Should I Dose K2So4??

[Singtoh]

Hello All,

I am a bit confused. I have been reading posts and am getting more confused(I think). I dose 5ppm per week of KNO3 and do 50% water changes every Friday. Before the water change I test KNO3(not every time), but as it stands, I get 20ppm KNO3 before the water change and of course 10ppm after. So this means that 15ppm is coming from fish waste ect.ect. Tomorrow I am going to make a reference solution to make sure my test kit(API KNO3) is telling me the truth. Anyway, with that said, IMO I should be dosing K2So4?? Another thing that I am getting confused on is that in my current mix, I have going into my tank every day, .83ppm KNO3 = 4+ppm per week, so I have made the mix of 1.7ppm per day of K2So4 = 10ppm per week. I thought that this is correct as far as from what I read on the forum, but I stumbled upon a post that says it sould be the other way around(another forum)meaning more KNO3 than K2So4. I am doing EI, but if I am getting 15ppm from fish ect.ect. per week, I dose lightly on KNO3 and double the K2So4?? Is this correct?? I also dose 1.5ppm per week PO4 and I also dose MG quite high IMO. Everything seems to be ok, and looks ok but I am just reading conflicting information. Thanks for any advice in advance, I appreciate it.

Cheers,

Singtoh

 

[Philosophos]

I think you've got your compounds and elements confused. You should not be targeting levels of KNO3 or KH2PO4 or K2SO4, you should be aiming for levels of NPK. All three of these compounds contain K, one contains only K, the other two N and P. You should know the levels of NPK that you're aiming for, and the quantities of KNO3, KH2PO4 and K2SO4 that are required to meet these targets.

-Philosophos

 

[Singtoh]

I think you've got your compounds and elements confused. You should not be targeting levels of KNO3 or KH2PO4 or K2SO4, you should be aiming for levels of NPK. All three of these compounds contain K, one contains only K, the other two N and P. You should know the levels of NPK that you're aiming for, and the quantities of KNO3, KH2PO4 and K2SO4 that are required to meet these targets.

-Philosophos

Hello Philosophos,

I am targeting 20ppm nitrate, which seems to be the case in my situation by the time I change water. What should be the target of K2So4, as around 75% of my Nitrate comes from fish waste ect.ect.??(as I see it) I double the K2So4 as to nitrate KNO3. Is this correct?? Thanks for the help and reply.

Cheers,

Singtoh

 

[Philosophos]

K+ isn't going to come from anything significant besides the fertilizer. Aim for equal to or up to 1/3 higher K+ than N. So in your case 20-30ppm K+ from K2SO4 would do it. To do this, add 2.228483 times the K2SO4 more than the weight of pure K+ that you want.

-Philosophos

 

[Singtoh]

K+ isn't going to come from anything significant besides the fertilizer. Aim for equal to or up to 1/3 higher K+ than N. So in your case 20-30ppm K+ from K2SO4 would do it. To do this, add 2.228483 times the K2SO4 more than the weight of pure K+ that you want.

-Philosophos

Hello Philosophos,

Thanks for the reply and advice. So more K+ it is. I guess I am on the rite track then, just getting bombarded with info from other sites. I think I'll just stick mainly to this one, as there is more than enough good information here and plenty of helpful people (such as yourself)here as well. Thanks again Philosophos.

Cheers,

Singtoh