Need some help deciding what to use for ferts

[FishayFishay]

So I've had my 20 gallon running for about a year now. Always had plants in there and doing decent, through the neglect and hard times, they've always done well. Mostly crypts in there. Threw a huge anubias in there. Sag. To see what would happen, everything was alright.
I started with co2 faithfully about a month ago. I dose flourish, iron, and potassium according to the directions on the bottle but imo it's not enough.

So I'm thinking of new methods. I initially thought of doing an all purpose fert like the easy green that's advertised by aquarium co-op on YouTube. But then I also went against that idea with the fact that I'm trying to grow my plants lush and full and take it to the NEXT level. I just don't want my plants to survive anymore, I want them to reproduce and get bushy and have me trim them. So I thought of doing PPS Pro, but I'm a little nervous and I guess overwhelmed with all the new information behind it.

What do you all suggest?


(Pic is from a few months ago, but I want y'all to get an idea of what I'm working with)

 

[brendenscott]

Would just stick with EI. All you need is a bottle for macros and bottle for micros and dose on alternating days 3 time per week each. So easy. Comes with everything you need. Will have you covered whether you do low tech, high tech, low light, high light. Works for all. http://nilocg.com/diy-ei-liquid-fertilizer/
My high tech 60 gallon heavy planted absolutely thrives with these ferts.

 

[toolman]

When I was at the point you are I found an article that explains the difference between pps-pro Vs. ei. What I found, you may already know, was pps-pro was only the nutrients needed each day where ei was all nutrients needed in excess. Because of the excess a large water change was needed each week to remove excessive nutrients.

So I went with the pps-pro DIY kit from NilocG, comes with a macro and micro bottle just like described in the prior posts. One premeasured bag per 500ml ro/di water.

I have gotten along great for 3 months now with no increased need for water changes, no noticed toxicity and could still go 2 weeks+ between water changes( I don't).

Whichever you go with I highly recommend NilocG, I have been extremely satisfied.

 

[Caliban07]

For the plants you have I think PPS-Pro would be plenty. What is your lighting?

 

[FishayFishay]

For the plants you have I think PPS-Pro would be plenty. What is your lighting?

I have low lighting I'm pretty sure of it. It's a beamwork 30" led light. I got it on eBay and it's pretty good imo for the price. Idk if I will upgrade soon or not since it's been doing well for me.

I can grow crypts and anubias and Sagittaria with it, most of the low-moderate light plants. I don't plan on doing anything too big as of now. Just trying to achieve "balance" in the planted tank. I am thinking of going the pps pro method and have been doing a fair amount of research on it. So basically where exactly should I purchase from? Is there a difference? I heard that you would have to dose every day (alternating through micro nutrients and macros) then on the 7th day (most likely Sunday) you do a 50% water change. How accurate is this?

I want to know because I tend to do 30-40% water changes, for some reason I find more than that gets a little tricky with my fish. It throws off the pH since co2 is pumping through it around the time I would change the water. Also the temp swings. So how faithfully do I follow that part of the method? What if I miss that day?

 

[toolman]

When I was at the point you are I found an article that explains the difference between pps-pro Vs. ei. What I found, you may already know, was pps-pro was only the nutrients needed each day where ei was all nutrients needed in excess. Because of the excess a large water change was needed each week to remove excessive nutrients.

So I went with the pps-pro DIY kit from NilocG, comes with a macro and micro bottle just like described in the prior posts. One premeasured bag per 500ml ro/di water.

I have gotten along great for 3 months now with no increased need for water changes, no noticed toxicity and could still go 2 weeks+ between water changes( I don't).

Whichever you go with I highly recommend NilocG, I have been extremely satisfied.

Pps-pro should be fine with regular water changed, ei on the other hand requires large weekly water changes!

 

[FishayFishay]

Would I need a scale or is it measured for me already?

 

[toolman]

Premeasured in a bag, just dump in a bottle and add 500ml water.

NilocG.com

 

[AshokKD]

Also to have a stable ph, you can add crushed corals in your filter. As many suggest start with a tea spoon or two

 

[FishayFishay]

Also to have a stable ph, you can add crushed corals in your filter. As many suggest start with a tea spoon or two

Doesn't crushed coral raise the pH? My pH is somewhere between 7.6-7.8 and it goes down to about 6.5 with co2 pumping.

 

[FishayFishay]

Premeasured in a bag, just dump in a bottle and add 500ml water.

NilocG.com

Awesome. Will try soon. Do you all suggest I stop using the seachem line all together? Or should I use iron/potassium that I already have if I see a deficiency for it? I will also add 10ml of excel into the bottles to stop mold from growing and most likely add some to the tank every now and then to combat algae.

 

[gumball]

I say ditto on the pps ftom nilocg.. doing awesome in my co2/ high light tank!

