[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