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  1. Dave Spencer

    Do crypts require root tabs if planted in ADA soil?

    I agree with Clive on the CO2/Crypt melting scenario. It was probably Clive that first pointed it out to me. I can move Crypts around all the time, grow them in inert substrates, and I have never had one melt on me, apart from the odd damged leaf during planting. Regards, Dave.
  2. Dave Spencer

    Whats this all about?

    It looks a lot like the latest over complicated, over priced method for fertilising our tanks. I`ll stick with my dry powders. Dave.
  3. Dave Spencer

    Making pellets

    Do you dose the water column with dry ferts, or has adding ferts at the roots additional to water column dosing brought on the improvement? What you could do is mix the ferts with a little water to make ice cubes. Dave.
  4. Dave Spencer

    new to ferts

    I would start with potassium nitrate, mono potassium phosphate and trace. You hadn`t covered phosphates. Look to get CO2 levels and all fert dispersion right from the outset. The forum stickies will be a great help for you, too. Add GH booster if you have soft water. Dave.
  5. Dave Spencer

    riccia and easy carbo am i dosing to much

    Personally, I have never had problems with Riccia and Gluteraldehyde. Having said that, I never overdosed. Dave.
  6. Dave Spencer

    How do you sort out EI when you go on holidays?

    I just try to reduce the demands for ferts whilst I am away, so I start from the source of demand by reducing light intensity and duration. CO2 duration is also adjusted to suit the new photoperiod. I usually settle on a four hour photoperiod at half light. As soon as I get back, I give the tank...
  7. Dave Spencer

    Seachem or Tetra Ferts.

    Ferts are ferts, it doesn`t matter whether you inject CO2 or not. And using the salts is cheaper. The only real difference with dosing a CO2/non CO2 tank is whether the non actually needs any ferts adding other than what will occur through nitrification etc. If you need to dose, then I would...
  8. Dave Spencer

    how do I know if a plant requires "root tabs"?

    The ideal situation is a nutrient rich substrate plus water column nutrients, but Crypts can be grown in sand. The tabs may help, but they are not required. Dave.
  9. Dave Spencer

    how do I know if a plant requires "root tabs"?

    No plants "require" root tabs. Personally, I have never seen the point of them. Either buy a nutrient rich substrate, dose the water column, or do both. Root tabs strike me as an unnecessary hassle, but I have never used them, so maybe others can enlighten you further about them. Dave.
  10. Dave Spencer

    Nitrate Level Very High

    If you are to believe your test kit, then you need to ask yourself if any harm is being done. With nitrates up at around 100ppm, then you are possibly dosing too much (I haven`t checked your dosing figures...too lazy :roll: ). With low nitrate tap water, water changes should bring the levels...
  11. Dave Spencer

    Need advice dosing 120gallon EI method

    It seems as if you know what you are doing, so it is really your decision as to where you go with dosing adjustments. Nobody here is going to have a feel for your tank and flows around it better than you. If you feel growth should be a little more dynamic, try carefully tweaking the CO2 up a...
  12. Dave Spencer

    GH Booster

    I started using it because I have soft tap water. After a while I stopped, and have noticed no real difference. The Mg and Ca that plants take up is a very tiny amount. Dave.
  13. Dave Spencer

    Dosing with Ammonia and Urea

    Well, if you are seeing an improvement James, I am definitely going to consider giving it a try. Dave.
  14. Dave Spencer

    Problems after using E.I

    Paul, I promise to do my best to get round yours next weekend. :wink: Nobody is holding anything back. UKAPS was set up to promote the hobby. Nevertheless, it is always hard to diagnose peoples` problems with just pics and words. For all we know, people may have messed up their fert...
  15. Dave Spencer

    EI dosing V Off the shelf fertz

    I use the salts from AE. I bought them over two years ago and haven`t used up half of them yet. Dave.
  16. Dave Spencer

    Using EI with liquid carbon? Same dosages?

    Try shopping around nry. I can get a 3kg bottle for £10 from a place that supplies pubs, welding shops etc. Whether you can get away with just liquid carbon and the lighting you have....BBA and staghorn will let you know. That is the beauty of algae, it tells you so much more than any test...
  17. Dave Spencer

    root tabs

    Provided you keep the water column fertilised (and TPN+ is well regarded for this), you shouldn`t need to mess around with root tabs. Having said that, I think some find TPN+ a little light on P, but I can`t speak from experience on this. Dave.
  18. Dave Spencer

    root tabs

    Do you dose the water column at all? I ask because there may be enough ferts available to your plants for you to not yo have to use root tabs. Dave.
  19. Dave Spencer

    reduced Kno3 dosing to help with red plants ?

