Fertilizer

[Blueiz]

I'm looking for a simple fertilization schedule. Im seriously thinking about the estimative index, however Im unsure and a little confused on what I need to buy and exactly how the dosing with that works. Anyone have some advice on this?

 

[Aquarium1]

What kind of fertilizer do you plan on using? How big is your tank? What is the stocking?

 

[Blueiz]

I'm asking what kind I shoiuld... Tank is a 75 gallon that is moderately stocked. I am looking into adding co2 in the very near future, and want to get a base line fert schedule in the works for when I start the co2.

I've done a little more research on the estimative index and I think I am starting to understand it a little more. Does anyone else use this?

 

[mfdrookie516]

you might pm timwag, fort, or ricardo... all three of them have referenced it several times. i know nothing about it and am kind of in the same boat as you

 

[timwag2001]

i use ei. its very easy. as you know algae is usually caused by an imbalance of ferts in the tank. usually its because you run out of something. soo the idea is to give your tank more ferts than you need. at the end of the week you do a 50% water change so you and it sort of resets your tank and you dont end up building up unused ferts in your tank. now keep in mind that ei is not an exact science. you can always add or remove ferts as your plants will tell you through deficiency.

something is up with tom barrs site. it's 404ing for some reason. but here it is anyway http://www.barrreport.com/estimative-index/2819-ei-light-those-less-techy-folks.html

here is a list of what you need.
kno3 - potassium nitrate
kh2po4 - monopotassium phosphate
csm+b plantex - basicly your trace and iron
gh booster - adds calcium, magnesium, and some potassium

some people like to have k2so4 (potassium sulfate), but kno3 and kh2po4 should give you enough potassium

you can buy it all at Planted Aquarium Fertilizer - Main, Main, Dry Fertilizers, Dry Fertilizers,http://www.barrreport.com/estimative-index/2819-ei-light-those-less-techy-folks.html

 

[timwag2001]

this thread will tell you how much to dose since mr barrs site is down.
_Dosing Regime's_

heres what i do.

sunday - 50% water change, gh booster, kno3, kh2po4
monday - csm+b
tuesday - kno3, kh2po4
wednesday - csm+b
thursday - kno3, kh2po4
friday - csm+b
saturday - sit back and enjoy my tank
sunday - start over again.

you can use teaspoons and what not to measure your ferts. i prefer a scale with a .01 accuracy. lol. my dad thought i was selling drugs when he saw me weighing out kno3.

and here are my 2 favorite sites to help me
Overview Map
Aquatic Plant Central

 

[mgamer20o0]

you can also mix the ferts into a liquid to make it ease to dose.

 

[timwag2001]

yup. but if you do, make sure you refigerate csm+b. otherwise it grows mold in it

 

[Blueiz]

Thanks for the advice. It seems a lot easier to understand now. I'm sure I will be back with more specific questions when I start to implement this, however I feel more confident in proceeding now.

 

[timwag2001]

it's very easy. i was very uneasy about dumping excess ferts in my tank at first. but it just makes everything so much simpler.

 

[Blueiz]

Yeah, a couple years ago when I was doing DIY co2 on this tank, I dosed nusalt for potassium, eposm salt for magnesium, and used flourish as well and also overfed the fish a bit while running 260 watts of pc lighitng. My tank did awesome then, but when I moved I stopped all that. I tried to get the diy co2 up and running again a few months ago but found that mixing the diy for such a large tank is expensive and aggrevating to maintain. My plants are hanging in there, but they will be so much happier when I get the appropriate nutrients for them. I'm now running 216 watts of t5ho lighting as well, of which to prevent algae growth I cant run all 4 bulbs at once right now.

 

[ricardo48]

I can also vouch for EI dosing.

My tank is completely algae free now and crystal clear and all from adding N/P/K and traces 3 times a week which takes about 5 seconds each day! I also dose Flourish Excel to help with co2 and to stop any algae getting a foothold.

I use DIY co2 and only ever get algae if I miss a bottle change and my co2 falls below 15ppm.

 

[ricardo48]

On subject of co2 I find the best way to get a consistant co2 with diy even on a small tank is to hook up 3 bottles to the reactor.

I then change 1 bottle weekly. This maintains my co2 at around 25-35ppm and even if you dont do a bottle change 1 week and leave it for 2 weeks I still find that my co2 only goes as low as 15-20ppm.

 

[Blueiz]

What mixture do you use for your diy?

 

[ricardo48]

I add 2 tea mugs of sugar into bottle. I then add hot water from tap half way full and shake to dissolve. I then top up with cold water and shake again. Finally add 1 teaspoon of yeast and shake bottle a final time.


Voila, hook up to reactor and away you go. I know alot of people go on about sterilising, activating the yeast seperately etc etc but from my experience this is a big waste of time.

Takes me 5 mins to disconnect my bottle and have the new one up and running and my co2 results prove it works.

People go on about cost compared with bottled co2 but I find one bag of sugar will do 2 weeks.

So 52 weeks x £0.97 = £50.44 divide by 2 = £25.22 on sugar a year.

Yeast cost me 39p for 2 satchets and 1 satchet does 2 weeks so

£0.39 x 52 weeks dive by 2 = £10.14 on yeast a year.

Total cost = £10.14 x £25.22 = £35.36

So I can do 2 years worth of diy co2 before it equals cost of buying pressurised setup and by that time I will have probably moved onto Marine setup.

 

[timwag2001]

i used to use a similiar mixture. 2 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon yeast, 1 teaspoon of baking soda. i activated the yeast first though. only takes a minute to get the yeast going and by the time i was done rinsing out my bottles and put the sugar in there and added water (i filled with water just up to the bend in a two liter soda bottle) , the yeast would be ready to go. the idea of the baking soda is that the diy mixture gets acidic and might kill off some of the yeast. baking soda slows that down i guess.

 

[ricardo48]

I found baking soda made no difference to life of my co2 or output volume.

My tap water is naturally alkaline ( 8.4 ) anyway so maybe that helped.

 

[Blueiz]

That is the same mixutre that I used to use. I tried baking soda a few times, but it didn't make a difference in my out or life span either. I think that has something to do with the properties of the water that is used to mix the solution.

I will be setting up diy on a 55 that I'm fixing to switch to planted.

 

[timwag2001]

keeping steady co2 on a 55 is pretty tough with diy. i ran 5 2liter bottles on mine. i would suggest reconsidering and going with pressurized if you can.

 

[Blueiz]

If all goes well with the pressurized system I just ordered, I will probably go ahead and do pressurized on the 55. In the interim will get some DIY going, I already have everything here to start that now.