EI dosing

[Caliban07]

If your tank registers nitrates 10-20ppm at the end of the week there is no need to incorporate potassium nitrate in to the EI mix correct?

This means that potassium could potentially be inadequate if only dosing in conjunction with phosphate?


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[Sk3lly]

Correct but get yourself some potassium sulphate to restore the lost potassium


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[Caliban07]

Will do. I'll see how the plants fare with just potassium phosphate as the macro for now and purchase the extra potassium if a see any deficiencies.


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[Sk3lly]

Sounds like a plan. Hows the tank doing?


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[Caliban07]

Better now. Dunno if you caught my last post but basically over did it with the nitrate. I have an excel spreadsheet now to keep tabs on things better. Not been using root tabs yet swords seem to be coping well without them.


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[NigelK8485]

Can you explain what to look for with the EI dosing? I just started doing my tank with it yesterday. Purchased potassium nitrate, monopotassium phosphate, and Plantex CSM+Boron (?)

Basically I'm just going off of a guideline I saw on theplantedtank of what the recommended doses and fertilizers are.


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[F.Sam]

You're missing MgSO4 (magnesium sulfate) as a macro ingredient. Micro is good.


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[Caliban07]

Can you explain what to look for with the EI dosing? I just started doing my tank with it yesterday. Purchased potassium nitrate, monopotassium phosphate, and Plantex CSM+Boron (?)

Basically I'm just going off of a guideline I saw on theplantedtank of what the recommended doses and fertilizers are.


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What I've found is that it's quite tough to forge a dosing regime as there seem to be too many guides.

First thing I noticed in my plants was a potassium deficiency so a began to EI dose but overdid the nitrate. So what I'm going to do is creep up to a regime that suits my tank. I don't know if this defeats the object of EI dosing, probably does.

I'm not using nitrate or magnesium at the moment and I'll add those in if need be. I can also buy potassium separate if I'm still lacking.

What is the general target number for each nutrient when it comes to EI by the way?


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[Thumper828]

Kno3=7.5 ppm,..but that also gives you 4.73ppm of k(potassium),..if you don't use that I would really suggest supplementing with k2so4 to a target of 7.5ppm. The kh2po4 target is 1.3 ppm and also gives you .54ppm of k. You might need more kh2po4 depending on your lights and plant uptake. For micros you want to aim for .2-.5ppm of iron but again that depends on your set up as well......

 

[Caliban07]

Kno3=7.5 ppm,..but that also gives you 4.73ppm of k(potassium),..if you don't use that I would really suggest supplementing with k2so4 to a target of 7.5ppm. The kh2po4 target is 1.3 ppm and also gives you .54ppm of k. You might need more kh2po4 depending on your lights and plant uptake. For micros you want to aim for .2-.5ppm of iron but again that depends on your set up as well......

So

Nitrate = 7.5ppm (weekly?)
Potassium = 7.5ppm (weekly)
Phosphate = 1.3 ppm (weekly)

So basically my potassium is still lacking?

I'll need to buy some.

Any need for mag sulphate?


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[Thumper828]

If you do large weekely water changes(50% +),..I wouldn't think so. I think the GH booster would be better because it has magnesium and calcium at the correct ratio. And those doses are for ever other day. Macros on day 1, Micros on day 2, then macros, etc...this is dependent on your lighting and whether you are injecting co2. If you have a low light tank you would want to reduce the target ppm by roughly 1/3....

 

[Caliban07]

If you do large weekely water changes(50% +),..I wouldn't think so. I think the GH booster would be better because it has magnesium and calcium at the correct ratio. And those doses are for ever other day. Macros on day 1, Micros on day 2, then macros, etc...this is dependent on your lighting and whether you are injecting co2. If you have a low light tank you would want to reduce the target ppm by roughly 1/3....

Wowser! Didn't know that. I have low light so I'm definitely good for nitrate. I run crushed coral in the filter. How long does it take to expire?

What do you do about gravel vacuuming if you had no foreground plants?


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[Thumper828]

Not sure about the crushed coral..whats the reason you are using it..? As far as gravel vac...I have sand myself but I still try to have a clean bottom. To much build up leads to higher nitrate and algae issues...

 

[Caliban07]

My water is quite soft so added a bit of coral for calcium and magnesium for the plants.


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