Dosing for Dummies!

[zenkatydid]

I'm sure there's 100s of posts about dosing, but I am in one of those utterly confused moods, and just need someone to tell me what to do!

I have a 50gal tank that is currently 1wpg, no CO2, adding the mysterious Red Sea FloraGro and Flora 24 (nobody knows what exactly is in them...). I am soon going to be upgrading this to about 2wpg, DIY CO2 and hopefully a better fert system.

My beautiful leopard sword has started to get brown spots, edged in yellow, which I believe is a potassium deficiency. It has a desk lamp on it from the side of the tank to get its light levels up, and has been growing wonderfully - about one 10cm leaf per week so far.

Can someone please tell me what exact chemical(s) I need to buy? I suppose I will need to do the EI thing - which, if I understand correctly, involves dosing all the important nutrients at big enough doses so that you never bottom out, is that right? So, potassium... and all the rest. Help me!

 

[rkilling1]

read these and then ask qestions:

http://www.barrreport.com/estimative-index/62-estimative-index-dosing-no-need-test-kits.html

http://www.barrreport.com/articles/1800-ei-light-less-techical-aspects-estimative-index.html

You will be doing the once or twice per week dosing.

 

[czcz]

I am soon going to be upgrading this to about 2wpg, DIY CO2 and hopefully a better fert system.

Add lots of plants. Order KNO3, KH2PO4, and Plantex CSM+B from GregWatson.com. Twice a week, dose 1/2tsp KNO3 and 1/16tsp of KH2PO4 dry. (If you do not have a 1/16tsp measuring spoon, you could add 1/4tsp to a cup of water and dose 1/4 the cup.) Mix 3tsp of CSM+B in 250mLs of water, then dose 5mLs two other days of the week. Do 50% water changes weekly and work on your DIY CO2. This is essentially EI.

If you have algae or poor growth, add a third dosing day for each of the above or increase the dosing amounts. Keep working on DIY CO2.

Good luck.

(edit: typing while rkilling posted, so nevermind )

 

[zenkatydid]

thanks guys! i have read those articles, i will have a chat to the boy, and see if he wants to go in with me and buy the stuff.

i have to say, 50% weekly water changes on my 50gal tank is a bit daunting... :/ but the only other way of doing it is to test everything weekly and figure out how much to dose right? that sounds daunting too... *sigh*

 

[rkilling1]

Python? can you use one of those down under?

EDIT: also add in a K fert depending on your Bioload. KCl or K2SO4. If you have a low Bioload you don't have to worry about additional K, But if you have a medium to high Bioload you have to add K on top of KNO3.

 

[zenkatydid]

i have a hose that i use like a python, yeah. but it takes ages to fill and empty.

at the moment i have a low bioload, just a small school of danios, but i haven't started adding my fish yet. i wanted to get the plants sorted and happy and filling everything in before adding fish. is that ok, or a bad idea?

so i am getting KNO3 (for nitrate?), KH2PO4 (for phosphate?), and Plantex CSM+B (for trace elements?) and KCl/K2SO4... is one better than the other? Or just what I can find?

i definitely want to add K, because of the potassium-deficiency my leopard is showing signs of.

 

[rkilling1]

i
at the moment i have a low bioload, just a small school of danios, but i haven't started adding my fish yet. i wanted to get the plants sorted and happy and filling everything in before adding fish. is that ok, or a bad idea?

so i am getting KNO3 (for nitrate?), KH2PO4 (for phosphate?), and Plantex CSM+B (for trace elements?) and KCl/K2SO4... is one better than the other? Or just what I can find?

i definitely want to add K, because of the potassium-deficiency my leopard is showing signs of.

That's good. That will give your bacteria time to set in as you add your fish.

KCL or K2SO4 doesn't matter. KCL is common over here as "no salt" . K2SO4 there is a lot of online calculators for dosing your tank with it.

remember, you are still dosing K when you are adding KNO3, but if your bioload is high, you are not adding enough of it to put you in the range you need to be in. That is why I was saying if you have a higher bioload look into other ferts.

 

[czcz]

You may also be able to buy KCl in bulk locally as "Sodium-Free Water Softener." You can also dump some into your laundry if you want. Some stump removers -- Grant's and Greenlight, for example -- are KNO3. rich311k and Zezmo have posted measurements and dosing for Fleet Enema as a PO4 source. FWIW, all these products are widely available in the US, and equivalent products may be available in Aus.

 

[zenkatydid]

well i have set up my DIY CO2 - two bottles, one at each end of the tank. next week i will set up 2 more in-line so i can rotate them weekly.

i have also installed another light, giving me a total of 1.5wpg. i thought i had a 50w bulb before, but after checking it's actually only a 40w. the new one is a 36w. i'm a little disappointed with this, as i was hoping to get 2wpg, but couldn't find fluoros of a higher wattage. i am looking into overdriving one of them, but we'll see.

so, with only 1.5wpg i am still low-light. in one of the stickies, it says for a low-light tank you only need to be dosing potassium and iron, which you can get with a product called "leaf zone". is this right? does my CO2 make a difference to my dosing? could i dose with only leaf zone and plantex csb+b, or is the latter not even needed?

thanks for you help

 

[Purrbox]

Unless you already have the LeafZone I'd stick to a straight Potassium source like K2SO4, KCl (NoSalt), or Flourish Potassium. Use the CSM+B or other good Trace Fert to supply your Iron needs.

 

[zenkatydid]

ok excellent thanks.