# Nutrient Dosing Calculator



## LondonDragon

Nutrient Dosing Calculator is now builtin to UKAPS:

Use the Calculators menu or using these links:

Nutrient Dosing Calculator
Nutrient Dosing Calculator

Nutrient Accumulation Calculator
Nutrient Accumulation Calculator

There is also the great  IFC Aquarium Fert Calculator by @Zeus. and @Hanuman :









						IFC Aquarium Fertilizer Calculator
					

Hello everyone,  Based on its ancestor, the new IFC Aquarium Fertilizer Calculator is completed at last. This has been a long (sometimes fun, sometimes painful) adventure for me. I have spend more time than I care to admit but here it is, ready to roll. Home screenshot here below:  Background...



					www.ukaps.org
				




Any questions ask below

Cheers
Paulo


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## BanditCoaxx

This looks like it's gonna be majorly handy, should've joined this forum sooner. One question though what percentage of my tank needs to be planted for this calculator to be accurate? I say accurate but I'm sure you know what I mean

Sent from my SM-J600FN using Tapatalk


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## dw1305

Hi all, 





BanditCoaxx said:


> One question though what percentage of my tank needs to be planted for this calculator to be accurate? I say accurate but I'm sure you know what I mean.


The easiest way to tailor the dosing to your particular situation is to use a <"conductivity meter"> (TDS meter) to monitor whether your conductivity (ions in solution) is rising. If conductivity is  continually rising nutrients are accumulating  and you need to change a bit more water, or add less in the way of fertiliser. 

<"Estimative Index (EI)">  uses a 50% weekly water change to re-set your tank, and is used if you want optimal plant growth, add CO2 etc. 

An alternative approach (the <"Duckweed Index">) uses the health and leaf colour of a floating plant (so not CO2 limited) as an indication of when to add nutrients. It is mainly (exclusively?) used by low tech aquarium keepers. 

cheers Darrel


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## Raws69

Hi

new to hobby, so couple of questions.

I have an ea 900, believe nett litres at 260.the tank  has been set up for 2 weeks so still early, I’m using tic complete, am I right that I want to be aiming at ei daily, in which case this is telling me to add 31ml? This seems really high.

also do you dose to the nett value of the tank, or calculate size after hardscape is added?

cheers


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## Zeus.

Raws69 said:


> Hi
> 
> new to hobby, so couple of questions.
> 
> I have an ea 900, believe nett litres at 260.the tank  has been set up for 2 weeks so still early, I’m using tic complete, am I right that I want to be aiming at ei daily, in which case this is telling me to add 31ml? This seems really high.
> 
> also do you dose to the nett value of the tank, or calculate size after hardscape is added?
> 
> cheers


Which is about right if you are after dosing TNC complete at EI levels. Thing with commercial ferts is they are basically expensive water. With a 260L tank DIY ferts are the way to go.





Cost of using TNC complete at the double-triple dose which is regarded as whats need to dose TNC complete to reach EI levels. It soon gets expensive when dosing commercial ferts at EI levels. APFUK do a starter kit which should get you going easy. Any questions about DIY ferts just do a new thread post in this 'fert dosing' section


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## Sammy Islam

Raws69 said:


> Hi
> 
> new to hobby, so couple of questions.
> 
> I have an ea 900, believe nett litres at 260.the tank  has been set up for 2 weeks so still early, I’m using tic complete, am I right that I want to be aiming at ei daily, in which case this is telling me to add 31ml? This seems really high.
> 
> also do you dose to the nett value of the tank, or calculate size after hardscape is added?
> 
> cheers


Aquascaper 900? I think it's like 186L


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## Raws69

Sammy Islam said:


> Aquascaper 900? I think it's like 186L


Lol typically thought I had a bigger one than I actually have.  You are right sir.


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## Raws69

Zeus. said:


> Which is about right if you are after dosing TNC complete at EI levels. Thing with commercial ferts is they are basically expensive water. With a 260L tank DIY ferts are the way to go.
> 
> View attachment 155945
> Cost of using TNC complete at the double-triple dose which is regarded as whats need to dose TNC complete to reach EI levels. It soon gets expensive when dosing commercial ferts at EI levels. APFUK do a starter kit which should get you going easy. Any questions about DIY ferts just do a new thread post in this 'fert dosing' section


Hi just to confirm is this 31ml over the course of the week, ie roughly 4.5ml daily?  And yes I will change this to the correct volume


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## Zeus.

