I'm lost when it comes to ferts...

[Plantbrain]

Originally Posted by Satsumas

Thanks for the replies, it's all becoming clearer now. I'll read through this thread a few times over and hopefully then i'll understand it all more clearly.

I understand that plants need these nutrients to flourish but it's me understanding them thats the problem. I have no idea where to start with the dosage of individual compounds but no doubt it will be similair to yours 7Enigma.

You just add 3-4 things 2-3x a week is all.
Not rocket science, no wild chemistry equations and no test kits etc.

1 item is a trace liquid, I suggest Tropica master grow
The other 2-3 items are : KNO3(K and N), KH2PO4(for the P), and maybe a GH booster if the tap water is fairly low in GH, adding more GH, say 1-2 degrees after a weekly water change is easy and will do no harm to any species.

I might add the following to an 80 gallon tank:

50-70% weekly water change(use a Python water changer etc, no buckets!)

I'll add

3/4 teaspoon KNO3
1/8-1/4 teaspoon KH2PO4
1.5 teaspoon GH booster(added after water change only)
20 mls of Tropica master grow'

I'll add this same amount 1-2x more during the week.

That's it.
As long as you keep the powder's straight and do not mix them up, you are fine. You do not need to know everything about them, just that you add 3/4 teaspoon 2-3x a week of KNO3.

What we call the powder really does not matter.

After a week or two, it becomes easy and routine.
Same old thing over and over.

From there, CO2 becomes the real issue, but there are few trick there as well.

EI will save you a lot of time and energy and allow you to rule out most things nutrient, leaving you with pruning, using less light, cleaning filters, and CO2 tweaking.

Regards,
Tom Barr