .25
Gh - 2 - - 3
Kh - 3 - - 15
Mg2 - 9 - - 9 as calculated by the spreadsheet
CO2 - 36 - - 11 as calculated by the spreadsheet

I don't have a CA test kit yet.

Yes, I do have RO available. I got the unit when I was having trouble with my Ph being 9 or higher on my Tap water and it was affecting my Bettas. Now it seems to be better according to the above. Not sure what happened. I have been known to use half and half but it is normally all RO. Maybe I can just go to all Tap with my planted tank.

[kimbm04r]

Hi All,

I have been using a nutrient calculator that I made up in MS Excel and have been dry dosing (mixing with tank water first of course) to the targeted parimeters. I have then transfered the info to the PPS spreadsheet to help track things.

I will attach both to this message.

My question is this:

Last night 1/2 hour before the lights and CO2 shut down with the timer I took my readings and was quite surprised by them.

Ph - 6.0
Gh - 5
Kh - 5
Nitrate - 10
Phos - 1
Fe - .25

This made my CO2 reading 150

This morning before the timer turns everything back on I did another reading check. It is:

Ph- 7.2
Gh - 4.5
Kh - 5
Nitrate - 10

Didn't check the Phos and Fe this time.

This made my CO2 reading 9

Is it really possible to have that much of a swing between lights on and out or is there something I am doing wrong?

I am noticing a lot of (BBA?) algae (didn't have any before) also but I think that is just because of getting the Ferts. started and the tank probably hasn't stablized yet. Am I correct?

[Edward]

Hi
We work with defined solutions (SS, PF, NF, Mg and TE) where ratios are locked. This system allows us to change dosing levels in an easy way not have to deal with each dry chemical.
Somebody already asked why we don’t modify the SS solution to fit our tank requirements. Well, that would get us back where started years ago with dry chemical dosing and endless level chasing.
Here is a copy of the reply that helps to explain some of the principles of the system.

Actually the ratios of the solutions are the part of the regulation loop giving us the flexibility to fertilize variety of aquariums. There is nothing wrong with using two solutions. The K is locked in it to give us the right dose. In a long run you may encounter increased or decreased NO3 PO4 concentration in the aquarium. Only simple change in the SS PF solution will correct the slipped ratio while maintaining the same amount of total fertilization.
For example, 4ml SS with 8ml PF works well for few weeks, and then the NO3:PO4 water column ratio starts going the wrong way. What you do is change the dose to 6ml SS with 6ml PF or 8ml SS with 4ml PF, depending what way you want to move the ratio.

At this point you can see that the original dose of
4 + 8 = 12

and the later
6 + 6 = 12
or
8 + 4 = 12

the total quantity of the fertilizer as a whole (12ml) keeps NO3 and K at the same strength. It doesn’t change. Only the PO4 does. This is how one of the regulation loops work.

Detail:
4ml SS with 8ml PF = 0.33 : 0.04 : 0.44 ppm (NO3 : PO4 : K)
6ml SS with 6ml PF = 0.33 : 0.06 : 0.44
8ml SS with 4ml PF = 0.33 : 0.07 : 0.44

Now back to your original question why not change the SS solution ratio. We don’t want to change it because in a low light scenario the exact opposite is required. The SS with NF solutions are needed to dose properly.

Detail:
4ml SS with 8ml NF = 0.11 : 0.11 : 0.44 ppm (NO3 : PO4 : K)
6ml SS with 6ml NF = 0.17 : 0.11 : 0.44
8ml SS with 4ml NF = 0.22 : 0.11 : 0.44

The total quantity of the fertilizer as a whole (12ml) keeps PO4 and K at the same strength. It doesn’t change. Only the NO3 does.

See the beauty in the complex simplicity of the system?
We are now getting into the core of the PPS principles which I and Discus did not want to include in the original articles PPS 2005, not stretching them beyond acceptable size.

Thank you
Edward

[kimbm04r]

Thanks Edward,

I think I am beginning to understand this PPS thing a little more now but can you give me an idea as to where I should start my dosing with the PPS according to the PPS sheet that I have attached to the earlier post?

I have the SS and the TE solutions already mixed but do I need to mix the NF or PF also and what doses do you suggest I start with? SS - 2 ml, NF - 2 ml, TE - 2 ml to start with or what? What about the Mg?

I would dose the same thing every other day Micros on day and the Macros the opposite? And only check my Parimeters once a week to see what is happening with the dosing and make adjustments weekly as needed?

Sorry for all the questions but I am really trying to understand this thing and hopefully get the algae that is running rampant in the tank under control.