Raws69 said:


> Hi just to confirm is this 31ml over the course of the week, ie roughly 4.5ml daily?  And yes I will change this to the correct volume


No, you worked out the amount needed to be dosing TNC at an EI level of ferts with 'EI daily' so the amount you put in a day is 31 ml, hence going down the DIY fert route will save you over £100 per year with your tank


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## Oetloet

Hi Guys,

I am having some trouble with the calculator, i want to dose Tropica specialised in my 60L working with the EI. If i dose 28ml per week ( 2 pumps per day = 4ml per day) The charts give me this result:
Is this enough to cover everything for working with EI? The charts only tell me FE (iron?) 

I hope you understand me, my english is not the best 

Thanks in advance for helping me out.


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## Wookii

Oetloet said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I am having some trouble with the calculator, i want to dose Tropica specialised in my 60L working with the EI. If i dose 28ml per week ( 2 pumps per day = 4ml per day) The charts give me this result:
> Is this enough to cover everything for working with EI? The charts only tell me FE (iron?)
> 
> I hope you understand me, my english is not the best
> 
> Thanks in advance for helping me out.
> 
> View attachment 156889



I think it highlights just how dilute the Tropica ferts are. To get close to EI levels on the macros, I think you need to increase that dose by around 4-5 times that, around 140ml a week (so 10 pumps a day) - though at that level you are overdosing the micros - hence the warning on the calculator (presumably due to the copper).





You can of course to less that those levels, but at your 28ml per week, I would say that is too low for EI and is a pretty lean dose.


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## Oetloet

Wookii said:


> I think it highlights just how dilute the Tropica ferts are. To get close to EI levels on the macros, I think you need to increase that dose by around 4-5 times that, around 140ml a week (so 10 pumps a day) - though at that level you are overdosing the micros - hence the warning on the calculator (presumably due to the copper).
> 
> View attachment 156891
> 
> You can of course to less that those levels, but at your 28ml per week, I would say that is too low for EI and is a pretty lean dose.



Oh boy i thought 28ml per week was a lot already.. 140ML per week is also extremely costly.... You really think 140ml is correct?? Im still schocked 
There must be other people using Specialized @ 60L setup for EI. i searched the forums but i could not find anyone yet. 

Maybe anyone in this topic can give me some help or advice?

Im still new in the hobby so excuse me if i am missing out on information you need.


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## Wookii

Oetloet said:


> Oh boy i thought 28ml per week was a lot already.. 140ML per week is also extremely costly.... You really think 140ml is correct?? Im still schocked
> There must be other people using Specialized @ 60L setup for EI. i searched the forums but i could not find anyone yet.
> 
> Maybe anyone in this topic can give me some help or advice?
> 
> Im still new in the hobby so excuse me if i am missing out on information you need.



Well standard EI targets are (weekly dose):

30ppm Nitrate (N)
3ppm Phosphate (P)
30ppm Potassium (K)
10ppm Magnesium (Mg)
0.5ppm iron (Fe)

So assuming I've entered it into the calculator correctly, then the 140ml per week doses fairly close to this for the NPK, but as I say, is three times the required dose for Fe (and possibly the other micros).

It is expensive, which is why a lot of folks switch to dry salts which are a lot cheaper, and give a lot more dosing flexibility.

EDIT: You can buy the salts in a kit from APFUK, here: https://www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk/fertilisers/dry-chemicals/starter-kits/ei-starter-kit.html

If they don't ship to the Netherlands, perhaps @zozo can point you in the direction of local suppliers.


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## Oetloet

Wookii said:


> Well standard EI targets are (weekly dose):
> 
> 30ppm Nitrate (N)
> 3ppm Phosphate (P)
> 30ppm Potassium (K)
> 10ppm Magnesium (Mg)
> 0.5ppm iron (Fe)
> 
> So assuming I've entered it into the calculator correctly, then the 140ml per week doses fairly close to this for the NPK, but as I say, is three times the required dose for Fe (and possibly the other micros).
> 
> It is expensive, which is why a lot of folks switch to dry salts which are a lot cheaper, and give a lot more dosing flexibility.
> 
> EDIT: You can buy the salts in a kit from APFUK, here: https://www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk/fertilisers/dry-chemicals/starter-kits/ei-starter-kit.html
> 
> If they don't ship to the Netherlands, perhaps @zozo can point you in the direction of local suppliers.


If you see it that way then it should be correct 🤣 I already have a backup plan wich i will going to try.. in the Netherlands we can get All in one from planted box this is a lot cheaper then Tropica.
I see a lot of people getting good results and im curious if it will work for me. Might switch over to dry salts later in the future. 

I dont want to make things to complicated because im fairly new to the hobby, thats why going for the EI (or close to) seems the most simple way for me.

Thanks for your help 😀


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## Zeus.

