# Help EI 1000mL mix



## rusky04 (24 Mar 2015)

Hello everyone! I've been browsing this forum for about 6 months now, ive been reading and getting a lot of good information. I've been dosing my tanks ei daily mixing single batches every morning, so I finally pulled the trigger and bought 3x 1000mL bottles from gla. I've mixed my batches this Saturday and dosed my macros (there was some un dissolved salts on the bottom of the container) Sunday I dosed my microplex and 11% DTPA FE. Today in the morning I went to add my macro and when I shook the container there was a thin layer of one if the salts that broke free from the bottle, I think I somehow messed up my measurements when I did the mix. I wanted to see if someone could help me out and look over my calculations. Thanks in advance!

Macro:  1000mL container, 15mL dose into 20long 
*KNO3    - 61.72g 
*K2SO4  - 84.35g
*KH2PO4 - 9.4g
*40mL glutaraldehyde 2.6%
*-960+ mL di water
( I think I have way too much K2SO4)

Micro:  1000mL container, 15mL dose into 20long
*Miller Microplex - 63.09g
*60 mL glutaraldehyde 2.6%
*-940+ mL di water
(I know there is about 163% Cu but I don't have any sensitive fish there)

Iron supplement 1000mL container, 15mL dose into 20long
*DTPA Fe 11% - 22.94g
*60mL glutaraldehyde 2.6%
*-940+ mL di water
( I think I'm way overdosing on iron )


Here are the specs of my 6 months old tank:
20long
Dual t5ho 8hrs photo period
Pressurized co2 42ppm (1 hour before lights out - kh7 , ph 6.7)
MGOPS with sand cap
Osmocote+ root tabs


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## ian_m (24 Mar 2015)

http://calc.petalphile.com/

I assume second item is MgSO4.7H2O ? (not potassium carbonate, but magnesium sulphate-heptahydrate) else you are not dosing EI and could explain why your salts are not dissolving.

Currently you have no Mg in your mix. If you will need to dose 255gr about 50tsp of MgSO4 if you want to dose EI as opposed to "something I made up" 

Also dosing glutaraldehyde should be separate as there are reports of it reacting with salts, especially the micros, when stored in bottles.

What does your drop checker indicate as I severely doubt CO2 is 42ppm, you are being misled I bet by a kH test kit ? You can use a pH pen to measure pH drop (1 pH drop indicate 30ppm) to determine the amount of CO2 but you cannot state you have kH of 7 and read across the table to 42ppm. You will be wrong.

Iron is very rarely needed, most micros have it, I assume yours hasn't ?


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## rusky04 (24 Mar 2015)

The top bags are the original purchase I made for ei dosing, it also included csm+b but I desided to use miller microplex, I purchased my stuff from http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/micro-macro-fertilizers.html

And here is miller microplex msds
http://www.irrigation-mart.com/customer/irrmar/pdf/Miller_Microplex_Label.pdf


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## rusky04 (24 Mar 2015)

MgSO4.7H2O Is Epsom salt? If so I have about 50lbs of it I could easily whip up a batch. My tap water ph is 7.8 and when my co2 turns off my aquarium oh is about 6.4 the drop checker is yellow. I also add about 5ml of straight 2.6% glut before lights turn on at 05:30

Should I get rid of my macro batch and make a new one? Get rid of K2SO4, keep KNO3 and KH2PO4 same , and use MgSO4.7H2O at 255g in 1000mL container, dose that at 15mL?

What I dont understand is why the company selling ei kit when it's not one!!


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## ian_m (24 Mar 2015)

Wow all these articles claiming EI dosing, yet no magnesium as they assume the Mg present in water is enough, which it maybe in the US. Some cover themselves saying you may/might need to add magnesium sulphate ....The Miller Microplex does have magnesium, so might be OK. Magnesium isn't really a macro element, but it can be quite easy to get deficiencies, easily cured with Epsom salts.

So, I would just dose what you have, make sure you does alternate days as the phosphate will react with any iron to form insoluble iron phosphate.

In future mix again, but personally dose the glutaraldehyde separately just in case the reaction rumours are true.

Mg deficiencies are easy to spot and cure.
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/deficiencies.htm


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## rusky04 (3 Apr 2015)

Ian_m thanks for you feedback, sorry it took me sometime to respond and tank you. I was out of town on a business trip. I have made a new solution for my macro dosing, here is what it looks like. I have also broken everything else down to ppm.

