Dosing - Time of Day / Time in Photoperiod

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Doc7

Member
Apr 19, 2011
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I've looked around but found no discussions yet on *WHEN* people dose their tanks and if it matters.

I understand for EI dosing that its not meant to be rigid, overthought etc, and as the N/P/K sticks around in the water its probably not too relevant.

But for micros / metals (Fe etc) it seems like it may matter because I get the impression some of these are only available for a short time in certain water conditions.

I have moderately hard to hard water that also has a PH of 8.3. It is my understanding that Fe will only be available to plants for a short time - even DPTA-Chelated is referenced online at being nearly insoluble in water at this high PH.

Additionally Diana Walstad makes a reference to chelated iron only being available to plants while light breaks it down early in the book on natural tanks. I wonder if my iron is already solid in my filter/substrate by the time my lights are on.

I leave for work several hours before photoperiod starts and only catch the end of it when I get home. I usually dose dry fertilizers at night after the lights are off figuring they'll be available in the morning. Is this a misconception for iron and other metals?

I have no obvious nutrient deficencies so I don't mean to sound like I'm overthinking this but at the same time considering an auto-doser that will feed during photoperiod.

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csmith

Guest
As for the "when" of dosing, I believe the consensus is in the morning. I, like you, am gone before the photoperiod begins but dose then. Never really saw a nutrient issue come from that. On my larger tank I had actually begun dosing macros once a week after water change and continued micros daily. Seemed to work just fine. Probably just comes down to when you have the time and what you care for.
 
D

Doc7

Member
Apr 19, 2011
136
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Except for lack of reds (unknown cause) and plant leginess (likely low lighting) I don't see any nutrient issues. I dose 1.5 times the "20-40 gallon" EI recommendations and have algae on my glass but almost zilch (none that I can see without looking specifically for a couple leaves w/ diatoms) anywhere else thanks to Amanos and t5nos suspended a little bit above 40 breeder.

I just wonder how much of my micros are "wasted" because they are unavailable to plants.

I've thought about changing my photoperiod to be an evening one (4 to midnight for example) but wonder if ambient room light all day would stress fish or plants or contribute to algae. I keep the blinds shut but its in no way "dark" in the day time in there.

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