Ei dosing

[Cookie30196992]

Hi every

Been out of the hobbie for a few years now and my knowledge is abit rusty but just got a new tank

it's 180litres

I have jbl aquabasis and jbl manado

6500k LED lighting

And a fluval 206 External

I have just brought liquid carbon and dry ferts and am wounding what doses I need to do?

Also I think this is a stupid question but I will need to remove the carbon bag in my filter won't I?

Also how long for lights?

Thank you all advice would be appreciated

 

[ZxC]

What exact light do you have?
What are your tank dimensions?
What fertilizers did you buy?
What substrate do you have?
What is your water change schedule going to be like?
What is your water source?
Do you know gH / kH / pH?

Liquid carbon is only achievable at immensely high pressure and massively high heat, so I assume you have a glutaraldehyde product such as Seachem Flourish Excel or Metricide 14?

You can remove the carbon bag, it won't really be necessary. Typically planted tanks should have a lot of mechanical media to remove dead plant material / organic material with regular filter cleanings. Decaying organic materiel is perfect starter food for algae to take hold, so removal w/ regular filter cleanings and water changes is key in my experience.

 

[Cookie30196992]

jbl aquabasis and jbl manado for substrate

I got the Ei Starter Kit from Aquarium Plant Food UK

Lighting is 14.5W LED*

The tank is H55 x W92 x D41 cm

Water change I think will be 25% every Sunday

I got Easy-Life Easycarbo*

My water source is rap water and am not sure about values yet still waiting for my test kit

 

[ZxC]

jbl aquabasis and jbl manado for substrate

I got the Ei Starter Kit from Aquarium Plant Food UK

Lighting is 14.5W LED*

The tank is H55 x W92 x D41 cm

Water change I think will be 25% every Sunday

I got Easy-Life Easycarbo*

My water source is rap water and am not sure about values yet still waiting for my test kit

What exact light do you have? Make and model. 14.5W LED's can mean 100 different types of lights.

With that size of tank and only 14.5 watts of LED you will be in the low - very low light range.

Easycarbo would be an algaecide / disinfectant type of product such as Excel or Metricide 14. Use it at max dose on the bottle for it's benefits. It needs to be dosed daily.

That EI starter pack is missing CaSO4 (might or might not be necessary) and K2SO4 (which is likely needed).

Also, if you pH is above 6.5 you will need to use a DTPA Iron source, or a ferrous gluconate Iron source (Seachem Flourish Iron).

25% weekly water changes and EI dosing do not mix. Maybe look into PPS-Pro or we can come up with a unique dosing regime to suit your needs.

50% water change weekly is the minimum for EI dosing, even at that level, nutrients seem to creep up quite badly over time... Lately, the most success has been coming from front loading Macro nutrients (maybe a mid week boost as well) and then split micro nutrient dosing 3 x per week up to 7 x per week.

Test your water as soon as you get the kit, gH is needed for 2 of the essential plant nutrients Ca and Mg. gH will let you know the sum of Ca and Mg ppm, but not each own's levels. We can guess via a city water report, or a diluted Ca reef test kit. Or we can boost Ca buy 15ppm and Mg by 7.5ppm and cover our bases... It all depends how much "control" you are after

 

[Cookie30196992]

Lighting is a fluval don't know the modal it just says 14.5 w 65000k, also how many hours off lighting ?

And doesn't K2SO4 come from KNO3?

if you pH is above 6.5 you will need to use a DTPA Iron source, or a ferrous gluconate Iron source (Seachem Flourish Iron). How come, I think my knowledge is very very rusty [emoji849]

What is PPS-Pro I don't mind doing 50% water change?

I think my test kit is coming tomorrow I hope

Thanks

 

[ZxC]

Lighting is a fluval don't know the modal it just says 14.5 w 65000k, also how many hours off lighting ?

And doesn't K2SO4 come from KNO3?

if you pH is above 6.5 you will need to use a DTPA Iron source, or a ferrous gluconate Iron source (Seachem Flourish Iron). How come, I think my knowledge is very very rusty [emoji849]

What is PPS-Pro I don't mind doing 50% water change?

I think my test kit is coming tomorrow I hope

Thanks

That light will likely be very low intensity, anubias, java fern and moss are likely possible though.

K2SO4 is additional K supplementation because KNO3 and KH2PO4 will not supply enough K.

The Iron in CSM+B (the trace mix in your fertilizer package) is EDTA chelated Iron which is broken down at pH's above 6.5 rendering the Iron non-plant available. DTPA or gluconate are better sources at higher pH's.

PPS-Pro is a different dosing regime. But at your light levels, we may be able to get away with super lean dosing. Say 10ppm NO3, 3ppm PO4, 10ppm K after a water change and then target 0.1ppm Fe 3 x per week. A little less if water changes are smaller (25% range). Or we can use the PPS-Pro method.

 

[Cookie30196992]

Can I ask why my lighting is low ? I have had a look and where I looked it say it's med light as it's 2.7wpg

Shall I get KH2PO4 than ?