Macro solution - 1000mL @ 30mL dose
KNO3 - 30.86gr
KH2PO4 - 4.70gr
MgSO4.7H2O - 127.95gr

Elementppm/degrees
K.      -   4.73
N.      -   1.69
NO3.  -   7.50


Elementppm/degrees
K.    -   0.54
P.     -   0.42
PO4.-  1.30


Elementppm/degrees
Mg.   -   5.00
S.     -   6.60
dGH.  -  0.28


Micro solution - 1000mL @ 15mL dose
Miller Microplex - 63.09gr

Elementppm/degrees
B.    -   0.06
Co.  -   0.01
Cu.  -   0.19
Fe.   -   0.50
Mg.  -    0.68
Mn.   -   0.50
Mo.   -   0.01
Zn.    -   0.17
dGH.  -  0.16


DTPA Fe 11% - 1000mL @ 15mL dose
22.94gr

Elementppm/degrees
Fe.   -  0.50


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## rusky04 (3 Apr 2015)

I will post some pictures of my experimental tank that was started March 5 2015

20long
Beamsworks .50 watt led 8hr photoperiod
Pressurized CO2 30ppm
Glutaraldehyde 2.5% 6mL daily
Floramax substrate
Osmocote+ root tabs

Flora

*Labellia Cardinalis (tissue cultured) (front left)

*Ludwigia Repens (at least sold as L.repens which I have doubts) (Rear left)

*Pogostemon Helferi (tissue cultured) (center front)

* Tiger Lotus petite (center front) ( planted as a seed from another tank March 5th)

*Alternanthera Reinekii (tissue cultured) (center middle) added March 21

*Cryptocoryne Wendtii var bronze (center
middle)

*S.repens (center right 3 plants, center left 1 plant)

*Limnophila Aromatica (1stem) (center left)

*Brazilian penny wort (grows horizontally, added from one of my other tanks, added only 1 rooted leaf)

*Blyxa Japonica (right front, right center)

*Rotala Rotundifolia (tissue cultured) (right rear) added April 2

*Anubias Nana var petite (tissue cultured) right front, centre rear


March 5th day 1
(Macro - KNO3, KH2PO4, K2SO4 --- Micro - CSM+B)




March 21
(Macro - KNO3, KH2PO4, K2SO4 --- Micro - Millers Microplex --- DTPA Fe 11% (Sunday and Thursday only))




March 28
(Macro - KNO3, KH2PO4, MgSO4.7H2O --- Micro - Millers Microplex ---- DTPA Fe 11% (Sunday and Thursday only)





I will take another picture tonight after the water change, again this is an experiment tank for the new EI batch

Edit:

April 3
Macro - KNO3, KH2PO4, MgSO4.7H2O --- Micro - Millers Microplex ---- DTPA Fe 11% (Sunday and Thursday only)


 [URL=http://s964.photobucket.com/user/rusky04/media/Mobile%20Uploads/56A32013-C514-44A0-A03A-32862112753B_zpsa8uxzsc7.jpg.html][/URL]


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## rusky04 (5 Apr 2015)

Today I noticed that I have a small gsa outbreak on my glass, so I decided to bump my KH2PO4 to 2ppm

I have about 828ml of my macro solution left, so I figured if I add extra 1.30gr of KH2PO4 it should put me right in the 2ppm. Hopefully it will help with my gsa outbreak.


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## rusky04 (6 Apr 2015)

Today I noticed on one of my Labellia Cardinalis plant leave some white, is it some deficiency? 
Here is a picture, you can see the white patch there.


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## rusky04 (11 Apr 2015)

April 10


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## rusky04 (11 Apr 2015)

I guess I'll leave this here too, all of my blyxa japonica started to flower about 2 weeks ago. Seems like submersed the flowers don't last long, so I floated one of the flowering plants.


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## rusky04 (23 Apr 2015)

Here is a quick video that I took last week,


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## rusky04 (23 Apr 2015)

April 18


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## mlongpre (23 Apr 2015)

Looks good man! 

What type of light are you running on this tank? Do you happen to know a rough par value?


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## rusky04 (23 Apr 2015)

30" beamswork double bright .50 watt led fixture 
45 par @ 10"
100 par @ 6"
150 par @ 4"
350 par @ 1"


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## rusky04 (25 Apr 2015)

Pearling red tiger lotus


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## rusky04 (9 May 2015)

Quick update on 2 tanks,


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## Rahms (9 May 2015)

looks great, get a journal going!


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## jagillham (14 May 2015)

Both tanks look amazing.


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## rusky04 (14 May 2015)

Thank you both for the kind words! Rahms, as for keeping a journal, I don't have much spare time, this thread right here is as close to a journal as I can get. I also have few other tanks, that are not good yet, they are work in progress.


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## rusky04 (16 May 2015)

After the first trimming


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## rusky04 (13 Jun 2015)

Things got a little out of hand in 2 tanks, here are the before and after shots of the trimming and replanting 





And tank 2 





And my 2 months old 75g


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