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If you mean when should you start to dose - from day one. The plants might not need it but better that they have it available than not. Sam

I dont honestly know, but your reasoning seems sensible. Perhaps try and see? Sam

I've not heard of ferts affecting any shrimps, even crystals. Sam

Fair enough, it might just be one of those 'might not happen, but best play it safe things' but worth knowing :) Sam

Yeh guess so, Clive! Sam

Just wondered if anyone adds extra N and/or P when using TPN+? My UG and to a lesser extent HC look quite yellow and when Ive grow HC in the past, this appearance has been due to lack of N. Given that TPN+ is quite lean in both of these, I have thought about adding extra? Currently adding...

Email and ask them, but I'm fairly sure its 20g of trace mix into 500ml of water. Then 5ml per 100L, 3 times per week. Sam :)

That bay one seems to be less potent looking at the concentrations, so probably a case of you get what you pay for. This is easily the best dry trace mix I've used. http://www.fluidsensoronline.com/zen/in ... 3_65_69_75 Sam

Yep, shop around ;)

You can also get them from here :) http://www.fluidsensoronline.com/zen/in ... h=93_65_69 Sam

I don't know if they can be mixed, but probably best not to risk it I would think. Also, if you get a bigger tank or find that over the longer term you need to up either of the ferts because of a deficiency, you'll be stuck :) Just a thought. Sam

Nice :)

It also melts hornwort. Sam

By making a statement like this and wording it the way you have, you give the impression that you know enough to be able to come to the conclusion that what they are doing is wrong. When quite apparently you dont. You really need to stop and think about your posts before submitting them. Sam

Power traces and macros work out at pennies. Have you read this? viewtopic.php?f=34&t=1211 and the EI thread? viewtopic.php?f=11&t=915 Thats basically all you are doing with the TNP+ Sam

Cheers James :)

Brill news :) whats the suggestion for making a stock solution with this and what would you recommend as a dose rate? Sam

Is it not the case that these are all still 'stronger' than TNP anyway? Sam

If you're using TPN then there shouldn't be any need to add extra iron :) Sam

Have a read of this :) viewtopic.php?f=51&t=6371 Sam

EI from dry powers for me, cheaper. Sam

If it were me I'd keep them at 100% dosing rate. Why risk lowering them and affecting the plants? Dry ferts are cheap so I dont suppose you'll save money. And we all know that excess N and P aren't a problem. Why risk it would be my thoughts :) Sam

I was using rainwater, but I switched to RO and tap for 6 weeks and it made no difference so it would seem that the rainwater was fine. Certainly I'm in a small village miles for large roads, industry etc. But cheers anyway :) I have actually just rescaped the tank so am going use 100% tap and...

;)

Humm thanks for all the advice :) I really don't find EI that tricky at all, its very simple, just give the plants everything! You cant really go to far wrong I don't think. It's not just HC I struggle with, its everything and anything, I'm even in the process of killing Staurogyne!!! All...

Haha cheers, I think. EI is easy, well the adding of certain ferts on certain days. That I've got licked. Its the rest that seems to stump me! Sam

Never mind :) I had thought I was still using the original NO3 I got years ago and that it might have been a bad batch but I've checked and Ive been using a second lot from Gardens direct for a while now, so it cant be that. Sam

Could this be extreme nitrogen deficiency which I read can cause older leaves to die off very quickly in extreme cases? Cheers Sam

Lukewarm water shouldn't be a problem, but trace mix dissolves much easier anyway. Sam

Yeh its the same stuff, the only issue might be with dissolving it as the garden ferts tend to be bigger grain sizes, but warming the water a bit before adding it should help overcome that :) and also keeping the concentration quite low, i.e. not trying to dissolve to much fert in to the water. Sam

Interesting thoughts James, I have wondered this myself. Just checked the Thames Water water report for my area and Chloride, Nickel, Selenium and Aluminium are found in very low quantities in my tap water. You might find this interesting in the case of nickel...

