Dosing Recommendations needed

[Blackwood]

I have a 125 gallon medium planted tank with 1.5wpg, C02 injected through a reactor. I have a bag of CSM+B (or what ever it is) from GregWatson.com. How much and how often should I dose the dry ferts? I figure if I put it in the sump (wet/dry filter for 150gallon tank) it won't 'shock' the tank as it'll mix in the sump and be circulated. Is this a good idea?

I plan on keeping my Nitrate around 15ppm dosing with dry KN03.

My tank look like the picture below, but it's a bit more heavily planted now (but not a lot), and has about 40 small fish (tetras, gobys, mollys, plattys, 2 scats for BBA control...) so the bio load isn't large.

Any suggestions for how much/how often for the dry ferts?

 

[rkilling1]

I have a 125 gallon medium planted tank with 1.5wpg, C02 injected through a reactor. I have a bag of CSM+B (or what ever it is) from GregWatson.com. How much and how often should I dose the dry ferts? I figure if I put it in the sump (wet/dry filter for 150gallon tank) it won't 'shock' the tank as it'll mix in the sump and be circulated. Is this a good idea?

I plan on keeping my Nitrate around 15ppm dosing with dry KN03.

My tank look like the picture below, but it's a bit more heavily planted now (but not a lot), and has about 40 small fish (tetras, gobys, mollys, plattys, 2 scats for BBA control...) so the bio load isn't large.

Any suggestions for how much/how often for the dry ferts?

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

 

[Jchillin]

...or Chuck Gadd's Calculator

 

[czcz]

I figure if I put it in the sump (wet/dry filter for 150gallon tank) it won't 'shock' the tank as it'll mix in the sump and be circulated. Is this a good idea?

Yes.

Also, seal the sump and keep the water drop in the overflow boxes low (or use a standpipe if it's a drilled tank) to help keep CO2 in the water. FWIW, I am of the opinion you may as well submerge the Wet/Dry media or (better) plant the sump.

 

[Blackwood]

The calculator is great for KN03, but I'm asking about CSM+B Fertalizer, not KN03. I have no way of testing Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, etc. so I'd like a ball park about to dose each week.

 

[czcz]

Remember to factor in the sump's water volume when calculating dosing. A good guess is good enough.

Here's the Fertilization sticky/howto, which also contains links to lots of calcs, including Zezmo's .xls spreadsheet/EI schedule: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=55457

Here's the only online CSM+B solution calculator. A target of .1-.2ppm Fe per dose is reasonable, and 1/4tsp CSM+B dry should be good if your sump is 10-50gallons. You can use Chuck's or Tom Barr/Plantbrain's targets for the rest if you want.

(With over 20ppm NO3 from KNO3 dosed weekly, you hit the minimum K target too. Lots of people with moderate hardness tap don't worry about Mg.)

Here's EI "light," which you may find more readable than the original rkilling posted: http://www.barrreport.com/articles/1800-ei-light-less-techical-aspects-estimative-index.html

Good luck.