Dry ferts help

[aqua_chem]

I don't personally think there's any value to sticking to a specific ratio; that's a good way to drive yourself insane. My best guidance is to consider the demands of the tank and make sure you have "enough". If you have 30 ppm nitrate and .25 ppm phosphate in a co2 injected tank, you're headed for trouble.

That being said, as a general rule of thumb, you can try to keep it at 0.5 - 1 ppm minimum. There's more harm in undershooting then overshooting (you can run 5+ without too much problems if the rest of the tank is well managed), so err on the high side

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[Delapool]

I don't personally think there's any value to sticking to a specific ratio; that's a good way to drive yourself insane. My best guidance is to consider the demands of the tank and make sure you have "enough". If you have 30 ppm nitrate and .25 ppm phosphate in a co2 injected tank, you're headed for trouble.

That being said, as a general rule of thumb, you can try to keep it at 0.5 - 1 ppm minimum. There's more harm in undershooting then overshooting (you can run 5+ without too much problems if the rest of the tank is well managed), so err on the high side

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What sort of trouble?? Thanks!

 

[aqua_chem]

The fear would be running out of a single component, phosphate in this case. The hypothetical tank has abundant CO2, nitrates, and presumably light, which means it will be chewing through resources, and that amount of phosphate won't last long. This is basically inviting GSA into your tank and showing it where you keep your valuables.

 

[NigelK8485]

The fear would be running out of a single component, phosphate in this case. The hypothetical tank has abundant CO2, nitrates, and presumably light, which means it will be chewing through resources, and that amount of phosphate won't last long. This is basically inviting GSA into your tank and showing it where you keep your valuables.

Haven't excess phosphates been linked to BBA though? So there really would be a need for balancing the right amount out for fear of causing BBA. I've only read up on it briefly and didn't go looking at multiple resources, though. I just know a few mentioned too high of phosphates compared to your levels of nitrates as a cause for black beard.


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[LiQuiD]

1. What dry ferts would I need?
2. How do I know how much to dose?
3. How long does a container of dry last vs liquid?
4. Does co2 have an affect on dosing?

Im bumping this cause would like to know the same. I found this site, and was going to look into these. Maybe this can help you too?
Chemicals

EDIT: For some reason the veiwing setting I had on this thread showed no responses, so now that I have fixed that, I have read it all, and gratefil for the advice! You are answering all the questions us n00bs might have! Great job!

 

[ImACoolguy]

Im bumping this cause would like to know the same. I found this site, and was going to look into these. Maybe this can help you too?



Chemicals

very cool. I think it's way too broken down for me though. I follow the instructions on my bottles still lol. If I get into EI dosing I'll definitely remember this.


Caleb

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[LiQuiD]

very cool. I think it's way too broken down for me though. I follow the instructions on my bottles still lol. If I get into EI dosing I'll definitely remember this.

Yeah, sorry I just edited my original post to you. Looks like I missed all the action on this thread, but just caught up! See Below.

EDIT: For some reason the veiwing setting I had on this thread showed no responses, so now that I have fixed that, I have read it all, and gratefil for the advice! You are answering all the questions us n00bs might have! Great job!

 

[ImACoolguy]

Update. All my plants are just growing like weeds except the Rotala but I expected that. I threw out the DHG. Think I got a bad batch. My Java ferns were looking a little drowsy so I put them where the DHG was and they are perking up.

Anarchis, hornwort, and bacopa are growing like weeds



Sorry it's sideways. That's the best way I can zoom in close enough on a phone with a 4ft wide tank lol.


Caleb

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[Fresh2o]

Nice shot Caleb. I just have to scroll up and down to see the entire tank. You could always take left, middle, and right side shots.
LiQuiD - You can go the the Green Leaf Aquariums site to get the amounts of each dry salt is in the PPS-Pro kit that they sell for about $30. Not sure if they've changed since last year but here is what I got in the kit:
Macro: Nitrate 1 lb, Potassium Sulfate 1 lb, Magnesium Sulfate 1 lb, Potassium Phosphate 0.5 lb
Micro: CSM+B 0.5 lb
With the micro mix alone there is enough to fertilize a 10 gallon tank each day for about 7.5 years.


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[ImACoolguy]

I actually messed with the tank a lot more after that shot lol.

Here's the new product.



I threw this Cardinalis in the back of the tank because it wouldn't stay planted with its tiny roots and just left it. Found it the other day and it's turned into this. I'll inspect it tommorow night for dying leaves and stuff but still surprised to see it made it.

And the rocks are holding the wood down its a floater...

Caleb

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[LiQuiD]

And the rocks are holding the wood down its a floater...

lol, we have all had to do it at some point. Tank looks great! What kind of C02 rig do you have?

 

[ImACoolguy]

lol, we have all had to do it at some point. Tank looks great! What kind of C02 rig do you have?

Paintball pressurized system


Caleb

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[fish wrangler]

I started using dry ferts 2 days ago. When should I test for phosphates? A few days after starting to dose? Middle of the light cycle?

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[Fresh2o]

I started using dry ferts 2 days ago. When should I test for phosphates? A few days after starting to dose? Middle of the light cycle?

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It might be ideal to do this at the end of the week before the next water change. Standard dosing should yield about 1-2 ppm phosphate.


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[ImACoolguy]

It's been a while since I've updated this but tank is doing great. Some plants went poo others have exploded! I have a strand of anarchis that's around 4 FEET long lol letting it grow.

I had to pull my forest of Bacopa and thin it way out because it was so thick the bottom leaves were not getting much light. I have noticed some new stems that are VERY thick and healthy though which is great. I spaced it out amongst the tank so it will get better light coverage.


EDIT: I've also upped my dosing to 9ml per day and my GSA is GONE!!!!
Caleb

 

[fish wrangler]

It might be ideal to do this at the end of the week before the next water change. Standard dosing should yield about 1-2 ppm phosphate.


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Thanks!

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[hjsvt]

I started using dry ferts 2 days ago. When should I test for phosphates? A few days after starting to dose? Middle of the light cycle?

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IME with my tank, plants and stock, iron and phosphate need to be replenished the most frequently. So I test a couple of hours after my weekly 50% WC to determine my baseline. Then I EI dose for everything but phosphate. I dose phosphate per Redfield based on my nitrate levels and any needed nitrogen. Then I retest two days later and see where I'm at. I typically have to add more iron and more phosphate every other day but I do test for both before adding. That's just my experience with my setup and yours could be completely different. I would suggest testing more frequently for a couple of weeks to see how your set up responds then adjust dosing and testing as necessary. Also depends on your light, circulation and CO2.

 

[Sindy777]

Going to dry farts... Definitely following

 

[fish wrangler]

IME with my tank, plants and stock, iron and phosphate need to be replenished the most frequently. So I test a couple of hours after my weekly 50% WC to determine my baseline. Then I EI dose for everything but phosphate. I dose phosphate per Redfield based on my nitrate levels and any needed nitrogen. Then I retest two days later and see where I'm at. I typically have to add more iron and more phosphate every other day but I do test for both before adding. That's just my experience with my setup and yours could be completely different. I would suggest testing more frequently for a couple of weeks to see how your set up responds then adjust dosing and testing as necessary. Also depends on your light, circulation and CO2.

Ok, I will test every other day starting next week for phosphates.

Iron is the only liquid fert I'm still dosing, and that's 3ml once a week after my water change.

Tank is a 29 gallon with pressurized co2, a fluval 306, an eheim skim 350 on all the time, and a fluval plant LED.

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[tiger terror]

Going to dry farts... Definitely following

I hope this works out better for you....LOL

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