[Naja002]

Hi,

Just need some help/clarification:

I have begun using PPS-Pro, but my Nitrates are too High. The High Nitrates comes from the Bioload (Feeder Fish)--A quick review of my setup can be found here:

Post #6

Or

With Photos--56K Warning!

In short, the Bioload of the system seriously fluctuates and nothing can really be done about that. So, I have the standard recipe for the Standard PPS-Pro solution. Now I need a "PPS-Pro minus N03" recipe for High Bioload times. This is what I have come up with and just need clarification on whether or not this is correct:

Per the Fertilator:

PPS-Pro Standard/liter:

59g K2SO4--53,332.6 ppm
65g KNO3---39,864.5 ppm
6g KH2PO4---4,187.4 ppm
41g MgSO4----4,043 ppm

My Calcs for Minus N03/Liter:

59g + 56g K2SO4--53,324.3 ppm
0g KNO3------------------0 ppm
6g KH2PO4----------4,187.4 ppm
41g MgSO4------------4,043 ppm

Verification would be Very Helpful......!

Thanx!

 

[snickle]

Your math is good. I would test your levels regularly until you are sure it is stable.

 

[Edward]

What is your PO4? If zero then dose more solution. If over 1 ppm then do more water changes or go PPS-Classic. PPS-Classic was designed to handle complex situations.

 

[Naja002]

Thanx, snickle, but as Edward seems to already know--there's something more involved here than just High N. Thanx for checking the numbers for me!

Hi Edward,

I just checked the P with a Seachem kit. Its definitely 3ppm or above. I use 100% RODI water and already change about 15gals/day on an ~120gal system. Its really not practical for me to change out much more than that, so I would like to try to find another alternative. I use peristalitc pumps (2) for dosing. I think I am going to turn off the macro pump for today and maybe tomorrow. Let the micro pump run normally and maybe add some K and Mg manually.

The High N and P are no doubt from the Feeder Fish and the overfeeding of them while trying to keep and fatten them up.

I have very little and sporadic GSA/GDA, but I do have string algae that showed up 2+wks ago that just will not go away. At this point I am not sure what that is telling me--I've never had an issue with string algae before. I've tried to search for it here and other places, but haven't managed to find anything of value....

String Algae=Long (several inches), thin green threads of algae flowing in the water from the plant's stems/leaves.

Any help/insight to what is going on would be Very Helpful! I won't have time for a few days to get up-to-date with PPS Classic.

Edit: I started this post--not sure if it has any value here:

String Algae.....?

Many Thanx!

 

[Naja002]

Just wanted to update this thread for anyone else that may benefit from it.

The discussion seems to have moved over to the String Algae thread linked earlier.

After testing P04 and it being Very High--I have gone to a PPS-Pro minus N03 and P04 solution for macros.

The solution I am using is:

118.9g K2S04 + 41g MgS04/1L of distilled water.

This maintains the Mg quantity (in ppm) and the K2S04 quantity from the original KN03, KH2P04 and K2S04.

It simply removes the N03 and the P04.

 

[CherylH]

This post may be just what I needed. PPS Pro is working great in my tanks that have little tetras or shrimp, but in the tanks where I keep cichlids (swimming NP factories) I'm finding the levels (N and P) are still creeping up higher than I'd like (although nowhere near as badly as with the method I'd been using).

Thanks for sharing your results.

Edit: I'm aware the fish don't produce P, but as they won't tolerate bottom feeders, the food that falls to the bottom does.

 

[Naja002]

Hi CherylH,

Glad that You may find some use from this. I still don't have it completely worked out yet though. The algae problem referenced in post #4 was, thankfully, short-lived, but I am still having various stunting issues. Growth is back, but not like it was before all this, and growth overall is still smaller than it was. Examples: the Limnophila aromatica looks good overall, except its growth is not as big around as it was. Its just not as massive. The L. guinea is totally stunted. Starts coming back, then re-stunts--I have no idea why. L. 'cuba' is stunted. Started coming back, then re-stunted.

I started adding more micros, extra Fe and K--seems to have helped. Eventually I added 5ppm KN03 twice--not sure of the effect of that. A small amount of GSA has showed back up so I added 0.5ppm P04 today--not sure what the effect of that will be. N03 and P04 are still high. NH4/3 is still zero. I've read the plant profiles here at APC on the various plants several times each, but I cannot seem to make a connection to the problem(s). I am still running the PPS-Pro micros and Macros minus N and P, but what I am doing is really so far from PPS-Pro--that I cannot honestly say that I am running PPS-Pro on this system anymore. If I can sort out what the problem(s) is then I should be able to adjust the daily PPS-Pro dosing quantity (ml/10g) and get back on track--until then I'm just getting more confused.

Not sure what's going on, but I just wanted to let You know that I do not have this worked out yet.

HTH

 

[CherylH]

I've been very happy with PPS Pro so far. My cichlid tank has good plant growth and no algae, but hubby looked at it this weekend and said "That tank looks really good, but it's not sparkling like the one in the corner." So I pulled out the test kits today. Levels were a little high, but not too bad--and not as good as in my community tank.

When I saw your thread, I thought it might be a good modification for my "poop factories." I have a hunch that I'll wind up mixing the standard PPS Pro mix with your "NO3 free" variation to get the optimum mix for these tanks. It'll be easy since I'll keep the standard mix for most of my tanks. I'll just add a measured amount of the standard mix to the alternate solution (only testing over time will tell me how much). Of course, it may also turn out that they produce more waste than the plants can handle--in which case I'll have to bump up the water changes. If it doesn't work, then I'll probably have to take a stab at PPS classic for my Tang tanks.

It sounds like you've got a really challenging setup. Good luck.

 

[Edward]

Of course, it may also turn out that they produce more waste than the plants can handle--in which case I'll have to bump up the water changes.

If it doesn't work, then I'll probably have to take a stab at PPS classic for my Tang tanks.

Yes, that is exactly the case. Plants can take only so much nutrients and the rest must be removed with water changes. Additionally, the nutrients must be in inorganic form for plants to use. Fish waste and food is organic.

You be better if you don't modify the PPS-Pro and dose as prescribed. Then monitor NO3 and PO4 and do the possible water change to remove the extras.

Thank you
Edward