# Aquarium plant food uk



## john arnold (25 Oct 2018)

hello
New to this dosing and ok i find it a little confusing with things like pottasium ftom potasium nitrate etc so i got my stater kit from above website in uk, heres a picture of my dosing regime, now i was trying go use the dosing calculater from  james planted tank site and not much the wiser as it seems im under dosing maybe, can anyone look at the uploaded pic and tell me if im doing the right thing or not, im not lazy just dont understand
Mgso4
Kno3
Kh2po4
Chelated, fe8.2%;mn1.82%, zn1.16%,b1.05%,cu0.23%,mo0.15%
I have 240L pressurised co2, fluval 3.0 light
140L pressurised co2, twinstar 600ae
100L liquid co2 chihiros 601 led

 many thanks to whoever bothers to take a look, i really would like to get this right as spent quite a bit of money and want nice plants and no algae


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## Andrew Butler (25 Oct 2018)

I don't understand it all but I do know if you use APF chemical set then you should dose according to their guidelines.
Chemicals that sound similar can be very different in what they contain.
If however you are trying to make an all in one which is detailed on James' planted tank site then look the link below up
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads...water-supply-with-an-allinone-solution.52972/


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## John S (25 Oct 2018)

Many of us here probably started with this:
https://www.ukaps.org/index.php?page=dosing-with-dry-salts

The mixture here is for a 20 gallon tank but you can just up or downscale the ratios depending on your tank size.


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## foxfish (25 Oct 2018)




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## john arnold (25 Oct 2018)

Ok well ill stick to the starter kit i guess for now then maybe up it a little if need be, oh i tested phosphate in one tank and it was 5ppm is that the same as phosphate im adding with my fertz and if so i shouldnt add sny more to the mix? Or is it a diff phosphate dont mean to sound bit stupid here


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## john arnold (25 Oct 2018)

Ok thanks all ive read and reread and i get it now, thought i was being bit thick, and its very similar to my starter kit regime, ill try the different way on one tsnk and my usual one on the other seewhat the results are


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## foxfish (25 Oct 2018)

Hi john, you don’t need to worry about testing, that is one of the main points about dosing with the EI method.
Most test kits will give you more headaches than true readings anway!
You just follow the recipe and don’t worry about if you have enough of everything because you will.
Now getting the C02, the flow and the lighting in harmony is a different matter ...... so concentrate on those and keep the tank clean and fresh with large water changes. 
That is the best approach to avoid nasty algae.


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## Jayefc1 (26 Oct 2018)

Hi John best thing to do is just take your time and watch how the plants react and if you feel there not responding up it a little and watch again just patient with it I use the start kit still 2 years down the line and it does work also add some easy card just helps the plants along a little


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## ian_m (26 Oct 2018)

john arnold said:


> oh i tested phosphate in one tank and it was 5ppm is that the same as phosphate im adding with my fertz and if so i shouldnt add sny more to the mix? Or is it a diff phosphate dont mean to sound bit stupid here


Not a stupid question. I doubt the test kit is reading correctly as 5ppm sounds way way way too high. Please see this this link on test kits, and put your test kit away, it serves no purpose other than to start you down the path of plant deficiencies.
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/what-about-test-kits.52487/


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## john arnold (26 Oct 2018)

ian_m said:


> Not a stupid question. I doubt the test kit is reading correctly as 5ppm sounds way way way too high. Please see this this link on test kits, and put your test kit away, it serves no purpose other than to start you down the path of plant deficiencies.
> https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/what-about-test-kits.52487/


Haha ok i get it now put the test kit at back of cupboard, cheers i want good plants more thsn the fish but i do want fish  too judt want a section of wildlife in the home


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## john arnold (26 Oct 2018)

Jayefc1 said:


> Hi John best thing to do is just take your time and watch how the plants react and if you feel there not responding up it a little and watch again just patient with it I use the start kit still 2 years down the line and it does work also add some easy card just helps the plants along a little View attachment 118947


Ok whats easy card? Or was that a typo


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## john arnold (26 Oct 2018)

foxfish said:


> Hi john, you don’t need to worry about testing, that is one of the main points about dosing with the EI method.
> Most test kits will give you more headaches than true readings anway!
> You just follow the recipe and don’t worry about if you have enough of everything because you will.
> Now getting the C02, the flow and the lighting in harmony is a different matter ...... so concentrate on those and keep the tank clean and fresh with large water changes.
> That is the best approach to avoid nasty algae.



I do spend a lot of time on them and do reg water changes smd lights 8 hrs a day, i have not touched co2 supply for 3 weeks mow so im gonna give it a bit of overdose flourish fir 3 days and see what happens, and yeah keep to the program of ei dosing


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## Fiske (26 Oct 2018)

john arnold said:


> Ok whats easy card? Or was that a typo


Easy Carbo, Liquid CO2, Excel. Take your pick.


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## Jayefc1 (26 Oct 2018)

Yeah sorry was a typo easy carb


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## john arnold (27 Oct 2018)

Jayefc1 said:


> Yeah sorry was a typo easy carb


Ok yeah i got some exel to rid some algae cheers

Thanks everyone for the good advice


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## Jayefc1 (27 Oct 2018)

If you have algae odds are you have poor flow or lights too high


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## john arnold (28 Oct 2018)

Jayefc1 said:


> If you have algae odds are you have poor flow or lights too high


Thats the thing i have fluval 3.0 led and co2 pressurised and not changed its bubble count for 3 weeks now and all plants moving so flow is good, so ill gove it a couple of weeks after dosing flourish and see where i am at then


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## Jayefc1 (28 Oct 2018)

Is your drop checker lime green at lights on


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## john arnold (28 Oct 2018)

Jayefc1 said:


> Is your drop checker lime green at lights on


Well its close to it i get a bit undecided if its lime green or verging on yellow so i leave it at lime greenish if you knowvwhst i mean, its set to come on 2 hrs before lights


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## john arnold (28 Oct 2018)

Im always bit worried about suffocating the fish


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## foxfish (28 Oct 2018)

john arnold said:


> Im always bit worried about suffocating the fish


Quite right .... have you considered carrying out a PH profile?


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## john arnold (28 Oct 2018)

I know you mentioned that before i think, i dont have the time to do it before co2 comes on and then every hour after if thats what it takes


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## john arnold (1 Nov 2018)

Also i had a few fish die aboyt 2 rainbows and 8 cardinaks and a ram, i thought the new rainbows may habe brought something in, i noticed that after i disturbed the soil by moving a couple of plants a fish died next couple of days could this be related im using tropica soil on its own amd its about 4 inches deep in sone parts


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## Gregory Day (24 Feb 2019)

Think the starter kit the way to go for me to start with as well 


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