# How do you all dose



## robert2191 (3 Mar 2016)

Just interested how you all dose your ferts

Do you dose your dry ferts straight in your aquarium or do you make a solution up ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## tim (3 Mar 2016)

Macro micro solution for my high tech, DIY all in one solution for my low tech.


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## ian_m (3 Mar 2016)

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/diy-dual-peristaltic-dosing-pump-with-alternate-switching.22332/


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## parotet (3 Mar 2016)

Both DIY and premixed solutions... Now two high tech tanks with enriched substrates and no dosing at all (one of them has just 10 days) and in the other one have decreased the light and I'm feeding fish with lots of live and frozen food... Plenty of stuff for plants!

Jordi


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## Wisey (4 Mar 2016)

Pre-mixed macro and micro delivered automatically via a TMC Easi-Dose 2 pump doser. I'm too lazy to manually dose and I don't want to risk forgetting; I also I like to be able to go away on holiday and just let it get on with it.


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## Paulo Soares (4 Mar 2016)

Some people just don´t care about "search"... that´s why foruns at a certain point start to anoy...
They just make a login and shot a question.


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## roundasapound (16 May 2016)

5 litres of each solution pre-mixed, automatic pumps dose daily on alternate days, 6 days per week.  On day 7 I water change.


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## xandro007 (18 May 2016)

tim said:


> Macro micro solution for my high tech, DIY all in one solution for my low tech.


What is your all in one solution For your low tech A want to try it to


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## tim (18 May 2016)

xandro007 said:


> What is your all in one solution For your low tech A want to try it to


Hi it's an all in one recipie from http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/allinone.htm
The tpn+ recipie number 3 without urea.


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## Andy D (19 May 2016)

I simply make up micro and macro ferts as per EI guides but as all of my tanks are low tech/energy I only dose a couple of times a week.


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## herezor (6 Jun 2016)

I prepare the macro and micro separated in tap water. If, according to my tank size and the recipe I must add: 

1/4 tsp KNO3
1/16 tsp K2PO4
1/16 tsp Trace.

I prepare it for 8 weeks in 480 ml. 1/4 tsp 3x per week = 3/4 tsp x 8 weeks = 24/4 tsp = 6 tsp = 2 tbsp
Same for K2PO4 and Trace. So I prepare 2 tbsp KNO3 + 1/2 tbsp K2PO4 in 480 ml and 1/2 tbsp Trace in 480 ml. I add 20 ml every other day of each. NPK on Mon/Wed/Fri and Trace on Tue/Thur/Sat. Sunday rest day and Monday 50-60% WC.

Cheers

Pedro


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## Easternlethal (6 Jun 2016)

Direct dosing into the tank with measuring teaspoon if I feel like it.  With my fingers if I don't. 

I've also asked this same question before in other forums and still don't really understand why ppl mix, especially with such precision.


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## rebel (6 Jun 2016)

Solutions all the way .

I auto dose by display tank. It's good for lazy peoples.


I lazy dose my nano which sometimes get GSA because I am slack with po4.


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## dw1305 (6 Jun 2016)

Hi all,





herezor said:


> 1/4 tsp KNO3
> 1/16 tsp K2PO4
> 1/16 tsp Trace.


Do you add any magnesium (Mg) or iron (Fe) other than in the trace mix?

cheers Darrel


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## herezor (6 Jun 2016)

Sorry double post


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## herezor (6 Jun 2016)

Nope. I though that the values in water for traces after water change + what it is contained in Trace mix (Aquarium Plant Food UK) would be enough. I have seen my water company analysis and it contains 2 ppm of Mg and 65 ug/L iron.

Why?. Is it not enough?...

Here it is my water analysis. Let me know if you see anything unusual (it is in spanish but I think it is easy to tell what is what)


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## ian_m (6 Jun 2016)

Don't ever alter your dosing based on water companies analysis, this will invariably lead to issues. Just dose full EI and ignore the report.

The report is for the water companies sampling point on a particular day and certainly not your tap today.


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## dw1305 (6 Jun 2016)

Hi all,





herezor said:


> I have seen my water company analysis and it contains 2 ppm of Mg and 65 ug/L iron. Why?. Is it not enough?...


They are <"pretty low levels"> of both elements. 

I would watch for any yellowing (chlorosis) of your plants (a floating plant would be useful to remove CO2 from the equation). If it effects the new leaves it is likely to be iron deficiency (Fe is non-mobile within the plant), and if it effects the older leaves magnesium deficiency (Mg is mobile within the plant) is more likely.  

