Starting new tank, any advice.

[Benny Boy]

So im still pretty new to planted tanks. I've kept a 10g planted and been dosing it with dry ferts for about 6 months and have been pretty successful. i decided i wanted to go up to a larger scale. I bought a 50 and i want to go real heavy with plants. i Have a Solarmax HO light, 10000k and 6700k. I haven't ordered the plants yet but i have them all picked out. Ive been dosing my ten gallon with a mixture that i got the instructions online. in a 1liter bottle i mixed 59 grams k2so4, 65 grams kno3, 6 grams kh2po4. I've been dosing 1 ml a day and doing 40- 50% water changes weekly. Should i just scale up on the dosing. any advice?

 

[Biollante]

I Am Not Sure How to Help, Let's Talk

Hi,

Welcome!

Have you read the EI threads?

I am curious where online did you get the instructions on your dosing?

Are you happy with the dosing strategy?

Are you happy with your current tank? What do you like and not like?

Biollante

 

[Tom Barr]

I'd focus a lot on light and CO2, as folks actually learn more and more about keeping plants, they realize this is where it is at, more so than dosing, but the routine should be fine scaled up.

I tend to add more PO4 than this, about 2:1 Ratio of KNo3 to KH2PO4. I do not add the K2SO4, you have plenty of K+ from the K in KNO3.
I use a GH booster, which is 2:1:1 K2SO4:CaSO4: MgSO4

So

KNO3
Gh booster(water change only)
KH2PO4
Trace mix (CMS+B and then I add 3:1 CMS+B: DTPA Fe.

I tend to mix the traces in hot tap water and then add a little Excel, I make roughly 1 liter batches this way.

I dose 2-3X a week.

Seems to work:

 

[Benny Boy]

Ive read the Ei dosing threads. Ive been doing nothing but reading up on it for weeks. I hae a hard time undestanding alot of it. But I think I uave the basics.

I think I got the mixing instructions off of rex's site.

I dont mind the dosing strategy, I understand the idea of making sure there is enough nutrients to feed the plants and doing the water changes to take out the excess. I was wondering if there is a way of dosing and if you knew exactly how much you plants were consuming if it was possible to stop dosing to let the plants use up the excess, less water changes.

I am happy witn my 10 gallon. Alot of petco//pet smart plants. Now im buying my plants online so I can have a better variety.

 

[Benny Boy]

With the co2 ive been reading about the diy with the yeast. How effective is that. And are there any negatie effects with fish.

 

[Biollante]

There Will Always Be Shills For the Military-Industrial-CO2 Complex

Hi,

For now, I really recommend not worrying about CO[SUB]2[/SUB].

I have plenty of tanks with no CO[SUB]2[/SUB] that grow plenty of plants beautifully.:02.47-tranquillity:

Patients and plant selection can easily give you beautiful tanks and you will actually learn how to grow plants without total reliance on technology.:02.47-tranquillity:

Learn on some basic plants and as you are ready, you can add complexity.

I think many folks drop out of this hobby so quickly because of all the hype, they become convinced they have to spend a lot of money on lighting, pressurized CO[SUB]2[/SUB] systems and ridiculous filter systems.

The vast majority of these plants can be grown in buckets.:biggrin:

Most of our plants are noxious weeds, if you can grow Dandelions, you can grow aquatic weeds.

Biollante

 

[mike]

Hi Biollante,

Are you referring to the Walstad method? I have a low tech 10G that I add Excel to but I'm thinking of even stopping that, I was thinking of researching the Walstad method.

I'm not sure how the plants will react if I stop the excel and whether I should reduce the light. Right now the tank has 2 x 10w 6700k CFs.

From my understanding, with a non co2 or excel tank you do very little water changes, as that tends to spike the co2. I assume to get a proper level of co2 in the water you need a certain level of aeration and flow, is that correct?

 

[Biollante]

Choose The Method... Stick With It...

Hi Mike,

I think the “Walstad-method” is one option.

There is no one “right way” to maintain a planted tank.:excitement:

• Especially when you choose a “high-tech” method, once chosen you must stick to the method.
• So when Tom Barr says, “choose a method and learn it well” it is a very good idea.

It is my ever-humble-potted-plant opinion that most folks would be far better off learning how to grow aquatic and marginal plants and maintain, as in keep alive, hardy critters.

Much of learning about aquariums, gardening, and keeping critters is by doing.

As a rule make changes, slowly, in other words, do not stop the Excel all at once, stop it over a week or two.

Much of what you do depends on the plants involved.

Biollante

 

[Benny Boy]

Thats what I wanted to do. I dont really want to get into co2 right now. The plants in my 10g are growing great without co2.I want to stay low tech right now. I know im gonna run into problem. most of the plants im getting are inexpensive for starters. Im not gonna buy expensive plants until I have more expierience.

I just want any advice I can get. Should I just scale up on dosing what I have. tom barr wrote what he does but I dont really understand it. I dont know any of the termonology. I know they are all difverent chemicals.

 

[Tug]

With the other salts, into 1 liter of water, that 59 g is a lot of K2SO4. Adding less, but I still mix about 19 g. Adjusting the ratio to something closer to Tom and for a non-CO2 tank - interesting idea.

 

[Tug]

With a fish population and plants, a tighter ratio for NO3/PO4 seems sound. Would the plants get enough N from fish? What about PO4? Yes, with a large fish population, some PO4, etc.

A mix (900 mL water) @ 19 g Kh2PO4, should be considered PO4 EI lite.