What is this and how to stop it?

[Kaneu]

For kH, target 0.5 degrees using KHCO3 (can buy from GLA / amazon). This will add way less K than Equilibrium.



Also this qoute kinda confused me.. I want to only have 0.5 kH? My first thought was "That sounds really low!". So I have a feeling im reading that wrong.

 

[Kaneu]

Also, looking into the dry ferts that you are mentioning, there are a ton of different kinds and brands to choose from. So could you possibly attach a pic of the ferts you use? Or the kind you are mentioning that i should get?

 

[ZxC]

Also, looking into the dry ferts that you are mentioning, there are a ton of different kinds and brands to choose from. So could you possibly attach a pic of the ferts you use? Or the kind you are mentioning that i should get?

MgSO4 - https://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/magnesium-sulfate.html

CaSO4 - https://greenleafaquariums.com/products/calcium-sulfate-caso4-1-lb.html

Potassium Bicarbonate - https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Oh...JSFP7KCA6BHJEG5K6C2C&qid=1560861096&s=gateway

Yes, target 0.5 degrees kH.

for 80 gallons of water, you will need to use:

39.00 grams CaSO4 - 30ppm Ca
30.75 grams MgSO4 - 10ppm Mg
3.75 grams KHCO3 - 0.5 degrees kH.

Plants can better utilize nutrients at a low kH.

 

[Kaneu]

MgSO4 - https://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/magnesium-sulfate.html

CaSO4 - https://greenleafaquariums.com/products/calcium-sulfate-caso4-1-lb.html

Potassium Bicarbonate - https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Oh...JSFP7KCA6BHJEG5K6C2C&qid=1560861096&s=gateway

Yes, target 0.5 degrees kH.

for 80 gallons of water, you will need to use:

39.00 grams CaSO4 - 30ppm Ca
30.75 grams MgSO4 - 10ppm Mg
3.75 grams KHCO3 - 0.5 degrees kH.

Plants can better utilize nutrients at a low kH.

Awesome. Thanks so much for the links.
So all i need to do is to add this to my RO water before i do water changes? Then still add thrive+ to the tank like i normally am? Do i do anything to control the pH in the treated water? Or will this cause the ph to come out the same every time?

 

[ZxC]

Awesome. Thanks so much for the links.
So all i need to do is to add this to my RO water before i do water changes? Then still add thrive+ to the tank like i normally am? Do i do anything to control the pH in the treated water? Or will this cause the ph to come out the same every time?

The KHCO3 will adjust kH, which should give you around 7.1-7.2 for pH . Just make sure you mark your container to as to always have the same amount of water stored prior to dosing.

And buy a cheap 50 gram scale that can measure 0.001 grams off of amazon. Dosing the same amount of dry fertilizer into the same amount of RO water each time will net you consistent parameters.

 

[Kaneu]

Hey ZxC, got a quick question for you. Do you use the PPS method or the EI method of doseing?

 

[Kaneu]

MgSO4 - https://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/magnesium-sulfate.html

CaSO4 - https://greenleafaquariums.com/products/calcium-sulfate-caso4-1-lb.html

Potassium Bicarbonate - https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Oh...JSFP7KCA6BHJEG5K6C2C&qid=1560861096&s=gateway

Yes, target 0.5 degrees kH.

for 80 gallons of water, you will need to use:

39.00 grams CaSO4 - 30ppm Ca
30.75 grams MgSO4 - 10ppm Mg
3.75 grams KHCO3 - 0.5 degrees kH.

Plants can better utilize nutrients at a low kH.

What is the difference between calcium sulfate and calcium nitrate? Does it matter which one you use? Is one better than the other? Thanks

 

[ZxC]

Hey ZxC, got a quick question for you. Do you use the PPS method or the EI method of doseing?

Neither. I use a modified EI method. It's quite complicated and it will confuse you if I tried to explain it.

What is the difference between calcium sulfate and calcium nitrate? Does it matter which one you use? Is one better than the other? Thanks

The difference is... Ca is bonded to a SO4 in CaSO4 and Ca is bonded to an NO3 in CaNO3.

As long as you can get the CaNO3 to dissolve to reach a target level of Ca that is fine. You would have to cut back NO3 dosing significantly however if you are using CaNO3.

 

[Kaneu]

Neither. I use a modified EI method. It's quite complicated and it will confuse you if I tried to explain it.



The difference is... Ca is bonded to a SO4 in CaSO4 and Ca is bonded to an NO3 in CaNO3.

As long as you can get the CaNO3 to dissolve to reach a target level of Ca that is fine. You would have to cut back NO3 dosing significantly however if you are using CaNO3.

So does CaSO4 disolve better than CaNO3? Or does it really just depend on what i am trying to achive? I have a light fish load so nitrogen is always on the low side when i check. Just wondering what is better to use.

Also i have been looking into dry ferts from green leaf and noticed that if i started with there method of fertilizing, i would be putting in around 100-130% K because everything is bound to potassium. Is that normal? Does an overdose of potassium cause problems? Is that much good for an aquarium?
What are your thoughts about that?

 

[Delapool]

I’ve overdosed potassium above EI levels to stop some fast-growing hygro plants complaining and never saw any issues - at least for my water / tank setup.

 

[ZxC]

So does CaSO4 disolve better than CaNO3? Or does it really just depend on what i am trying to achive? I have a light fish load so nitrogen is always on the low side when i check. Just wondering what is better to use.