Personally if I was adding NPK, I'd definitely add magnesium as well, "Epsom salts" (MgSO4.7H2O ~10% Mg) are cheap and easy to obtain.

10ppm Mg should be plenty. 

cheers Darrel


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## Derek113 (9 Jun 2016)

EI solution all the way. Follow the mixing guide and it cant go wrong.

I have never used dosing pumps but dont know if i would trust it not to dump a whole solution of ferts in one go!


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## Derek113 (9 Jun 2016)

Easternlethal said:


> Direct dosing into the tank with measuring teaspoon if I feel like it.  With my fingers if I don't.
> 
> I've also asked this same question before in other forums and still don't really understand why ppl mix, especially with such precision.



Does this work?


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## Easternlethal (9 Jun 2016)

Derek113 said:


> Does this work?


Yes


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## xim (9 Jun 2016)

Easternlethal said:


> Direct dosing into the tank with measuring teaspoon if I feel like it.  With my fingers if I don't.
> 
> I've also asked this same question before in other forums and still don't really understand why ppl mix, especially with such precision.



Because I can dose all NPK in one go. And KH2PO4 dust makes my skin rash.


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## Easternlethal (9 Jun 2016)

then y not just premix them all dry and sprinkle in with a spoon?


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## xim (9 Jun 2016)

The effort needed to mix different kinds of powder to get a good consistent mix is not much different from mixing them with water. (edit: well I think it's quite hard to make it consistent and you have no easy way to verify it)

It kind of breaks the benefit of dry dosing in the first place.


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## Easternlethal (9 Jun 2016)

so if i dose directly that's bad because i can't dose npk in one go. and if I premix that's bad because it 'breaks the benefit' of dry dosing. 

er.. ok.


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## xim (9 Jun 2016)

Nope, I just answer the question because I believe everyone has one's own reason to do things differently.


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## xim (9 Jun 2016)

I mean if you have to mix the dry powder then it's not very different from 
having to mix your solution: you gain the benefit of being able to dose all NPK in one go 
at the expense of having to spend time and energy to mix them first.

The benefit of the "classic way" of dry dosing (open the lid, scoop it, dump, one by one) is 
you don't have to mix it but you have to scoop and dump it several times.

Anyway I still prefer liquid dosing because of the KH2PO4 dust issue.


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## Easternlethal (9 Jun 2016)

here's my thinking expressed in more detail. firstly I need to create the mixture, whether dry or wet. either way I have to measure the components and in terms of getting their ratios right, water doesn't help me there. then i need to make sure i know how much of the mixture to add to the tank, so at this point I have to measure out how much mixture to administer. again, whether there is water there or not does not help. so i never understood how water can somehow give you more control on your dosing. i mean if need to add 2 solvents together precisely, how does also adding water somehow make it more accurate?

another argument i heard is that it can help control the concentration of the mixture. but again you can just as easily achieve the same result by dosing less. so why even bother diluting? if i need to add two solvents together in a certain concentration, why would i add more and then dilute it back down with water? and anyway, i would also argue it's a bit pointless to be trying to exert that much control over your mixture because a) one can't measure plant intakes accurately to be able to predict with any certainty how much ferts should be used and b) ei is all about not worrying about this sort of thing anyway. i do find it a bit amusing that hobbyists adopt ei but spend all their time measuring out exact ratios and ppm to exactly target 25 or 30 ppm or whatvever arbitrary number they got from the web and using an autodoser to get even more precision.

the other arguments i have heard is that they harm the fish. well. the tank has water in it so it will be mixed in. okay, but perhaps some fish will eat some before it dissolves? well i've seen fish eat fresh poop and spit it out. poop has urea which i would argue is more harmful than kno3. in any case i have not read about fish falling sick because they happened to swallow some fert powder. there's lots about fish falling sick from too high nitrates or whatever in the water but that would happen whether you administer dry or wet. my own fish certainly don't seem to care what they put in their mouths.

another thing i heard is that autodosing is necessary if you go away, and that needs a solution. well, here's another secret. why not just add powder to your autofeeder? i tried this once - adding ferts with fish food in a feeder thinking it was a bad idea but the fish did not care at all and i have been doing it since. in fact now i always just use my feeder to autodose my ferts. that cost me just $10.


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## Derek113 (9 Jun 2016)

I understand your point.

Going by EI, i know how to make the mixture by reading the measurements from the EI instructions.
I then know how many ml of each solution to dose everyday.

How do you calculate your dosage with a spoon?


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## Easternlethal (9 Jun 2016)

same way it is done in the kitchen.
https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/convert/measurements.html
with measuring spoons.
and a dry dose calculator like rotalabutterfly.com


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