# Some Questions - About to start EI dosing a 190L



## Kyle D (15 May 2010)

I am about to start using the EI method to dose my tank and was hoping somebody could answer some of my questions about the dosing, how it will affect the fish, and also check my dosing scheme to see if its ok.

The aquarium is a 50 US Gal tank (36"x18"x18") with a Rena Filstar XP3 canister filter going full blast (rated for 350 gph) and it has 4x39W T5-HO lights on it and they are on for 8 hours per day in two 4 hour periods with 2 hours in between the periods.  The bulbs are in 2 36" Hagen GLO double fixtures and the fixtures are resting right on the lip of the tank, so they're only about 2-3" from the surface of the water.  The substrate is a mixture of Fluorite Black, pool filter sand and black aquarium gravel all over a layer of API First Layer laterite.  I am running a pressurized CO2 system using the Milwaukee MA957 regulator with the CO2 being pumped into the venturi port on a Hagen Elite mini internal filter which is blowing into a filter sponge which traps the bubbles in it and eventually produces a fine mist of bubbles.  I'm using a Red Sea drop checker with a 5 dKH solution and it is always green which I believe means that there is approximately 38 ppm CO2 in the tank.  The tank is heavily planted and there are two pieces of driftwood in it as well.  The pH is around 6.8 and the dKH is around 14-15.

The tank is stocked with the following:
- 9x 1" Rummynose Tetras
- 7x 1" Sterbai Corys
- 2x adult sodalis corys
- 2x adult wortoi corys
- 1x adult albino bn pleco
- 6x 1-1.5" calico bn pleco
- 2x adult gold x german blue rams
- 1x 3" gold marble angelfish
- 2x 2" marble angelfish

(The four adult corys will be getting moved soon and eventually I plan to only have 3 plecos in the tank.  I am also considering adding a 4th angel and possible a pair of gold rams, but those are still up in the air.)

The dosing regime that I'm planning on following is from http://theplantedtank.co.uk/EI.htm and http://www.ukaps.org/EI.htm and is as follows:

- 1/2 tsp KNO3 + 1/8 tsp KH2PO4 + 1.5 tsp MgSO4 -> 3x per week
- 1/8 tsp traces -> 3x per week
- 50-75% WC per week

The traces will be provided by a chelate trace element mix (Fe 7%, B 1.3%, Mn 2%, Zn 0.4%, Cu 0.1%, Mo 0.06%).  

According to the calculator on James' site I will be dosing over the week (combined):
- 29.15 ppm of Nitrate from Potassium Nitrate
- 22.15 ppm Potassium from Potassium Nitrate and Potassium Phosphate
- 12.01 ppm Magnesium from Magnesium Sulphate

Is this dosing regime acceptable or is it too much?  Also, when first starting to dose EI, do I need to work up to the full doses?

My Significant Other nearly had a heart attack when I told her how much nitrates that I would be dosing.  She is really worried about how the fish (specifically the Angel's) will handle that concentration of nitrate.  Are the fish going to be in danger? I tried to explain to her that we would only be dosing 9.72 ppm of Nitrate 3x per week and that the plants would have two days to use that much and that the concentration of nitrogen by the end of the week should not be anywhere near 30 ppm because of the plant uptake.  Am I correct in that assumption?  Our biggest concern is for the safety and health of our fish and I would like to know if dosing like this would put them at risk.  If so, what/how can we change to mitigate that risk?  Another concern that she raised was the fact that won't the residual concentration of the chemicals continue to rise after each WC? For example, say by the end of the week there is 20 ppm (from an original 30ppm) of Nitrate left, after you do a 50% WC it leaves you with 10 ppm and then you dose the entire week and end up with the initial 10ppm plus the 30 ppm we added. When you do another 50% WC you're left with say 20 ppm of Nitrates and so on and so forth.  We are both worried that this will also jeopardize our fish.  Will it?

Thanks and sorry for the long post.


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## ceg4048 (15 May 2010)

Hi,
    Quite frankly, the whole nitrate paranoia is much ado about nothing. The fears regarding NO3 are based on incomplete analysis of the biochemical dynamics in the tank. NO3 is only the smoking gun in a chain of events. There's some information in these threads:
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2363
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1380

I dose as much as 3X these levels and my fish are healthier than most. You're about 10X more like to do damage to your fish with CO2 than with nitrate. If you were keeping salmon or trout in your tank then there would be some concern, but our fish are not affected by the levels we dose.

Check page 5 of this thread: http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3111&start=40
The OP's tank became healthier and his fish started breeding shortly after dosing these NO3 numbers. How toxic can that be?

The real problem of dosing EI levels is that you will have uncontrolled growth, leading to flow blockage and higher maintenance requirements. The real toxicity dangers in a tank is the pollution from all the accumulated dirt. If you're worried about the health of your fish then make sure you keep the tank scrupulously clean and do massive water changes as often as your energy level permits. Dirty water kills fish, not nitrate.

Cheers,


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## Kyle D (17 May 2010)

Thanks for the help.  That did reassure her.  

We rescaped the tank over the weekend and started dosing EI today.  Using the regime I mentioned.  I can't wait to see the results.


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