when to add potassium, boron...
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
travis simonson
Aquarium Advice Addict
In a high-light, CO2 driven tank the standard recommendation is to maintain K levels somewhere between 10-30ppm. Since there are no reliable test kits (that I'm aware of) for K I dose 10ppm K (in the form of potassium sulfate from www.gregwatson.com) at my weekly water change and then add 5ppm of K twice during the week, which ensures that I dose about 20ppm K per week.
One good indicator of low K levels is pinhole damage in the older leaves of Cryptocorynes and other slow-growing plants. I had this problem before I started dosing K but it has since gone away
I don't know what low boron levels might be indicated by but I believe that if you dose traces using Plantex CSM+B (boron) you shouldn't need to worry too much about it.
One good indicator of low K levels is pinhole damage in the older leaves of Cryptocorynes and other slow-growing plants. I had this problem before I started dosing K but it has since gone away
I don't know what low boron levels might be indicated by but I believe that if you dose traces using Plantex CSM+B (boron) you shouldn't need to worry too much about it.
greenmaji
Aquarium Advice Addict
http://sciencekit.com/category.asp?c=437489&sid=froogle
best price I could find on the Lamotte testkit.. and its only for 25 tests.. about $37..
Its about the only reliable test for K.. other then maybe hack but I havent heard anyone say that hack's testkit for K was worthwile.. though they are usually up there with lamotte for accuracy.. google is your friend in this case... HTH
best price I could find on the Lamotte testkit.. and its only for 25 tests.. about $37..
Its about the only reliable test for K.. other then maybe hack but I havent heard anyone say that hack's testkit for K was worthwile.. though they are usually up there with lamotte for accuracy.. google is your friend in this case... HTH
greenmaji
Aquarium Advice Addict
You asked..LOL..
Do you have chuck's calculator yet? it does the conversions for you... all you have to do is punch in the numbers and it tells you how concentrated your solution is..
this link will download the calculator for you.. its a windows based program though..
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/download/aquacalc_setup.exe
Do you have chuck's calculator yet? it does the conversions for you... all you have to do is punch in the numbers and it tells you how concentrated your solution is..
this link will download the calculator for you.. its a windows based program though..
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/download/aquacalc_setup.exe
thanks anyway greenmagi, i hate test kits grr because i broke almost all of the glass tubes and can't seem to find anywhere that sales them individually.
someone once told me not to look at numbers but at the plant itself... maybe that's referring to the EI method.
yea this calculator seems really helpful, now i just have to wait for the stuffs i ordered from GregWatson.
btw, i ordered "Plantex CSM+B Plus Extra Iron" as opposed to "CSM + B plantex". The only difference is the iron. How will the dosage be changed due to the Iron?
someone once told me not to look at numbers but at the plant itself... maybe that's referring to the EI method.
yea this calculator seems really helpful, now i just have to wait for the stuffs i ordered from GregWatson.
btw, i ordered "Plantex CSM+B Plus Extra Iron" as opposed to "CSM + B plantex". The only difference is the iron. How will the dosage be changed due to the Iron?
Steve Hampton
Aquarium Advice Activist
Actually that LaMotte kit is a soil test kit and it's not of much use for testing potassium in water. I'm not aware of a kit (suitable for aquaria use) for potassium testing other than the simple turbidity tests that basically report whether you have zero or "some level" of potassium. Fortunately though it's very difficult to overdose potassium unless you have very soft water. In very soft water a large and extended potassium dose can lead to calcium deficiency symptoms. Dosing more calcium seems to rectify that situation. Bottom line is to follow Travis's example...dose enough potassium so that it can't run out and not worry about overdosing.
dr_girlfriend
Aquarium Advice FINatic
My highly scientific way of dosing K is just adding a capful everyday to every other day Same with iron.....I'm bad.
Same with iron.....I'm bad.malkore
Aquarium Advice Addict
most people like to dose potassium dry, or premixed with a cup of tank water when you dose, ratther than a stock solution.
dose it after a water change, and use Chuck's calculator to add around 15ppm. that should be enough for a half week...so 3 days later, dose another 5-10ppm.
dose the plantex likee you normally would. the added iron should simply reduce/eliminate the need tto add a separate iron supplement, like Flourish iron.
dose it after a water change, and use Chuck's calculator to add around 15ppm. that should be enough for a half week...so 3 days later, dose another 5-10ppm.
dose the plantex likee you normally would. the added iron should simply reduce/eliminate the need tto add a separate iron supplement, like Flourish iron.
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