ordering dry fertz

crystalview

Guru Class Expert
Sep 6, 2008
177
0
16
67
between Sac and Reno
I have just bounced all over this site. Wish I had instant recall.
I want to order fertz tonight. I have heard that Greg Watson has been ill and in and out of touch. I found no site to buy his fertz. I did find Pfertz and PAF. PAF looks much less costly. Are there others site to buy fertz out there?
Since I have never added dry fertz and my tank is low light should I stay with the EI 40-60g dosage. I have seen that others have cut this dosage in half since it was designed for high light tanks. What are your thoughts?
I have been using Seachems plant fertz and they seem to have more types of fertz then EI uses or is this my mistake? I will continue to use excel for now. I do not want CO2. But have I am not brave enough to do the Low tech tank.
Are the fertz just added to the tank directly? I have read that they can be premixed in DI water. How long can the premixed solution last on the shelf opposed to the dry fertz themselves?

So is this what I need?
Kno3
KH2P04
Trace or plantex csm+b or the like.
Excel

In one section it was mentioned K2S04 Do I need this also?
Is there enough iron in the above?
Also is there one of the fertz above that should never be added with another?
 

Gerryd

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

Here is a good link to buy your ferts.

Planted Aquarium Fertilizer

Here is an excellent thread on EI and fert routines:

http://www.barrreport.com/co2-aquatic-plant-fertilization/3205-fertilizer-routines-one.html

You do not need the KS04 so forget that. You may want to grab a bag of the Barr GH booster as well. Add this after a WC.

If you dose DAILY ensure that you leave about 4-6 hours between dosing your MACROS N,P and your micros (plantex, TMG, etc). Or the iron may be lost. Excel is also good to use weekly.....

I do not dose extra Iron in my 180 with no issues...

Yes, you can add ferts directly to the tank. I just mix in a cup and stir it, then dump it in the tank. EZ and quick............

EI is designed to be flexible so you can easily start dosing at N% of the recommended and see how it goes. Keep in mind that you would really have to overdose to hurt anything, and the 50% water changes weekly will reset anyway.

You can always do 2-3 X weekly water changes at first if you are concerned. This will add more c02 to the water, remove waste, etc.

Dose after a WC. It may take several weeks/months before you figure out your dosing schedule. Be patient and change slowly so you can observe and change if necessary. 50% of EI is a good start.

Hope this helps.
 

crystalview

Guru Class Expert
Sep 6, 2008
177
0
16
67
between Sac and Reno
I ordered the dry chemicals.
Potassium Nitrate
Mono Potassium Phosphate
CSM+B Plantex

Feels strange or like I am missing something. When I use all the seachem products there are seven bottles not including the Excel. As Tom say's learn one way to do things very well and then change if I want. I will try using the EI less techy and see how that goes, before I adjust for my tanks no CO2 and low light.