Also try this calculator, its great as all you have to do it input the tank spec and fert and it tells you how much of any particular fert you need to add to you're 500ml to make up the stock solution :) http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_aquacalc.htm Sam

Right, worth a try then! Sam

I wouldn't think I would be a problem, but I'm no chemist! :lol: Sam

If this is the case, whats the advantage of using urea over KNO3? Sam

The problem with doing that is if you then decide that you're not dosing enough NO3 for example you can't isolate it and selectively add more of it, you'd have to add more of everything (i.e. in the mixed power) just to get more NO3. Sam

First link I found on google ;) http://www.medtecmedical.com/results.as ... goryid=322 FYI - people cant post that quickly :lol: Sam

Yeh really interesting, cheers James. Sam

Re: Gonna try TPN+ on my nano...water changes and tips... I won;t do anything different on water change day than you would on any other day. So if that 1ml in the 10lt then stick with that. I would also be tempted to do a 50% w/c each week, it cant really hurt I don't think and on a 10lt and...

Interesting James, thanks for keeping us posted. The difference in growth is quite marked. Sam

Hi and welcome to the forum :) Right, first thing to say is you have 80% of the things you need for a planted tank. The second thing to say is that you have a lot of light over the tank, roughly 3 wpg (watts per gallon). So you have the equipment, and co2 which is great, the issue I can see...

No I would stick with the normal amounts, you don't need to add more ferts for a larger water change :) Sam

Its ok to do pretty much any size water change over the 50%, in fact the bigger the better in way ways as it removes algae spores and other things that might build up in the water. The 50% is only to stop the fert levels getting to high, i.e. if you dose a total of 3ml of PO4 a week then the...

Root tabs are useful for root demanding plants like crypts, esp in inert substrate, like gravel or sand. In nutrient rich substrates there aren't really necessary. Sam

Yeh I got mine from Gardens Direct, got 2kg of both KNO3 and KH2PO4, should last me years! Cheaper too ;) Sam

I doubt it. There are just minerals and things. And they'll be floating around in the water anyway, though I guess if the fish actually ate the tab it'd get a big 'hit.' Woudld a fish really eat them? Sam

I think the dose rate is much the same. From AE; Easycarbo Tanks with minimal plants - 1ml per 100 litres Tanks with fair amount of plants - 1ml per 50 litres Tanks with large amount of plants - 1ml per 25 litres Excel 1 capful (5ml) for every 200 L (50 gallons*) - 1ml per 40lt Sam

I don't think there is a difference, except in concentration perhaps? Just use excel cos that's what I got a while ago, but will prob try easycarbo at some stage. Sam

Glad it was useful :) I don't think there is a shelf life really. I tend to make up a lot of NO3 as you use more. My main tank NO3 and PO4 and in 2lt and 500ml respectively. Sam EDIT - Having said that, you might not want to make up to much trace mix and I think the chelator can break down...

I'm certain you weren't the only person to have thought about it ;) Sam

You guys do my head in! :lol: glad there are people like you on this forum, my head would explode if it was left up to me! Sam

From what I understand its almost identical to excel. Sam

I use the AE trace and its always worked well for me. Sam

That is the tricky thing, there is no one rule to fit all tanks, unfortunately! The EI method works well as it just provides the plants with more than they need of everything and in doing so eliminates the guessing part fert dosing, which is why it works so well on any tank. Sam

I doubt its the snails. When did you add the crypts? Sam

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.p ... &chapter=0 ;) Sam

This is exactly the problem Im looking at with my 4ft, which I'm using rainwater on. Would be interested to see what solution you get. At the moment I'm using 60lt very cold rainwater with 40lt hot tap water both added directly to the tank. That seems to level the temperate out when I do a...

Strangely enough, I think anubias actually do better by limiting the light they receive. Sam

It is also worth remembering that anubias are actually marsh plants, that happen to survive underwater. As such I doubt they are ever going to be a lush as true aquatic plants. GSA on older leaves is probably a sign of the leaves reaching the end of their lives so to speak, which has to be...

Yeh, as I understand it, TMP+ is quite low in PO4. George uses it but his PO4 levels in the tap water are very high which probably compensates quite a bit. I will also add that I used to get GSA quite a bit and was adding 4ppm PO4 3x a week in one of my tanks and it seemed to do little to...

