I setup a 55G tank (my first tank after many years of not having one) just a few days ago. I'm trying to stick to Tom's Non CO2 methods fairly closely since he outlines them very nicely in his article (in the Articles section of this forum). However, I do have a few questions since I'm new to the whole planted tank thing.
In the article (http://www.barrreport.com/articles/433-non-co2-methods.html), Tom outlines suggested dosing when the tank is more or less stocked. Currently I only have a Betta and 3 SAE in there. I'm waiting for the tank to cycle so let's say for the next 4 weeks or so I won't have any other fish in there ... should I be dosing more than what's recommended in the article for those 4 weeks? Is there something I can test for to see if I'm dosing enough for the time being (don't get me wrong ... I don't want to be testing for ever ... just the initial period before my tank fits in ideally with Tom's article). For example, if I test for Nitrate and it's not detectable, should I add more? If I add more Nitrate should I also add the corresponding ratio of the other nutrients mentioned? Hope my question makes sense.
The other question I have is regarding Excel. I have a bottle of Excel (250mL ... according to the instructions would last about 2 months), is there any advantage to me using it for the first few months? If so, how much should I increase the dosing (keeping in mind that for the first little while I will have fairly low fish stocking levels). Is there anything else I should do differently if using Excel for the first two months?
Thanks,
Harry
In the article (http://www.barrreport.com/articles/433-non-co2-methods.html), Tom outlines suggested dosing when the tank is more or less stocked. Currently I only have a Betta and 3 SAE in there. I'm waiting for the tank to cycle so let's say for the next 4 weeks or so I won't have any other fish in there ... should I be dosing more than what's recommended in the article for those 4 weeks? Is there something I can test for to see if I'm dosing enough for the time being (don't get me wrong ... I don't want to be testing for ever ... just the initial period before my tank fits in ideally with Tom's article). For example, if I test for Nitrate and it's not detectable, should I add more? If I add more Nitrate should I also add the corresponding ratio of the other nutrients mentioned? Hope my question makes sense.
The other question I have is regarding Excel. I have a bottle of Excel (250mL ... according to the instructions would last about 2 months), is there any advantage to me using it for the first few months? If so, how much should I increase the dosing (keeping in mind that for the first little while I will have fairly low fish stocking levels). Is there anything else I should do differently if using Excel for the first two months?
Thanks,
Harry