Also i have been looking into dry ferts from green leaf and noticed that if i started with there method of fertilizing, i would be putting in around 100-130% K because everything is bound to potassium. Is that normal? Does an overdose of potassium cause problems? Is that much good for an aquarium?
What are your thoughts about that?

High K causes the need for increased levels of other nutrients with the same molecular charge (K+) such as Mg+ and Ca+ etc.

All you need (for macro nutrients) is:

KNO3
KH2PO4
K2SO4

Then for micros, go custom or use CSM+B but go for the DTPA Iron version. If you can't find that, then dose CSM+B to target 0.15ppm Fe x 3 per week, but top it off with 0.15ppm x 3 per week using 11% DTPA Iron or Flourish Iron (which is actually ferrous gluconate).

Can I ask what you are planning on dosing?

I’ve overdosed potassium above EI levels to stop some fast-growing hygro plants complaining and never saw any issues - at least for my water / tank setup.

Yea, I haven't ran into issues dosing high K... Usually I aim for dosed NO3 = dosed K levels, but many other tanks I'm following on various forums are seeing benefits from lesser and lesser K. I tried it... my tank didn't like it and I'm still trying to bounce back from that experiment.

 

[Delapool]

That is interesting - I’ll have to look across as well. I pretty much aim the same as you for dosing K. Might look into test kits again - last one was pretty expensive and about 5 steps for a result I wasn’t quite sure if true.

 

[ZxC]

That is interesting - I’ll have to look across as well. I pretty much aim the same as you for dosing K. Might look into test kits again - last one was pretty expensive and about 5 steps for a result I wasn’t quite sure if true.

I haven't been seeing many users of a K test... It helps if using remineralized RO / distilled water you can punch your values into a calculator and determine the actual amounts, but you can't figure livestock waste and plant consumption without massive assumptions...

Best bet for me anyway is NO3 = K dosing (K from KNO3, KH2PO4, K2SO4 and KHCO3 - if using for kH boost).

When I was using KHCO3 for kH boosting my weekly dosed K levels were pushing 40ppm - that is with no additional K2SO4 / only from KHCO3 + KNO3 + KH2PO4. Worked well... but things build up quite fast with only 50% weekly water changes. TDS rose ~20 ish ppm start of week to end of week so plant uptake would = fish waste production + plant matter decomposition +/- 20ppm. Not too bad if you ask me.

 

[Delapool]

Sounds pretty good! [emoji106]

Yes, I found it hard to find a FW test kit and pretty expensive. I think they have others now. In the end the hygro was telling me more as the kits expire after a year or so.

 

[Kaneu]

Hey deadpool, ZxC,
Sorry for kinda falling off the grid. Been a seriously crazy week and a half. Multiple hospital visits involved. So research and this has kinda been put on the back burner. However things to be calming down now so i will be purchasing KNO3, KH2PO4, AND K2SO4 as well as a CSM+B w/iron and begin dosing with that. I will use that calculator you posted in the beginning of this thread to find out just what i need to mix up and dose.
So here is a quick question for ya, GLA has a micro/macro package deal where you get basically everything you need as well as 2 bottles to mix them in. Do you think thats a good deal? And i could just finish the thrive+ that i have then switch? Or should i keep using thrive and only use Ca and Mg for mixing RO water? Do you have a preference?

Im pretty sure my plants are suffering from severe Ca and Mg deficiency. Just kinda scratching my head because my water sprite and Tiger lotus need to be cut back weekly.. Im starting to wonder if i picked the wrong combination of plants....

 

[Kaneu]

So here is a quick question for ya, GLA has a micro/macro package deal where you get basically everything you need as well as 2 bottles to mix them in. Do you think thats a good deal?

Here is a pic of what is included in the pack, i would just need calcium for RO water.
They also have a gH booster. Any thoughts on that? Or does that have too much filler to?

 

[Kaneu]

Here is a pic of what is included in the pack, i would just need calcium for RO water.
They also have a gH booster. Any thoughts on that? Or does that have too much filler to?

Oops.. Here is pic of list

 

[ZxC]

Oops.. Here is pic of listView attachment 313271

Yep that's good.

Remind me... What is your water source?

If RO you'll need some KHCO3 and some CaSO4. Also... pick up some DTPA Iron or some Flourish Iron....

 

[Kaneu]

Yep that's good.

Remind me... What is your water source?

If RO you'll need some KHCO3 and some CaSO4. Also... pick up some DTPA Iron or some Flourish Iron....

Alright. Ill get that.
I am using RO water. The CaSO4 and DTPA iron i can get on on GLA but the KHCO3 is on amazon and that is for the kH right?

 

[ZxC]

Alright. Ill get that.
I am using RO water. The CaSO4 and DTPA iron i can get on on GLA but the KHCO3 is on amazon and that is for the kH right?

Yes, MgSO4 and CaSO4 is for gH.... target around 30ppm Ca and 10-15ppm Mg into your water change water.

Then target 0.5 degrees of kH using KHCO3. 0.5 degrees is enough to kepe pH stable without overly contributing to Potassium levels. Now, if using that, you likely can get away without any K2SO4 dosing... Because KNO3, KH2PO4 and KHCO3 will provide more than enough K.

Get a journal started up, I'll certainly follow along. It's good to keep track of things.