 

[Fresh2o]

Awesome. Will try soon. Do you all suggest I stop using the seachem line all together? Or should I use iron/potassium that I already have if I see a deficiency for it? I will also add 10ml of excel into the bottles to stop mold from growing and most likely add some to the tank every now and then to combat algae.

If you are doing PPS-Pro then you should not need to add anything else. The use of Excel as mentioned is fine.
I bought a PPS-Pro kit from Green Leaf Aquariums (GLA) in December of 2013 and am still using it. I am dosing a 20g high tech tank. When mixing up 500 mL batches you do need to measure things out with a scale (in grams). There is enough dry salts in the kit to make up several batches. Since it is not pre measured, you have the flexibility to customize it. For instance, you can increase the amount of phosphate as needed (have found to be helpful with reducing green spot algae). Also, I like to mix the nitrate in a separate container. That way I can scale back on it in case the nitrate level is higher than I am targeting (nitrate from the nitrogen cycle needs to be factored in).

 

[toolman]

If you are doing PPS-Pro then you should not need to add anything else. The use of Excel as mentioned is fine.
I bought a PPS-Pro kit from Green Leaf Aquariums (GLA) in December of 2013 and am still using it. I am dosing a 20g high tech tank. When mixing up 500 mL batches you do need to measure things out with a scale (in grams). There is enough dry salts in the kit to make up several batches. Since it is not pre measured, you have the flexibility to customize it. For instance, you can increase the amount of phosphate as needed (have found to be helpful with reducing green spot algae). Also, I like to mix the nitrate in a separate container. That way I can scale back on it in case the nitrate level is higher than I am targeting (nitrate from the nitrogen cycle needs to be factored in).

Fresh... NilocG's DIY pps-pro is in premeasured packages, that's the only drawback I've found. But the OP wanted, as I did when I started the pps-pro, something simple he didn't need to measure.

I've had no issues with the premeasured ferts, so far, but have my fingers crossed I don't ever want to tweak the formula. If I do I figure I can always order them as others do and start measuring the mixture myself.

 

[Fresh2o]

NilocG does make it easy out of the box. That should work in most cases. Just offering some insight. About 5-6 weeks in I was wondering why the nitrates were running high (40-80+). Bioload was not high. Yes, could have increased WCs but my choice for PPS-Pro was because of the lower weekly WC rate. Thus, the separation of nitrate from the other macros.
Regardless of the vendor, PPS-Pro is a step up from the OP's current regiment.

 

[FishayFishay]

If you are doing PPS-Pro then you should not need to add anything else. The use of Excel as mentioned is fine.
I bought a PPS-Pro kit from Green Leaf Aquariums (GLA) in December of 2013 and am still using it. I am dosing a 20g high tech tank. When mixing up 500 mL batches you do need to measure things out with a scale (in grams). There is enough dry salts in the kit to make up several batches. Since it is not pre measured, you have the flexibility to customize it. For instance, you can increase the amount of phosphate as needed (have found to be helpful with reducing green spot algae). Also, I like to mix the nitrate in a separate container. That way I can scale back on it in case the nitrate level is higher than I am targeting (nitrate from the nitrogen cycle needs to be factored in).

I like the idea of being able to customize my own ferts for that idea specifically. Algae and other issues I might run into that might call for more or less of a fert. I'm torn again lol. I kind of want it to be simple and just go from there. So I'm thinking of getting the premeasured and see how that goes and if I run into any problems, get a little more specific. Never done dry ferts before so just wanna get my toes wet first (no pun intended).

 

[gumball]

The ones i got from nilocg last month for the pps dosing are not pre measured so i can customize it however i want to. Its seriously wicked easy.

 

[Bert2oo1]

The ones i got from nilocg last month for the pps dosing are not pre measured so i can customize it however i want to. Its seriously wicked easy.

Agreed. It's very easy to do the seperate chemical measurements. PPS pro and EI are only made up of 3 chemicals. Kno3, kh2po4, kso4. Rotalabutterfly calculator or PPS pro website will give u the exact amount of what chemical u need to add to make the macro mix. U can also add some Epsom salts for extra Magnesium.

Micro nutrients come pre mixed so u just add X amount to the micro bottle.

All seems hard to start with but its actually really simple once you get going.
I agree with fresh, I'd get the seperate chemicals so I can alter the mix to suit your tank. I too dose higher phosphate to keep GSA away.

 

[toolman]

The ones i got from nilocg last month for the pps dosing are not pre measured so i can customize it however i want to. Its seriously wicked easy.

Yes, NilocG has both premeasured and bulk/customizable pps-pro versions. I didn't want to confuse or influence anyone, just point out ease of use of premeasured and that I have had no issues.

Just go pps-pro of some kind to avoid possible toxicity issues from excess nutrients some have had with ei. You'll be fine.