Mark.A
Member
Hello everyone,
I've been without a tank for a few years, I got rid of my last one when we moved 3 years ago with plans to start again, bigger and better, once we were sorted. We are now fully sorted in our new home and the itch is getting too much so I'm looking at setting up the new tank, on a much bigger scale this time though.
I'm adding a pic of my last 2 tanks (a Fluval Flex 32 Gallon and a 30cm Betta cube), before they were taken down, for reference. I have been keeping fish for a LONG time (both planted and reef tanks) and am very familiar with all the fish keeping stuff like filtration, cycling, etc. and am familiar with plant keeping and their requirements BUT I have always used the off the shelf commercial fertilizers as I didn't understand what I was doing with the EI DIY dosing and I don't like to mess with things that I don't understand. In the tanks below I was dosing TNC Lite with no CO2.
The tank I am now planning is going to be a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft and with the much larger tank the costs of using a commercial fertilizer is much more of an issue, so I now need to get my head around dosing with the EI fertilizer. I have a good amount of time to do this as it's going to be quite a while (8 months+) before I am ready to set the new tank up.
I am not technically knowledgeable on any of this. I have no idea what most things mean, like EDTA, chelated, etc. and I don't know anything about the chemical processes, etc. but I am pretty intelligent and am quick to learn. I'm not sure if I need to know what all those things mean or need to understand the chemical processes involved but if I do then please someone let me know.
I have already done a lot of research, reading just about everything I can find, including all the threads in these forums on the subject, and I think I've managed to get somewhat of an understanding. I have gone through the 'IFC Aquarium Fertilizer Calculator' and done my best to figure that out.
Some of what I have 'figured out' is just assumption or unclear though so I am posting here in the hopes of getting those assumptions either confirmed or corrected so that I can be 100% confident in what I am doing with the EI dosing.
Where to start?.. I think some info on my personal requirements for the tank?
I'm not a typical 'Aquascaper'. I won't be taking the tank down and re-scaping it or even re-planting much at all. I want the tank to still be running and looking great, with the same aquascape, in 10 years time.
I want minimal pruning and maintenance, although I still want constant healthy growth, just not the super fast, massive growth that many get in high tech tanks. With that in mind I am wanting mostly low energy, slow growing plants.
Here is a list of the plants I currently plan to get:
Anubias barteri var. 'coffeefolia'
Anubias nana 'petite'
Anubias nana 'pinto'
Aponogeton madagascariensis
Bucephalandra - several rarer species
Christmas moss
Crinum calamistratum
Cryptocoryne crispatula v. balansae
Cryptocoryne spiralis 'red'
Cryptocoryne nurii
Cryptocoryne parva
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'flamingo'
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green gecko'
Echinodorus 'Red Diamond'
Eleocharis parvula
Java Fern
Ludwigia sp. mini 'Super Red'
Nymphaea rubra
As you can see it's mostly heavy root feeders and epiphytes. No fast growing stems, just the one group of Ludwigia. I do plant very heavily from the outset and I will be dosing CO2 but not to fully saturated levels, just an average/medium amount without monitoring the CO2 level, just enough for these slow growing plants to have what they need and so they are not CO2 limited. The tank pH will be monitored and the CO2 cut off at night though.
I will be using a 'dirt' substrate (70/30 Westlands Aquatic Compost and Peat) along with clay peat balls for the base, capped with an inert 1-2mm gravel.
For hardscape I'll be using Seiryu stone and Redmoor root.
I'm retired and spend 99% of my time at home due to caring for my disabled wife. This aquarium will therefore have my full attention. I'm also very technical, organised and fairly OCD, so the tank and the dosing, etc. will all be very carefully monitored, done exactly and on time. I also plan to do a YouTube channel dedicated to the progress of the tank, so like a video log of the whole thing with ongoing updates.
I will be doing 50% weekly water changes using tap water and adding API Tap Water Conditioner. I live in Northumberland, UK and the tap water here is medium-hard.
I stock my tanks fish heavy (especially compared to many of todays 'Aquascapers') and feed them well, so I don't think nitrate or phosphate is going to need to be dosed, once the tank is established? …or maybe just at a reduced dose? This is why I used to dose TNC Lite before.
Next I guess the actual planned tank setup? Okay, I'll list the main equipment I have planned below.
Tank & Main Equipment:
Tank - 6ft x 2ft x 2ft tank - 680 Litres approx. volume.
Lighting - AI Blade FreshWater 66 inch x 2
Filtration - Oase BioMaster 2 Thermo 600 x 2
Circulation pumps - AI Nero 3 x 2
Monitoring & Control - Apex A3 Junior with MXM Mobius Wireless
Carbon Dioxide - 2Kg CO2 bottle/Reg/Solenoid and inline diffuser.
