I think beginners become intimidated by all the jargon, but it really isn't all that difficult to run a tank. There are only a finite number of factors you have to worry about:
Light (have 2-3 wpg PC, beginners! more if you have normal flourescents)
CO2 (I wish I had gone to pressurized CO2 in the first place, but yeast CO2 works very well with smaller setups... also realize that you need some sort of reactor or diffuser to get the most out of your CO2...keep surface agitation to a minimum)
Nutrients:
NPK -->
N is Nitrogen, you get it from Potassium nitrate aka KNO3... keep this level at 5-10 ppm (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals has always worked for me
P is Phosphate, you get it from KH2PO4 aka Potassium phosphate... keep this level at 0.5-1.5 ppm (Seachem test kit works well for this one)
K is Potassium, you get it from K2SO4 or KCL aka Potassium sulfate and Potassium chloride respectively... don't have to test for this one.
Then you have your Fe/traces. Flourish, Kent, etc. I tend to dose these until you no longer can see any improvement in your plants by adding more. Example: 20g with 3 wpg gets ~10 mL Flourish weekly. For 2 wpg, start with 5 mL. For 4 wpg, start with 15 mL.
Does that's not too bad. Just takes a little practice.
Carlos
Light (have 2-3 wpg PC, beginners! more if you have normal flourescents)
CO2 (I wish I had gone to pressurized CO2 in the first place, but yeast CO2 works very well with smaller setups... also realize that you need some sort of reactor or diffuser to get the most out of your CO2...keep surface agitation to a minimum)
Nutrients:
NPK -->
N is Nitrogen, you get it from Potassium nitrate aka KNO3... keep this level at 5-10 ppm (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals has always worked for me
P is Phosphate, you get it from KH2PO4 aka Potassium phosphate... keep this level at 0.5-1.5 ppm (Seachem test kit works well for this one)
K is Potassium, you get it from K2SO4 or KCL aka Potassium sulfate and Potassium chloride respectively... don't have to test for this one.
Then you have your Fe/traces. Flourish, Kent, etc. I tend to dose these until you no longer can see any improvement in your plants by adding more. Example: 20g with 3 wpg gets ~10 mL Flourish weekly. For 2 wpg, start with 5 mL. For 4 wpg, start with 15 mL.
Does that's not too bad. Just takes a little practice.
Carlos
