Beginner to Planted Tank - Fert Help Please

[Coco1019]

I forgot to tell you the MgSO4 doesn't come in the mix and you don't need it in there. Unless you have ultra soft water from your tap you almost always get enough magnesium from your tap water during WC's. And you should add 5ml of Excel to every 250ml of solution to keep the solution from developing any mold when it's used slowly.

I bought a pound of MgSO4 before I saw this. It was only a couple of bucks so I won't worry about it. I just won't add it to the mix. We do have soft water, but not too soft I don't think. I haven't ever tested it. Should I?

So I add the Excel to the big bottle container that you linked to when I add everything else? Do I still dose the Excel to the tank? I'm doing a little more than a capful each morning.

I went and picked up some water sprite and what she told me was crypt nevilli. But, when I got home I noticed it looks different. I think it's actually parva. I guess that was a waste.

 

[Rivercats]

If your water is soft then it might be a good idea to get an API double test kit that has one test for GH and one test for KH. KH will tell if there is enough calcium. If you have a low GH then you will be able to use alittle of the magnesium here and there. But lets cross that bridge after you know what your readings are.

Mix your macro and micro mix in their bottles, then add 5ml Excel to each 250ml of mix. If you got the 1000ml bottles just add 20ml of Excel to your micro bottle mix and the same amount of Excel to your macro bottle mix. It just acts as a preservative.

You will dose you tank daily with Excel at 1ml per 10 gallons of water.

Crypt Parva is small, I mean 2" tall tops small. You'll know if you have it. Plus crypt parva can be used in the front of a tank as an accent plant. I have a little patch of it you can see in the second set of pic's, the top picture on the right, the small little bunch of plants in the far left bottom. Posted the link so you can get to it easily. That is crypt parva... it was originally 3 small plants and they have slowly spread to make on. But you can see how tiny it is. If you have that it will be easy to find a place for it. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f70/220g-planted-newly-rescaped-231568.html

 

[Coco1019]

Here is the plant. But it's bigger than 2". Each separate leaf is about 3".

 

[Rivercats]

Here is the plant. But it's bigger than 2". Each separate leaf is about 3".

That is crypt parva but have never seen one so lanky sparse. Mine came in pots that was really full and looked just like this... Cryptocoryne parva.

I don't know what kind of light they had it in but something tells me it wasn't the proper kind. Crypt Parva can actually tolerate higher light. In low light it tends to stand taller and in higher light it grows more horizontal, which is what mine does, but it is still very full and dense.

 

[Coco1019]

I see what you mean. Yeah, yours look a lot more full.

I think I'm going to just start ordering plants online. It's a heck of a drive anyways and they can't ever really help me with the plants.

 

[Rivercats]

I order all my plants, mostly from AquariumPlants.com. Thing is you need to order enough to make shipping worth it. But they have so many plants available to choose from which LFS's rarely have.

 

[meegosh]

Nowadays they strongly suggest using a gram scale to measure the dry ferts for PPS-Pro since your making up a mixture of them to use over time. I use a gram scale also. Now El I believe doses by teaspoons, etc.

Interesting.. I had a spreadsheet that Neilan created and I converted grams to tsp measurements. I used it in my autodosers to automatically dose my PPS Pro daily. I never had issues with mold or anything else. I used tap water in place of distilled, just had to mix it a bunch. The containers I used got me on average 14 days of dosing before I had to mix another batch.

I second the MgSO4 comment. I bought a pound and ended up only dosing it every few weeks. I did not add it to the mix.

 

[Rivercats]

I know how to do the conversions but it seemed everything I originally read was almost anal about how you never get the "precise" amount using tsp. measurements and since I had a good gram scale already I just went with that way. Never even considered using an auto doser... that's a good idea for busy people.

 

[Coco1019]

Okay, I tests my GH and KH.

GH - 10
KH - 8

 

[Rivercats]

Okay, I tests my GH and KH.

GH - 10
KH - 8

You have fairly hard water so you don't need the magnesium nor will you need any extra calcium if you ever get snails. Most plants will do fine in this water. Only a small number of plants like bolbitus, Rotala wallichii, and a couple other plants that only do well in soft water won't work in your tank but for the most part your fine.

 

[Coco1019]

You have fairly hard water so you don't need the magnesium nor will you need any extra calcium if you ever get snails. Most plants will do fine in this water. Only a small number of plants like bolbitus, Rotala wallichii, and a couple other plants that only do well in soft water won't work in your tank but for the most part your fine.

I'm surprised I have hard water. It doesn't feel that way at all. Maybe I should retest. But, then again, I'm comparing it to FL which is super hard.

Almost all of my plants are melting. The Anubias seem to be doing the best though it looks like something has been nibbling on the tips. That can't be though, no fish. The java ferns would be next best, though they are starting to wilt and spot. I'm sad. The fertilizer hasn't been delivered yet (they take forever!) but I have been dosing Excel daily.

Brown stuff is everywhere. I'm not sure if it's diatoms. The diatoms in my other tank just seen to discolor things. This stuff if I wave my hand over it, it floats like dirt.

I also found an outbreak of snails. Lovely. And a large drop in pH. It went from 7.4 to 6.4 in 2 days and really screwed up the cycle. It seemed to be almost finished, but not now. I dosed to 4 ppm ammonia yesterday and it's still the same. Nitrites are at 1-2 and nitrates 2.5. They had been higher. I added some crushed coral so hopefully it will come back up.

 

[jetajockey]

I'm in FL and my water is insanely soft, measures 15 tds out of the tap.

Dosing Mg/Ca will help stabilize your pH so it may not be a bad idea to put it in the mix.

 

[Coco1019]

I'm surprised. Anywhere I ever went it was insanely hard. It left stains too that were a pain to get rid of. We thought about a softener for years but I don't like the way softened water tastes.

I was told it was due to the high water table on the coast, but Pcola is in the coast, too. Hmmm...oh well.

So would I add the Mg at the same amount that was listed in this "recipe"?

59 grams K2SO4 (Potassium Sulfate)
65 grams KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate)
6 grams KH2PO4 (Mono Potassium Phosphate)
41 grams MgSO4 (Magnesium Sulfate)
Fill with distilled water and shake well. Let sit overnight.

 

[jetajockey]

I think we are off of the famous limestone aquifers to the east of here, I've visited many springs 75+ miles from here that were epic.

I don't know how to incorporate it into your dosing, you *might* want to just dose Ca/Mg independently so that you can keep a bead on your GH.