Keep mine in a 2lt water bottle. Seems to do the trick. Sam

Re: easyvarbo affecting vallis nana Glad to hear this, got some nana and will no doubt need some excel at some stage! Sam

You have to be careful when buying ferts from garden centres as most contain urea or ammonia/ammonium as the source of N, which would cause an almighty algae outbreak in the tank! If you have time, this is a great source for dry ferts at a very cheap price, I'm using these at the moment, 2kg of...

This is why I generally ignore what are considered to the be the 'rules; and let the plants tell me what they need and adapt the dose accordingly. Sam

Top work once again, James. I dose at 3x the suggested dose with my AE trace, as I found my H.poly showed signs of deficiency at the suggested rate in my high light tank, what that means for the levels of things in the tank I don't know! Might give the garden direct trace a try. Sam

Id probably be up for getting a bulk load of trace mix. I got 2kg of P and N from garden direct to save me some cash, it'll last years. Would be keen to do the same with trace, also so that I don't have to remember to re-order it as often. Sam EDIT - looking at it, if the garden direct trace...

Placed the order on Saturday, received it today. Doesn't get better than that. 2kg is far more than I had thought, it really is going to last me years! Well worth remembering for future reference. Sam

Just ordered 2kg of both KNO3 and KH2PO4, £27.65 all in, bargain! Should last me years. Sam

You never fail to educate Clive, fascinating stuff. Sam

Haha simple as that, cheers :) Sam

Is there no difference in the soluble quantities of N and P for AE compared to the garden direct stuff? I would always been hesitant to get garden stuff in case it was not as 'strong' as the AE stuff or am I being daft? Sam

The AE trace is perfectly safe with shrimp :) Sam

It should do, I use the AE trace and have not complaints about it. Its loads cheaper too, loads. Sam

Your maths seems good. Your dosing rate will give you a lean water column though? I would aim for 20ppm NO3 and 2ppm PO4, hell I dose 40ppm NO3 and 4ppm PO4 to one of my tanks! Also, I would dose trace on the Friday as well. With just two doses per week the tank at times will go 4days...

George should know, but if it were me on an EI tank I'd dose the full rate i.e. 1ml per 10lt each time. I'm currently double dosing TPN on my nano. Sam

Dan is right in the little and often approach, but with your light levels I dont think it will matter all that much. Sam

What are your light levels going to be?

Isn't Mg added in areas of soft water? Plenty is normally supplied via water changes, but sometimes you need to add a bit more. I run my tank around 3/4GH and I've never needed to add extra Mg. Maybe thats what I'm doing wrong!! :lol: Sam

I wouldn't think there is a particular way of doing it, the ferts in both should ultimately be the same thing so if it were me I'd just swap them straight over. Guess to be on the safe side you could do it gradually over a couple of week? Sam

If it were me and I def wanted the black look Id get EC, its a great substrate. The only down side, and this might be an issue with the discus, is that it does buffer the water a bit, i.e. raise the GH and KH, mine went to GH 7 and KH 5 even when using RO but it does stop after a while. I'm def...

Interesting Tom, what kind of water changes would you need to do? Sam

AE will ship to the USA, but for a USA based site try http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com/ Sam

Ei for me, but when I get the bigger tank, I'll prob switch to PMDD or PPS pro and I cant be dealing with the large water changes of EI Sam

Right-ho, thanks James, as ever its greatly appreciated :) Sam

Right, cheers James. I must admit I've never noticed any cloudiness when dosing the two together, but I do run soft water tanks prob down near 3-4GH. pH will be low due to the CO2. I'll keep it doing and see what happens, I guess the plants will tell me if something is wrong! BTW - any tips...

Hi James, So is adding macros and trace at the same time (even if from seperate bottles) not such a good idea? In my nano I'll be doing a water change every 2 days, so there is not enough time to dose macros and trace on alternative days. I could leave dosing overnight i.e. so there would be...

What you using to work out how much of each to add to the water? There is a limit to how much of each you can dissolve in a given amount of water, you might just be over that limit. Sam

Thats the one :)

Interesting James, cheers :) never was a chemist. Sam

Would that make theirs more expensive George? Could that improve the plant nutrient uptake ability? Didn't realise you could get different types of chelation! :? Sam

Did tom's ferts ever hit the shelves? Does anyone know?