Greg Watson

[Hoovercat]

I'm getting ready to order from Greg Watson and can't decide whether to order the PMDD pre-mix or order some CSM+B, some potassium nitrate, and some potassium sulfate. Can anyone suggest which is the better method, dosing for nitrate, potassium, trace and iron separately or in a pre-mixed form such as PMDD?

 

[malkore]

Better to dose everything separately. PMDD is a generic mix. Say one day you test and you need phosphate, but nitrate is cool. With PMDD, you have to increase both to increase one...so you don't have a way to control the balance between the two.

 

[travis simonson]

Yep, separate dosing is much more effective and gives you a lot more control over the separate nutrient levels in your tank. I would get the basics first: potassium nitrate (NO3), monopotassium phosphate (PO4), potassium sulfate (K), and CSM+B (traces). You might also consider iron chelate (Fe) and magnesium sulfate (Mg) but they are not essential.

 

[Hoovercat]

I went ahead and ordered the NO3, the K, and the CSM+B with the chelated iron added. I plan to limit phosphate and there are local sources if I need to dose P. I already have epsom salts if I need to dose M. Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[malkore]

Whats your water hardness? As long as you don't have really soft water, Mg shouldn't be needed.

 

[Hoovercat]

I haven't tested recently but IIRC it's about 5 GH.

 

[Steve Hampton]

I plan to limit phosphate

Maybe we can "change your mind" before this approach causes you grief. You can't eliminate algae by limiting phosphate, but you can limit plant growth and color by limiting phosphate...and green spot algae is a very common problem with phosphate limited tanks. While it's a good practice to limit organic phosphates it's counterproductive to limit inorganic phosphate.