Newbee looking for help.

A

aprendiz

Junior Poster
Feb 25, 2010
13
0
1
Tug;50527 said:
OK, are you able to hang the lights above the tank? That would be an option, you can have "Whatever You Like".;) I suggest starting with mid-light (one T5HO is more then enough) and work your way towards high-light (two T5HO lights is more then enough). And, 50% water changes twice a week will keep down the algae and it will add more CO2 to the tank with each water change. Do this until your CO2 reactor is working properly.


Explain what? Explain the calculations, I wish I could explain them. The calculations come from off of APC's The Fertilator. Focus on your CO2 and reduce your lighting as mentioned earlier.

10-20 gallon dose
0.625g KNO3 ~ 5ppm NO3
0.15g KH2PO4 ~ 1.4ppm PO4
0.15g KH2PO4 ~ 0.15ppm Fe

20-40 gallon dose
1.25g KNO3 ~ 10ppm NO3
0.3g KH2PO4 ~ 2.8ppm PO4
0.3g CSM+B ~ 0.3PPM Fe

Some typical uptake rates at high light and CO2 levels per day (24 hours):

Originally Posted by Admin View Post


I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Hi Tug,
of course this will help me a lot and i have to say that Yes i can hang the lights but how tall it have to be 6 inch or 4 inch? i think that i read a post that someone made it and explains that when you hang the light up from the tank, light have to travel to the bottom of the tank and i think that will help me because my high light fixture. and the Fertilator works very good to me, i think that i can dose 2.0g of KNO3 to raise the ppm of nitrate to 16.2ppm and i'm gonna still be at the range of 10-20 and i can raise to the K to 11.35ppm as you can see before was 7.52 of K and the range is 10-20, but i want to ask you something these fertz are 3 times per week i have to base my ppm of dry dosing on one day or the sum of all week to get the range of the ppm of EI. because in one single day of dose i'm safe with the ppm parameters.
 
G

Gerryd

Plant Guru Team
Lifetime Member
Sep 23, 2007
5,623
22
38
South Florida
Hola,

You want to use the WEEK'S total need for EI.

You can then divide this total by 7 to get a daily dose or by 3 to get your every other day dosing..

If you can mount the lights so they are ADJUSTABLE that is best....

A simple idea is to use shelving hardware. The hardware has two vertical supports that connect to the wall via two screws each. Each support has a series of adjustment slots. The arms to support the light fixture connect to these slots.

You then simply lay your fixture on the arms...as long as it is mounted securely, it is quick and easy, I did this with both my tanks and it works. Not as pretty as cable, etc but does the job....

The adjustment height is based on the length of the vertical supports........

Cost very little for the hardware, easy to install, and it works....

I posted a picture of this on my album in my profile just now........

Are you still planning on using ALL of your light? If so, ensure your adjustments level is pretty high.

I think it will be easier for you at the start to use much less light and increase from that point on. I doubt you will ever WANT to use all 6 bulbs for the whole light period if c02 and EI is stable, as you will be trimming DAILY lOL

Buena suerte!
 
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A

aprendiz

Junior Poster
Feb 25, 2010
13
0
1
Gerryd;50547 said:
Hola,

You want to use the WEEK'S total need for EI.

You can then divide this total by 7 to get a daily dose or by 3 to get your every other day dosing..

If you can mount the lights so they are ADJUSTABLE that is best....

A simple idea is to use shelving hardware. The hardware has two vertical supports that connect to the wall via two screws each. Each support has a series of adjustment slots. The arms to support the light fixture connect to these slots.

You then simply lay your fixture on the arms...as long as it is mounted securely, it is quick and easy, I did this with both my tanks and it works. Not as pretty as cable, etc but does the job....

The adjustment height is based on the length of the vertical supports........

Cost very little for the hardware, easy to install, and it works....

I posted a picture of this on my album in my profile just now........

Are you still planning on using ALL of your light? If so, ensure your adjustments level is pretty high.

I think it will be easier for you at the start to use much less light and increase from that point on. I doubt you will ever WANT to use all 6 bulbs for the whole light period if c02 and EI is stable, as you will be trimming DAILY lOL

Buena suerte!
Click to expand...

Hi and thanks, if my math is correct, then it would
20-40 gallon aquariums
+ / - ¼ teaspoon 3 times a week KN03 (0.54g) 1.61g total for the week
+ / - 1 / 16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week (0.043g) 0.129g wing week
+ / - 1 / 2 teaspoon weeks GH booster once (water exchange only) (2.5 g) at week
+ / - 1 / 16 teaspoon (5 ml) Trace Elements 3x a week (0.12 g) to comply with 0.1 ppm of Fe as fertilator says these results are only theoretical data of course
Weekly 50% water (10gal)
with the fertilator and the total amounts of
the program tells me,that i still need to increase the potassium to get at least 10ppm
 
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T

Tug

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Jan 5, 2009
1,150
9
38
Washington, DC
I've got a lot going on right now. So, I hope someone will fill in anything I get wrong.
Your adding twice the dose recommended for a 10-20 gallon tank. No problem, except that you have (unless this has changed) a lightly planted tank and limited CO2. So, more then you need, but water changes will reset the tank to keep nutrient ranges closer to the recommended levels. Just follow the general dosing guideline you have chosen,
20-40 Gallon Aquariums
¼ tsp KN03 3x a week
1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
1/2 tsp GH booster once a week
1/16 tsp Trace Elements 3x a week
To prevent algae and to add additional CO2, I suggest you use 50% water changes twice a week. This should also keep your nutrient dosing in check.

Once you have your lighting closer to watt was recommended, once you have your CO2 up and running properly and your plants have grown in, then reduce the number of water changes. All of this can be avoided if you would try using just one of those T5HO lights.

I am not a lighting expert so I expect (hope) someone will correct me on this.
If you mean to hang your lights. Four inches would be fine, if you mean to hang those six T5HO bulbs. Four inches from the ceiling of your house. I think they would need to be at least three, four feet above your tank. You might also want to notify your neighbors as to what that bright light is coming from your home.
 
A

aprendiz

Junior Poster
Feb 25, 2010
13
0
1
Tug;50560 said:
I've got a lot going on right now. So, I hope someone will fill in anything I get wrong.
Your adding twice the dose recommended for a 10-20 gallon tank. No problem, except that you have (unless this has changed) a lightly planted tank and limited CO2. So, more then you need, but water changes will reset the tank to keep nutrient ranges closer to the recommended levels. Just follow the general dosing guideline you have chosen,
20-40 Gallon Aquariums
¼ tsp KN03 3x a week
1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
1/2 tsp GH booster once a week
1/16 tsp Trace Elements 3x a week
To prevent algae and to add additional CO2, I suggest you use 50% water changes twice a week. This should also keep your nutrient dosing in check.

Once you have your lighting closer to watt was recommended, once you have your CO2 up and running properly and your plants have grown in, then reduce the number of water changes. All of this can be avoided if you would try using just one of those T5HO lights.

I am not a lighting expert so I expect (hope) someone will correct me on this.
If you mean to hang your lights. Four inches would be fine, if you mean to hang those six T5HO bulbs. Four inches from the ceiling of your house. I think they would need to be at least three, four feet above your tank. You might also want to notify your neighbors as to what that bright light is coming from your home.
Click to expand...

lol!!! your are right about the lights.... and yes i updated the tank and added more plants and DIY co2.


i added the co2 and i lost the nesaea sp. and the cabomba furcata doesn't look color red and i added some alga eaters, apple snail and Ghost shrimp .
 
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