EI for my aquarium

[AquaticJim]

Can you please tell me an EI routine that I can follow for my aquarium?
I have read and read and read and my eyes and brain feel like there bleeding and I am STILL confused. I have access to dry ferts and also own accurate scales.

My tank is a 4x2x2 around 100 gals
Lighting is 2 x 150w metal halides
Pressurized CO2 through a Dupla Reaktor 400

What I would dearly like is just a "recipe" that I can follow and a dosing regime daily/weekly that I can follow to the letter. I'm sorry to ask for it to be spelled out to me like this, but I'm getting desperate to get a handle on this.

Again, any help greatly appreciated.

 

[Tom Barr]

I'd add the following routine:

Dose :

Good CO2, this is critical no matter what method you plan.
KNO3: 3/4: teaspoon 3x a week(less as you feed more food to the discus etc down to about 1/2 teaspoon)
KH2PO4: 1/8-1/4 teaspoon 3x a week
Tropica master grow 20mls 3x a week.

Note, you may divide the week totals by 7 and dose that if you like daily dosing instead. You can add the dry ferts to a jar with 140mls of water and dissolve then dose 20mls per day etc(so the entire jar will be used up the last day of the week).

GH?

You can add about 1 tsp on Gh booster etc each week if you are unsure about the GH from the tap etc.

the rest is weekly 50-60% water changes etc(do 2x week if it's a new tank etc) and CO2 etc.

 

[AquaticJim]

Thanks Tom

 

[AquaticJim]

I'd add the following routine:

Dose :

Good CO2, this is critical no matter what method you plan.
KNO3: 3/4: teaspoon 3x a week(less as you feed more food to the discus etc down to about 1/2 teaspoon)
KH2PO4: 1/8-1/4 teaspoon 3x a week
Tropica master grow 20mls 3x a week.

Note, you may divide the week totals by 7 and dose that if you like daily dosing instead. You can add the dry ferts to a jar with 140mls of water and dissolve then dose 20mls per day etc(so the entire jar will be used up the last day of the week).

Hi again Tom,

I am following the above routine and have divided it by 7 and am dosing daily. Is it ok to divide the micro nutrient and dose that daily as well instead of 3x a weeK?

Do I need to add any chelated iron solution using this method?

Also when is the best time to dose, beginning of the photoperiod, middle or end or is it irrelevent?

 

[Tom Barr]

You can and should divide the traces if you are dosing the others that way, just makes it all one routine/simpler.

Some dose that morning when they feed fish, I do not think you'll be able to show differences there, but if it works for your routine, that's not bad either, still, I do not think it matters, as long as the plants are not without nutrients for more than 30-40 hours or so at higher lighting. At lower light or high ppm's, you can get away with longer time periods.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[AquaticJim]

Hi Tom,

It's been around 6 weeks now and my tank is going great using exactly what you said. My plants are growing and the tank looks great and incredibly healthy. Daily dosing has worked out terrific for me and I pour it in just as the lights come on.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Tom Barr]

Keep up on things and watch CO2 religiously, prune often, clean filter lots etc.

sounds simple, but folks look to all sorts of funny stuff when it's really pretty simple.......

Regards,
tom Barr