    Chlorophyll requires N for it to be formed, so my guess is that your Rotala will become deficient in chlorophyll, and the redness from anthocyanins becomes predominant. We all know chlorophyll gives plants a green pigment, so you are limiting this. You are walking a fine line with your N, in...
  20. Dave Spencer

    Why dont nutrients cause algae?

    I have had a go at growing algae in RO water and sunlight, but I did this to show myself that high nitrates and phosphates don`t trigger algae, and that algae can thrive in a nutrient deficient environment, suggesting that nitrate and phosphate removers are a waste of money. Dave.
  21. Dave Spencer

    Why dont nutrients cause algae?

    Ok Clive, So we have algae spores sat in our tanks like ticking time bombs, waiting for the trigger mechanism to operate.....then we have an algae explosion. What determines the type of algae that results? I know for sure that any CO2 problems in my tanks result in BBA and staghorn. A new tank...
  22. Dave Spencer

    Why dont nutrients cause algae?

    This part is bang on the target. This part less so. EI is about growing plants, and that is it. Follow the ethos of EI correctly and algae shouldn`t come in to the equation. Dave.
  23. Dave Spencer

    Why dont nutrients cause algae?

    I wish people would observe what is going on in their tanks a bit more. :D I hate to see any algae in my tanks, but it is a far better indicator of conditions than any coloured liquid in a test tube. Fabrique Belgique, Rodney!
  24. Dave Spencer

    Why dont nutrients cause algae?

    That`s an interesting write up, Clive. Algae spores looking purely for light and ammonia makes a lot of sense when I consider what it is exactly that I have done to trigger an algae bloom. Is there a reputable source for this information? Not that I am saying your repuatation isn`t sufficient...
  25. Dave Spencer

    Why dont nutrients cause algae?

    Why should they? They don`t cause plants. :D When you think of what triggers algae, these are nutrients....ammonia, CO2 and light. We just tend to think of NPK and trace as fertilisers. Dave.
  26. Dave Spencer

    Which plants to use fert tabs on?

    Funny you should mention "heavy root feeders", Clive, as I have had my doubts about this phrase, too. My 60cm has just been rescaped, and I have made a point of planting some crypts in Aqua Soil, and some in to inert sand. I suspect the plants in the Aqua Soil will do better, but I also suspect...
  27. Dave Spencer

    Alternatives to Excel or Easycarbo

    There was only Excel at one point, but then Easycarbo came along as an alternative. So now you want another alternative. :D I wonder if their is an alternative to the alternative you are looking for. :? Dave.
  28. Dave Spencer

    How does Plant Biomass affect EI Dosing

    Amen to that, James. I wonder how many tanks I have seen being started up on TFF, and thought they were doomed to failure due to the lack of fast growing plant mass. My Juwel Lido was my first ever tank, and I filled it out with fast growing stems. One year down the line, I find I can take...
  29. Dave Spencer

    Magnesium Sulphate... do you dose it?

    To be honest, I wasn`t aware of MgSO4 being part of the EI regime. Extra Mg can be added via GH booster at water change time. This will also supplement Ca levels as well. I have very soft tap water, so I use GH booster to compensate for this. The Goldfish bit is interesting. My eldest...
  30. Dave Spencer

    TPN v PMDD Trace

    Judging by people`s response to my initial question, your most cost effective option would be to buy the powdered trace from AquaEssentials. It would appear to be every bit as good as Tropica Plant Nutrition. Dave.
  31. Dave Spencer

    Dissolving Potassium Sulphate

    I have never had to use potassium sulphate, but I think it is more easily dissolved if you do it in warm water. Dave.
  32. Dave Spencer

    TPN v PMDD Trace

    Has anybody noticed any significant improvement in dosing Tropica trace as opposed to powdered trace from AquaEssentials? I have tried both, but I haven`t seen any real difference at all, and certainly not enough to justify the cost of continuing to use Tropica. It would be interesting to hear...
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