And thank I understand about the iron

What you suggest? Can I use pps pro with my ferts I have got

just looking for my plants and fish to be happy and healthy

 

[ZxC]

WPG means nothing anymore I could have 200 watts of fluorescent lighting over a 50 gallon tank, but what happens to all the light that is being emmited from the top side of the bulb? Is it hitting a reflector? Is there no reflector and I'm illuminating my ceiling? What about LED's vs metal halid vs flourescent, what about T12 vs T8 vs T5 vs T5-HO? Spectrum... I could have 5WPG of 20,000K light, which plant's cannot utilize...

WPG is an old way of "measuring" light used on T8 and T12 fixtures. Not to be used on LED's.

I'm unsure as to where you are getting 2.7WPG.

55 x 92 x 41 cm = 207L ^3 = ~ 55 gallons

14.5 / 55 = 0.96 WPG.

Anyway, WPG is outdated. Low powered LED's is why I claim your lighting will be fairly low.

You should be able to use PPS-Pro with the fertilizers you have, plus some K2SO4. But do some research first on PPS-Pro though.

 

[Cookie30196992]

Alright didn't know that
It's a 180l tank so it claims haha
I will look into pps later tonight

Thank you with all the info really appreciated

 

[ZxC]

Alright didn't know that
It's a 180l tank so it claims haha
I will look into pps later tonight

Thank you with all the info really appreciated

No problem!

What plants do you figure you'll want to have??

 

[Cookie30196992]

I have already planted

Bacopa caroliniana*
Staurogyne repens
Hygrophila corymbosa*
Marsilea hirsuta
Bacopa amplexicaulis*
Ludwigia repens
Lysimachia nummularia

Planted yesterday and carbon and ferts are coming tomorrow

On the lighting
Do you think another 14.5w would help a lot

 

[ZxC]

I have already planted

Bacopa caroliniana*
Staurogyne repens
Hygrophila corymbosa*
Marsilea hirsuta
Bacopa amplexicaulis*
Ludwigia repens
Lysimachia nummularia

Planted yesterday and carbon and ferts are coming tomorrow

On the lighting
Do you think another 14.5w would help a lot

The tank is roughly 90cm's in length correct?

If you wan't an effective boost, you can look into an individual T5-HO fixture such as a SunBlaster w/ Nano-Tech reflector.

If not, another 14.5w LED will certainly boost your lighting. Lets see how the plants do with the 1 fixture. Sometimes I (we) don't realize how little light some plants need. You've chosen some decent plants for lower light, so lets see how they make out.

If you want to completely replace the lighting, Fluval Plant 3.0 is a great option, any T5-HO options are good (horticulture fixtures, SunBlaster's, Aquarium specific fixtures etc.).

I'm not too familiar with other LED's.

Do you have access to Beamswork in the UK?

 

[Cookie30196992]

Yes 92cm

I will see how I get on with this one, no need to spend money if the plants are fine

From a quick check I can from ebay/ amazon

 

[ZxC]

Yes 92cm

I will see how I get on with this one, no need to spend money if the plants are fine

From a quick check I can from ebay/ amazon

Beamswork is a good option. DA-FSPEC would be a very good option for low-medium light for not that much money.

Hopefully the plants will do well with your lights.

I would start @ 8 hours per day. No longer.

If all is well and algae is not an issue (after a month), bump it to 9 hours.... then 10 hours.... that should be about max. I've gotten away with 14 hours a day, but I won't recommend that unless you want algae

 

[Cookie30196992]

Just looked at the light and I not in stock about about 6 websites and it's £70 shipping from us :=/ we will wait and see

Yes I have my timer too 8 anyway

Thanks again I will let you know my reading tomorrow hopefully

 

[Cookie30196992]

Quick question on dosing as they have come today , shall I wait until my fishless cycle is done or with I be alright to start dosing ? I am using dr tims ammonia and all in one

thanks

 

[ZxC]

Quick question on dosing as they have come today , shall I wait until my fishless cycle is done or with I be alright to start dosing ? I am using dr tims ammonia and all in one

thanks

If you've got plants then start dosing straight away. Plant's will aid in the cycling process, healthier plants will aid even more

 

[Cookie30196992]

Mint is there a certain time to dose

 

[Cookie30196992]

Ie when light are on or off, if off how long before they come on, with feeding fish or not ? Or doesn't it matter ? Because I leave for work at 7 and I have set my lights 12 till 8 so I can enjoy the tank when I am home

 

[ZxC]

Ie when light are on or off, if off how long before they come on, with feeding fish or not ? Or doesn't it matter ? Because I leave for work at 7 and I have set my lights 12 till 8 so I can enjoy the tank when I am home

"most" tanks I see run the lights from mid-day until later in the evening so as to enjoy their tanks when they are home after work / school. so yes, 12-8 is fine. I run mine 2:30 - 9:30

Dose whenever, Ideally you should right before the lights come on, but whenever you get home from work is fine.