Dosing - D-D P1 Plus Dosing Pump (for dosing the EI Ferts daily)
From what I've understood so far I think I've filled the 'IFC Aquarium Fertilizer Calculator' in correctly and now have the following in the calculator:
Water Report Levels (Potassium and Phosphate are not listed in my water report)
Tank and Dosing page
I was thinking of keeping the 1.5 litre container for the AIO mix in the fridge and then having a smaller 150ml container to dose from under the tank, which would be then refilled weekly from the fridge container. From what I can gather that would be correct and should be okay?
Target Calculator page
I went with the 'EI Dosing Mid' above because I assume I won't need the full dosing with having low energy plants, medium CO2, etc. Not sure if this is the right level for what I am doing or not though?
I assume I would just remove the Potassium Nitrate and Monopotassium Phosphate if I didn't need to dose nitrate/phosphate?
DIY Trace Calculator page
I just copied the target values from 'The PlantGuy CSM+B', not sure if this is all correct or not but it seems to be from what I can gather.
Summary of all the questions and assumptions that I need answering/confirming or correcting:
1 - With the heavy fish stocking will I need to dose nitrate/phosphate still, once the tank is stocked and established?
2 - As I plant very heavily from the outset (and my fish stock will be added gradually) I suspect I may have to dose nitrate/phosphate at first, is this the case? …or will the 'dirt' substrate provide enough initially? I will also be doing 50% water changes 2-3 times a week for the first couple of weeks as well, if that makes a difference.
3 - Should I be dosing at all during the first couple of weeks?
4 - If I'm not dosing in the first couple of weeks should I still be running the CO2?
5 - Will keeping the 1.5 litre container in the fridge really keep the EI AIO mix okay for 12 weeks? …and is my idea for having the separate 150ml container under the tank for dosing correct?
6 - Is 'EI Dosing Mid' the right level of dosing for what I'm trying to do? If not what should I be aiming for?
7 - Do I just remove the Potassium Nitrate and Monopotassium Phosphate from the mix if I don't need to dose nitrate/phosphate?
8 - Are my targets and measurements right for the DIY Trace mix? If not then what should they be?
9 - I've just read that the Magnesium in a lot of the solutions like CSM+B is on the low side as it's meant for the US market where they have more Magnesium in the tap water. Should I be adding more Magnesium?
I think that's all for now. Please feel free to tell me if I'm completely wrong. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Mark.
I've been without a tank for a few years, I got rid of my last one when we moved 3 years ago with plans to start again, bigger and better, once we were sorted. We are now fully sorted in our new home and the itch is getting too much so I'm looking at setting up the new tank, on a much bigger scale this time though.
I'm adding a pic of my last 2 tanks (a Fluval Flex 32 Gallon and a 30cm Betta cube), before they were taken down, for reference. I have been keeping fish for a LONG time (both planted and reef tanks) and am very familiar with all the fish keeping stuff like filtration, cycling, etc. and am familiar with plant keeping and their requirements BUT I have always used the off the shelf commercial fertilizers as I didn't understand what I was doing with the EI DIY dosing and I don't like to mess with things that I don't understand. In the tanks below I was dosing TNC Lite with no CO2.
The tank I am now planning is going to be a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft and with the much larger tank the costs of using a commercial fertilizer is much more of an issue, so I now need to get my head around dosing with the EI fertilizer. I have a good amount of time to do this as it's going to be quite a while (8 months+) before I am ready to set the new tank up.
I am not technically knowledgeable on any of this. I have no idea what most things mean, like EDTA, chelated, etc. and I don't know anything about the chemical processes, etc. but I am pretty intelligent and am quick to learn. I'm not sure if I need to know what all those things mean or need to understand the chemical processes involved but if I do then please someone let me know.
I have already done a lot of research, reading just about everything I can find, including all the threads in these forums on the subject, and I think I've managed to get somewhat of an understanding. I have gone through the 'IFC Aquarium Fertilizer Calculator' and done my best to figure that out.
Some of what I have 'figured out' is just assumption or unclear though so I am posting here in the hopes of getting those assumptions either confirmed or corrected so that I can be 100% confident in what I am doing with the EI dosing.
Where to start?.. I think some info on my personal requirements for the tank?
I'm not a typical 'Aquascaper'. I won't be taking the tank down and re-scaping it or even re-planting much at all. I want the tank to still be running and looking great, with the same aquascape, in 10 years time.
I want minimal pruning and maintenance, although I still want constant healthy growth, just not the super fast, massive growth that many get in high tech tanks. With that in mind I am wanting mostly low energy, slow growing plants.
