fishenthusiast
Aquarium Advice Addict
I was eventually going to write this, but just now came up with the time to do so. My main reason for writing this is to allow people who are contemplating using either EI or PPS-Pro to have any easier decision. Note: I'm writing this based on my experience; other people will have different experiences, but every tank is different after all.
A little under a month ago, I switched my fertilizing regime over from PPS-Pro to Estimative Index. My main reason was to see how it affected the growth of my plants and to see if I could get even more lush growth from my plants. I did notice a bit more growth out of my plants, but the plants still looked the same in terms of health. In terms of algae, nothing changed in that aspect besides one thing (I'll get to that later). I still had to scrub algae off the glass, but that is basically unavoidable anyway. A little algae growth is healthy anyway--notice how I said a little. I liked the plant growth overall. I performed big water changes of around 40-50% once a week. This task wasn't too bad, but did I find myself doing an extra 20-30 minutes of maintenance. The thing I didn't like was that the tank seemed to appear dirty, even with the big water changes. Another big water change probably would of taken care of this, which I would of started doing, but a nasty green water algae bloom appeared in my tank a couple weeks into using this regimen. Yes, 2 big water changes a week would of probably prevented this. I determined that PPS-Pro was the best for me because it had worked previously and it wouldn't overload my tank's water column with too many ferts than what my plants needed. You can cut back on EI, but I find that PPS-Pro is easier to use if you're aiming for certain levels and not just guessing. My tank has pretty good lighting at 70 PAR, and I run pressurized CO2. EI sounded like a good idea, but having too much of a good thing isn't always the best in my opinion. Now, I'm not saying that EI is bad. In fact, it worked pretty well for my tank for a short period of time.
I think PPS-Pro is for you if:
• You don't mind testing your water.
• If you don't like performing huge water changes.
• If you're aiming for certain fert levels, which means that you'll have to adjust your dosing specifically for your tank.
I think EI is for you if:
• You don't like testing your water.
• If you don't mind performing large water changes.
• If you have super high lighting. (EI can be used at all lighting levels though; adjustments will have to be made depending on what lighting level that is)
• If a majority of your plants are very demanding in terms of fertilizer levels.
• If you want to best avoid having nutrient deficiencies in your tank.
Thanks for reading!
Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
A little under a month ago, I switched my fertilizing regime over from PPS-Pro to Estimative Index. My main reason was to see how it affected the growth of my plants and to see if I could get even more lush growth from my plants. I did notice a bit more growth out of my plants, but the plants still looked the same in terms of health. In terms of algae, nothing changed in that aspect besides one thing (I'll get to that later). I still had to scrub algae off the glass, but that is basically unavoidable anyway. A little algae growth is healthy anyway--notice how I said a little. I liked the plant growth overall. I performed big water changes of around 40-50% once a week. This task wasn't too bad, but did I find myself doing an extra 20-30 minutes of maintenance. The thing I didn't like was that the tank seemed to appear dirty, even with the big water changes. Another big water change probably would of taken care of this, which I would of started doing, but a nasty green water algae bloom appeared in my tank a couple weeks into using this regimen. Yes, 2 big water changes a week would of probably prevented this. I determined that PPS-Pro was the best for me because it had worked previously and it wouldn't overload my tank's water column with too many ferts than what my plants needed. You can cut back on EI, but I find that PPS-Pro is easier to use if you're aiming for certain levels and not just guessing. My tank has pretty good lighting at 70 PAR, and I run pressurized CO2. EI sounded like a good idea, but having too much of a good thing isn't always the best in my opinion. Now, I'm not saying that EI is bad. In fact, it worked pretty well for my tank for a short period of time.
I think PPS-Pro is for you if:
• You don't mind testing your water.
• If you don't like performing huge water changes.
• If you're aiming for certain fert levels, which means that you'll have to adjust your dosing specifically for your tank.
I think EI is for you if:
• You don't like testing your water.
• If you don't mind performing large water changes.
• If you have super high lighting. (EI can be used at all lighting levels though; adjustments will have to be made depending on what lighting level that is)
• If a majority of your plants are very demanding in terms of fertilizer levels.
• If you want to best avoid having nutrient deficiencies in your tank.
Thanks for reading!
Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
