Does fertilizer drip rate matter?

[NigelK8485]

So in the process of designing and building my auto doser for my fertilizers I began to wonder if the rate that the fertilizers enter the tank would matter.

Currently I just take the 15 ml and plop it in the tank all at once. Once I build the doser it'll be at a rate of 1.5 mL/minute, so 15 mL will take roughly 10 minutes. That's going to be a pretty slow drip rate and I'm wondering if there is any advantage or disadvantage to the slower introduction of fertilizers.

I wouldn't think so, and they'll be dropping right into the flow of my fx6 which will push the fertilizers into the spraybar that my fx5 is hooked up to. The only thing I can think of being a disadvantage of the slow drip is potential buildup of fertilizer in the hosing, but I'm hoping I can catch that early and prevent it and hopefully with the powerheads in the liquid fertilizers mixing up the solutions really well it'll prevent a lot of buildup.


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[Delapool]

I couldn't think of anything. I guess before lights on would make most sense if you are not dosing 24hrs? I just dry dose by the teaspoon now.

 

[NigelK8485]

I couldn't think of anything. I guess before lights on would make most sense if you are not dosing 24hrs? I just dry dose by the teaspoon now.

I used to dry dose but with my travels coming up and my lack of trust in my roommate, family, or boyfriend to actually fertilize my plants daily I think the automatic doser with liquid ferts is my best bet.

I just wasn't sure if there would be any advantages or disadvantages to dumping all the fertilizers in at once or doing a little bit over the course of the day.


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[Delapool]

Will be interested to hear what others think!

 

[Fresh2o]

I think you would have to have better understanding of plant metabolism to find the answer to this. Is nutrient uptake constant over 24 hours or is it increased during light or dark periods? I have no idea. Or does it matter at all? You could take the EI approach and provide more than required so that there would be no chance of a deficit.


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[PerfectDepth]

How long will you be away, and what's your dosing schedule? PPS Pro?

I don't think drip rate would matter at all. Just maybe set it to dose before the lights turn on as mentioned.

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[NigelK8485]

I think you would have to have better understanding of plant metabolism to find the answer to this. Is nutrient uptake constant over 24 hours or is it increased during light or dark periods? I have no idea. Or does it matter at all? You could take the EI approach and provide more than required so that there would be no chance of a deficit.


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Hmm, sounds like something I'll need to research more. I used to dose EI but I've gotten better results with PPS Pro.

How long will you be away, and what's your dosing schedule? PPS Pro?

I don't think drip rate would matter at all. Just maybe set it to dose before the lights turn on as mentioned.

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I'll be away from my tank for about six weeks doing an around the world dive trip with my dad. Yes, PPS Pro. I wish I could have more faith in my roommate or boyfriend, it'd save me money on trying to build this...but it should be fun to build and it'll be nice to come home and not have to manually fertilize daily.



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[Brookster123]

If you can't trust bo to pps pro?? May be time to trade up for the newer model can you measure out weekly doses in an empty water bottle?? Should work fine. I dose that way basically. You can label a bottle for after wc and label a smaller mid week dose. Leave them in an idiot proof order and enjoy your trip without the hassle of the auto dose system less the beta test..
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[NigelK8485]

If you can't trust bo to pps pro?? May be time to trade up for the newer model can you measure out weekly doses in an empty water bottle?? Should work fine. I dose that way basically. You can label a bottle for after wc and label a smaller mid week dose. Leave them in an idiot proof order and enjoy your trip without the hassle of the auto dose system less the beta test..
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Hahaha I'll let him know the threat is on the table. I should be able to test it out for at least a couple of weeks before I leave, everything should be here this week.

He's in the middle of some cancer cell research thing for his thesis project so I don't want to force him to come to my house daily. Plus I just really want to build this haha.


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[coralbandit]

I believe most who IE dump it in daily .
They complain about the time water changes take(weekly).
I highly doubt even one adds their ferts 1/2 in am 1/2 in pm.
The time the PP will take to add your dose is fine.
You could dilute the mix and run peri pump longer but not necessary IMO.
I was /would even consider a Toms aqualifter on a timer(way cheaper$$).

 

[NigelK8485]

I believe most who IE dump it in daily .
They complain about the time water changes take(weekly).
I highly doubt even one adds their ferts 1/2 in am 1/2 in pm.
The time the PP will take to add your dose is fine.
You could dilute the mix and run peri pump longer but not necessary IMO.
I was /would even consider a Toms aqualifter on a timer(way cheaper$$).

I thought about diluting to see if I could prevent so much precipitate in the solutions, especially the macro.

I looked at Toms products but they just don't have enough head pressure for me. They only will lift 30" and I need about 4-5' to be able to go from under my stand to above the rim of my tank. The only products I found that I could use were easily $400-$500, though I didn't do a long extensive search.


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[PerfectDepth]

Yeah, I'd stick with PPS Pro amounts if you'll be gone for six weeks. You might even be able to halve the dosage for nitrogen and phosphorus just to keep it from building up. I'm guessing they'll be no one changing water while you're gone. Enjoy your trip!


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[NigelK8485]

Yeah, I'd stick with PPS Pro amounts if you'll be gone for six weeks. You might even be able to halve the dosage for nitrogen and phosphorus just to keep it from building up. I'm guessing they'll be no one changing water while you're gone. Enjoy your trip!


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Thanks thanks thanks. I'm going to train him to change the water once a week. I'm just going to leave the python hooked to the sink so it'll be as easy as matching temperatures and dechlorinating.


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