Here is a list of the plants I currently plan to get:
Anubias barteri var. 'coffeefolia'
Anubias nana 'petite'
Anubias nana 'pinto'
Aponogeton madagascariensis
Bucephalandra - several rarer species
Christmas moss
Crinum calamistratum
Cryptocoryne crispatula v. balansae
Cryptocoryne spiralis 'red'
Cryptocoryne nurii
Cryptocoryne parva
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'flamingo'
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green gecko'
Echinodorus 'Red Diamond'
Eleocharis parvula
Java Fern
Ludwigia sp. mini 'Super Red'
Nymphaea rubra
As you can see it's mostly heavy root feeders and epiphytes. No fast growing stems, just the one group of Ludwigia. I do plant very heavily from the outset and I will be dosing CO2 but not to fully saturated levels, just an average/medium amount without monitoring the CO2 level, just enough for these slow growing plants to have what they need and so they are not CO2 limited. The tank pH will be monitored and the CO2 cut off at night though.
I will be using a 'dirt' substrate (70/30 Westlands Aquatic Compost and Peat) along with clay peat balls for the base, capped with an inert 1-2mm gravel.
For hardscape I'll be using Seiryu stone and Redmoor root.
I'm retired and spend 99% of my time at home due to caring for my disabled wife. This aquarium will therefore have my full attention. I'm also very technical, organised and fairly OCD, so the tank and the dosing, etc. will all be very carefully monitored, done exactly and on time. I also plan to do a YouTube channel dedicated to the progress of the tank, so like a video log of the whole thing with ongoing updates.
I will be doing 50% weekly water changes using tap water and adding API Tap Water Conditioner. I live in Northumberland, UK and the tap water here is medium-hard.
I stock my tanks fish heavy (especially compared to many of todays 'Aquascapers') and feed them well, so I don't think nitrate or phosphate is going to need to be dosed, once the tank is established? …or maybe just at a reduced dose? This is why I used to dose TNC Lite before.
Next I guess the actual planned tank setup? Okay, I'll list the main equipment I have planned below.
Tank & Main Equipment:
Tank - 6ft x 2ft x 2ft tank - 680 Litres approx. volume.
Lighting - AI Blade FreshWater 66 inch x 2
Filtration - Oase BioMaster 2 Thermo 600 x 2
Circulation pumps - AI Nero 3 x 2
Monitoring & Control - Apex A3 Junior with MXM Mobius Wireless
Carbon Dioxide - 2Kg CO2 bottle/Reg/Solenoid and inline diffuser.
Dosing - D-D P1 Plus Dosing Pump (for dosing the EI Ferts daily)
From what I've understood so far I think I've filled the 'IFC Aquarium Fertilizer Calculator' in correctly and now have the following in the calculator:
Water Report Levels (Potassium and Phosphate are not listed in my water report)
Tank and Dosing page
I was thinking of keeping the 1.5 litre container for the AIO mix in the fridge and then having a smaller 150ml container to dose from under the tank, which would be then refilled weekly from the fridge container. From what I can gather that would be correct and should be okay?
Target Calculator page
I went with the 'EI Dosing Mid' above because I assume I won't need the full dosing with having low energy plants, medium CO2, etc. Not sure if this is the right level for what I am doing or not though?
I assume I would just remove the Potassium Nitrate and Monopotassium Phosphate if I didn't need to dose nitrate/phosphate?
DIY Trace Calculator page
I just copied the target values from 'The PlantGuy CSM+B', not sure if this is all correct or not but it seems to be from what I can gather.
Summary of all the questions and assumptions that I need answering/confirming or correcting:
1 - With the heavy fish stocking will I need to dose nitrate/phosphate still, once the tank is stocked and established?
2 - As I plant very heavily from the outset (and my fish stock will be added gradually) I suspect I may have to dose nitrate/phosphate at first, is this the case? …or will the 'dirt' substrate provide enough initially? I will also be doing 50% water changes 2-3 times a week for the first couple of weeks as well, if that makes a difference.
3 - Should I be dosing at all during the first couple of weeks?
4 - If I'm not dosing in the first couple of weeks should I still be running the CO2?
5 - Will keeping the 1.5 litre container in the fridge really keep the EI AIO mix okay for 12 weeks? …and is my idea for having the separate 150ml container under the tank for dosing correct?
6 - Is 'EI Dosing Mid' the right level of dosing for what I'm trying to do? If not what should I be aiming for?
7 - Do I just remove the Potassium Nitrate and Monopotassium Phosphate from the mix if I don't need to dose nitrate/phosphate?
8 - Are my targets and measurements right for the DIY Trace mix? If not then what should they be?
9 - I've just read that the Magnesium in a lot of the solutions like CSM+B is on the low side as it's meant for the US market where they have more Magnesium in the tap water. Should I be adding more Magnesium?
I think that's all for now. Please feel free to tell me if I'm completely wrong. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Mark.
Last edited:
