# Going EI questions?



## mattyc (15 May 2010)

hey guys as you may know i have my new tank up and running and at the min and i am looknig into using EI fert system but i an not sure where to start. first up i think i need to order my dry ferts but i dont know what i need or how much, should i get some trace ferts? i have looked over the EI Article but i dont know where to start, my ferts come out of a bottle and go in the tank, that is about my limit.


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (15 May 2010)

mattyc said:
			
		

> hey guys as you may know i have my new tank up and running and at the min and i am looknig into using EI fert system but i an not sure where to start. first up i think i need to order my dry ferts but i dont know what i need or how much, should i get some trace ferts? i have looked over the EI Article but i dont know where to start, my ferts come out of a bottle and go in the tank, that is about my limit.




Mattyc

Please post US gallon size and I will work it out for you and advise you where to purchase dry salts from.

Regards
paul.


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## mattyc (15 May 2010)

The tank is 160L which I think is about 55 us gallons.


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## CeeJay (16 May 2010)

Hi mattyc

160l is about 42 US gallons, not 55


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (16 May 2010)

Matt

Fertz for a 40 US gallon tank for a for 4 week period

KN03	   	4tps mixed with 600 mls of warm tap water      

KH2PO4	  	2tps      as above

MGS04	       	12tps      as above

CSM-B	   	1tps mixed withh 200 mls of tap water 

All dry fertz can be purchased from two of our sponser - Aqua Essential & Fluidsensor online.

Trace mix  or CSM-B buy the smallest amount as it will last you ages as you are only adding 1tps - should last you over 12 months. 

as for the other I would 250grams of Kh2Po4, 500 grams of Kno3 and 1kg of MgSo4 or Epsom salts, Kno3 / MgSo4 - should last you between 10 - 12 months approx.     

Regards
paul.


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## mattyc (16 May 2010)

i wasnt sure if it was 55 gal i didnt check but for some reason i had 55 in my head, thanks for the correction. how do you calculate the amounts that are required, i think i will try fluidsensor and thankyou for the amounts.


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (16 May 2010)

Matt

I have produced an excel spread sheet with all the initial quantities of fertz required and added in formula's to multiply the quantities for tanks from 20 us gallons to 200 us gallons.

Regards
Paul.


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## Garuf (16 May 2010)

That strikes me as a bit low, Paul? I'm sure that's what I was dosing on my 52l. I think I need to re-read the dosing threads!


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (16 May 2010)

Gareth

Should have been.

Fertz for a 50 US gallon tank for a for 4 week period

KN03 - 5tps mixed with 600 mls of warm tap water 

KH2PO4 - 2.5tps as above

MGS04 - 15tps as above

CSM-B - 1.25tps mixed withh 200 mls of tap water 


Regards
paul.


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## mattyc (17 May 2010)

where do Potassium Sulphate and Potassium Carbonate come in?


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (17 May 2010)

mattyc said:
			
		

> where do Potassium Sulphate and Potassium Carbonate come in?



They dont! - well not in the EI article, may be people have added in these powders to make up their own solution, 

Clive will probably advise more on whether these are required - I deffinately know he will so no to Potassium Sulphate (K2So4) as its being added when you mix KH2Po4 & MgSo4.

Regards
Paul.


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## ceg4048 (18 May 2010)

Correct! For more gory details see the thread entitled Why no K2SO4 & K2CO3?

Cheers,


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## mattyc (18 May 2010)

thanks for your help, when i make up the mix of powder and water can i mix any in he same solution and do some of them need to be keped seperated?


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## ceg4048 (19 May 2010)

Matt, are you sure you read the EI article? There are two mixes - one is the macro mix (NPK) and the other is the trace element (micro) mix.  Avoid mixing the two together and dose them on separate days. This is the classical scheme.

Cheers,


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## plantbrain (19 May 2010)

You can add K2SO4 if you really wanna, say 5mls per 200 liters once a week etc......does no harm.
Or add GH booster which is 50% K2SO4 anyway, and 1/4 CaSO4 and 1/4 MgSO4.
That covers all the K+, Ca, Mg ions.

There's no need for extra K+, plenty from KNO3 already.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## plantbrain (19 May 2010)

I typically add ferts dry.
To a 42 gal tank:

1 tsp = 5 mls metric

1/2 teaspoon KNO3 maybe 2x a week till it fills in, then 3x a week
1/8th teaspoon K2PO4 2-3x a week
Gh booster 1 teaspoon after water change only
Traces: I do make a stock solution of this, add some Excel or generic equivalent to prevent fungus, other things potassium ascorbate or HCL etc.

Follow the typical protocols, maybe 10-15mls 3x a week.

50-70% water change once a week, 2x a week if there;'s any issues, tweak CO2 from there.
That's it.

Not much harder than baking cookies, and you can not burn the plants.
After you run through this 2-3 weeks, it'll be "old hat", boring even.

Most of your effort should be one good light(not higher light), current and CO2.
Keep things clean, filters, any leaves etc.
It's not complex or anything(how to grow plants), for all the carrying on folks do about it.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Barry Wang (19 Jun 2010)

Flyfisherman said:
			
		

> Gareth
> 
> Should have been.
> 
> ...



Hi,
As a starting point how much of this mixture would you dose daily? working on dosing the two mixtures on alternate days for 6 days. 
I have a 185l tank which is pretty much 50 us gallons. I have all the powders and am ready to go just can't seem to work out how much to dose.
Thanks very much


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## ceg4048 (20 Jun 2010)

As stated in the article, the amount to dose is based on simple division. the 600ml NPK volume was chosen based on a nice round number for a 4 week (12 dose) mix. 600ml/12doses = 50ml/dose, and of course, this is done 3X per week.

For the trace mix, again, the volume is based on 2X trace per week, so a 4 week supply is 8 doses. 200ml/8doses = 25ml/dose done twice per week.

A sample classical dosing scheme for this size tank might look something like this:
Sunday â€“ 50% or more Water Change, then dose 50ml NPK mix
Monday â€“ dose 25ml Trace mix
Tuesday - dose 50ml NPK mix
Wednesday - dose 25ml Trace mix
Thursday - dose 50ml NPK mix
Friday â€“ Rest
Saturday - Rest

Again, as a standard disclaimer, none of these numbers have been pre-ordained by The Pope at The Vatican. They are simple baseline values from which you are encouraged to deviate if they do not fit your lifestyle. Lowering the values produces lower growth rates and lowers the organic waste, which then permits smaller water changes and lowered overall maintenance, if that is your priority. If your flow/distribution is poor and/or your lighting too high, you may find that you need to increase the dosages in order to combat deficiency syndromes. These are nice easy numbers to play with, but the world will not end if you find you want to (or need to) use different numbers.

Cheers,


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## Barry Wang (20 Jun 2010)

Thanks a lot ceg
I'm new to EI, thanks for the artical and conformation. I will be starting today (its not that hard realy is it) just wanted to start off with the right numbers.

Thanks again
Barry


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