[kekon]

I think the key to success is just not too much NO3, PO4 and harder water. The harder the water the higher NO3 can be kept without stunting. EI method works well but at harder water. I don't agree EI can be used in soft water. Some plants will do very well (Cabomba, Blyxa, Zosteriflia) but some will be severely stunted. To summarize all the things we should do the following:

- do not overdose NO3 (or NH4 if someone prefers this form of nitrogen). Depending on water
hardness it seems it should be kept no higher than 5 ppm when GH is in 3..7 range or higher than 5
ppm when GH is at least 8.
- add enough K to changed water and additionally every day (in my case 20 ppm in changed water
and 1..2 ppm daily works well). I've always thought K was the main culprit of stunting but now i'm
sure it is not - on the contrary - it helps to eliminate stunting.
- ensure there is enough Mg (Mg deficiency also causes stunting). It can be kept at 4:1 ratio and
this works well for most plants (32 ppm Ca and 8 ppm Mg works very well in my tank)
- do not add extra Mg if we use tap water and when we don't know how much Mg is there in the tap.
Overdosing Mg will cause new leaves to curl uwpard along edges or dwarfing some plants.
- do not add too much PO4. I noticed it doesnt't speed up plants growth. I keep 0.2..0.5 ppm