Is correct and if you dose 2-4 times a week you be in the Full EI range for most nutrients, except K, TSN is ammonium/urea based fert - as the only way to clone it and get similar targets for N,  P, and K as tropica get is to use ammonium/urea salts, so I would add a caution if using TSN at Full EI dose esp if you have sensitive livestock. DIY ferts would be better or another commercial fert like TNC complete which uses KNO3



Remember the [N] x4 equals approximately [NO3] so 4ppm N is approx 12ppm NO3

I think when Rotala targets the EI dose it focuses on the [Fe] only @fablau may be able to confirm this.

We are hoping to have a new fert calculator out for Xmas, which should make DIY fert much easier, but with a 60L tank is it worth the effort? all depends if you wish to dose at FULL EI levels or at TSN levels - If going for full EI levels- Yes, if TSN levels then no IMO


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## Oetloet

Zeus. said:


> View attachment 156892
> 
> View attachment 156893
> Is correct and if you dose 2-4 times a week you be in the Full EI range for most nutrients, except K, TSN is ammonium/urea based fert - as the only way to clone it and get similar targets for N,  P, and K as tropica get is to use ammonium/urea salts, so I would add a caution if using TSN at Full EI dose esp if you have sensitive livestock. DIY ferts would be better or another commercial fert like TNC complete which uses KNO3
> View attachment 156894
> Remember the [N] x4 equals approximately [NO3] so 4ppm N is approx 12ppm NO3
> 
> I think when Rotala targets the EI dose it focuses on the [Fe] only @fablau may be able to confirm this.
> 
> We are hoping to have a new fert calculator out for Xmas, which should make DIY fert much easier, but with a 60L tank is it worth the effort? all depends if you wish to dose at FULL EI levels or at TSN levels - If going for full EI levels- Yes, if TSN levels then no IMO



Thanks for the feedback Zeus, sounds very complex to me but i think i am step closer to optimizing my fert-game 
I will try to keep you guys posted about my new scape, openend a topic in the welcome forum with a picture of my hardscape so far.


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## Zeus.

Oetloet said:


> sounds very complex to me but i think i am step closer to optimizing my fert-game



Just a lot to take in all at once, I'm sure @zozo knows the best places to get salts from in your neck off the woods


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## zozo

Actually only one - below...  Or the Farmers union (Boerenbond) if you want to go realy BIG... 

https://www.aquariumbemesting.nl/nl/home
💪

Then there are several online pharmacies to order Epsom salt by the Kilo... That can be ordered with some other household needs we use any way to reduce the shipping costs.


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## Oetloet

zozo said:


> Actually only one - below...  Or the Farmers union (Boerenbond) if you want to go realy BIG...
> 
> https://www.aquariumbemesting.nl/nl/home
> 💪
> 
> Then there are several online pharmacies to order Epsom salt by the Kilo... That can be ordered with some other household needs we use any way to reduce the shipping costs.


Great Zozo, thanks for the information!


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## zozo

Oetloet said:


> Great Zozo, thanks for the information!



And it actually ain't all that complex...  What we need is a decent amount of NPK and trace elements. Simply add enough on a weekly basis of all and redo the whole after a weekly water change. Then you always have enough that's in simple words EI is all about.

Me personally I use this calculator ( You need to have Flash player installed).
http://theaquatools.com/fertilization-calculator/

It is really simple as shown in the picture, specify aqaurium volume, amount of grams added and review the ideal PPM result automaticaly calculated.




You can add the dry salts (from the above webshop) in grams into a 1-litre jar with water stir it and add it after a water change directly to the tank.

24 hours later add the correct amount of trace elements you made in solution with the advised amounts.

Can't be more simple, no need to bust your brain over it...


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## fablau

Zeus. said:


> I think when Rotala targets the EI dose it focuses on the [Fe] only @fablau may be able to confirm this.


Yes, correct 




Zeus. said:


> We are hoping to have a new fert calculator out for Xmas, which should make DIY fert much easier, but with a 60L tank is it worth the effort? all depends if you wish to dose at FULL EI levels or at TSN levels - If going for full EI levels- Yes, if TSN levels then no IMO



Great! And sorry if I am late here!


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## Hanuman

Zeus. said:


> We are hoping to have a new fert calculator out for Xmas, which should make DIY fert much easier, but with a 60L tank is it worth the effort? all depends if you wish to dose at FULL EI levels or at TSN levels - If going for full EI levels- Yes, if TSN levels then no IMO


Ready to roll: IFC Aquarium Fertilizer Calculator


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## ForestDave

Hi.
Not sure if it's my crappy Chromebook laptop but I cannot open any of the calculators. Are they down or is it my computer?
Thanks
Dave


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## fablau

Rotalabutterfly.com is having some server issues right now. We are looking into it... I'll report asap!

All the best,

Fab.


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## fablau

Fixed, it should work now.

All the best,

Fab.


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