Plant Ferts.

[betowess]

Hi Rex,

OUCH and Wow, Part 2... Seachem suggests one ml for every 10 gallons. Thats a long stretch at 2.6ml for a 26 gallon to the 26ml that you're suggesting Rex. So, either their dosing is way conservative, or I need a potassium test kit right away! I assume Aquarium Pharmaceuticals or Hagen makes one, right?

At the present I'm just testing for KH, GH, PH, and Nitrate occasionally. Are there any other fundamental tests besides potassium that I should be doing, Rex?

And where can one find the Plantex brand CSM+boron, KNO3, KH2PO4, and K2SO4?

I found the potassium sulfate you suggested at http://www.litemanu.com/. Is that where you get the chelated iron too? Also, I have no background in chemistry... are there common names for CSM+boron, KNO3, KH2PO4, and K2SO4? As usual, your generous advice is greatly appreciated.

TIA Bob

 

[betowess]

Ouch and Oops Part 3. Final chapter. I stand corrected. I re-read the dosing and Rex, you are right.

The Seachem Pottasium dosage only raises the potassium level by 1 mg/l... hense the 26 ml Rex is suggesting for a 26 gallon tank. I better order that potassium sulfate right away and practically dump the whole seachem bottle in for now. Wow.

 

[Guest]

Potassium levels are normally recommended in the 10-20 ppm range. I have noticed problems with calcium uptake at the 20 ppm range. So I have dropped back down to the 10 ppm range. There is a potassium test kit available but since it's a turbidity kit it's pretty much worthless. What I do is initially dose the tank to 10 ppm. Then every water change I dose the water change to 10 ppm. This seems to work very well in my tank. I do 50% water changes every 7-10 days.

As for what to test for. I test pH, kH, gH, nitrates, and phosphates.

Plantex is very hard to find. There is one normal source in the US and they only sell it in 5 lb buckets. KNO3 aka potassium nitrate aka saltpeter, KH2PO4 aka mono potassium phosphate, and K2SO4 aka potassium sulfate can all be purchased from www.litemanu.com

I have purchased, mixed in the boron and sold around 70 lbs of Plantex CSM this year. I may do another split after the first of the year if there is interest. The shipped cost per pound runs around $15.00 I also split out 200 lbs of K2SO4 and 100 lbs of KNO3 and several pounds of KH2PO4.

Now some advice. If you are going to order from www.litemanu.com be sure you are testing for phosphates before you order he KH2PO4 because a little bit goes a very long ways. In fact you might want to find another person who needs some and split a pound. For the K2SO4 I figure I go though just over a pound a year on my 55 gallon tank. The KNO3 if you need it goes a long ways also. I don't always have to add KNO3 so a pound has lasted me over a year with four tanks.

Plantex lasts forever. I have now have five tanks setup and am still working on my original 8 ounces I got a year ago.

 

[oscarbreeder]

Just got a Nutrafin co2 injector.
Can you tell me how many bubbles I need to be getting?

 

[Guest]

Well that depends on how big your tank is, what your kH is, what your pH is. On any tank over 10 gallons you will have a hard time overdosing with the Nutrafin system. And there is not much you can do to change the bubble rate. So don't sweat it.

 

[oscarbreeder]

Tank is a 55gal.(I know this unit is good for 20gal and I need another one)
KH 8.0
PH 7.0

 

[TankGirl]

OK, just for reference, I used TWO Hagen ladder-type diffusers on my 55 and was getting about 9ppm CO2, based on my KH and pH (not yours, mind you). I bagged the ladder diffusers and still using the same two dinky Hagen reactors and feeding my bubbles into my XP3 canister filter I am getting 20ppm. I am ready to bag the dinky Hagen reactors and set up a DIY rig with soda bottles and a powerhead (in case the CO2 has a detrimental effect on my filter parts) but I am pleased with what I have going now, since I got pearling today (one week after the change).

I am still in the *dark* ages with two double-T12 bulb shop lights and I know that the restrike is horrible with them, and I am not getting the 160 watts I expect when reading the labels on the bulbs, but my plants are taking over the tank and I am pretty satisfied right now with very few shekels having been spent on this venture. I will be upgrading my lighting (AHSupply, here I come...) and upgrading my CO2 so I have more control over it, but it really comes down to how much time you want to spend trimming, splitting plants, replanting and basically fussing over your plants. If they grow and you don't have an algae bloom, you are doing great in my book.

 

[Guest]

Why not build an external reactor and plumb it into the return line on your filter?

 

[TankGirl]

Well, since I already paid for the Hagen reactors when I got those two kits, I might as well use them, since the tops are completely air tight and I have no worries of leaks. I can certainly plumb them into the return line, but I do think there is some benefit to the bubbles being churned around inside the canister, and that is why I am able to get such good CO2 concentration. I just don't have control of how much CO2 goes into the tank.