PedroB
Member
Good afternoon all,
Ever since I returned to the hobby I've been dosing the recommended 10ml per 50L every other day of the EI starter kit by APF. (http://www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk/fertilisers/dry-chemicals/starter-kits/ei-starter-kit.html)
Lately I tried planting some hygrophila pinnatifida, and after a couple of weeks they started displaying pinholes and stunted growth,
I've since reduced the light and increased CO2 injection and flow (went from 750lph filter to 2000lph and 4x39w light to 2x39w, 128litre tank) and the issues still continue.
I've got a decent HC carpet and most of the rest of the plants are doing well, so I started looking for other culprits.
According to the EI philosophy, we should dose weekly:
Nitrate (NO3) 20ppm per week
Potassium (K) 30ppm per week
Phosphate (PO4) 3ppm per week
Magnesium (Mg) 10ppm per week
Iron (Fe) 0.5ppm per week
But, if for simplicity we consider a teaspoon to weigh 6g, the recommended APF mix gives us per dose:
Nitrate: 5.9ppm (17.7 per week)
Potassium: 4.4ppm (13.2 per week)
Phosphorous: 0.54ppm (1.62 per week)
Magnesium: 1.45ppm (4.35 per week)
Iron: 0.15ppm (0.45 per week)
(Using this calculator http://www.aquariumcalculators.com/parts-per-million/stock-solution-ppm-calculator/)
I know I should not be fretting about numbers, and I've simply started dosing double what APF recommend, I'd just like some understanding as to why they recommend those values or for someone to point out where I got it wrong.
Cheers, looking forward to your contributions.
Ever since I returned to the hobby I've been dosing the recommended 10ml per 50L every other day of the EI starter kit by APF. (http://www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk/fertilisers/dry-chemicals/starter-kits/ei-starter-kit.html)
Lately I tried planting some hygrophila pinnatifida, and after a couple of weeks they started displaying pinholes and stunted growth,
I've since reduced the light and increased CO2 injection and flow (went from 750lph filter to 2000lph and 4x39w light to 2x39w, 128litre tank) and the issues still continue.
I've got a decent HC carpet and most of the rest of the plants are doing well, so I started looking for other culprits.
According to the EI philosophy, we should dose weekly:
Nitrate (NO3) 20ppm per week
Potassium (K) 30ppm per week
Phosphate (PO4) 3ppm per week
Magnesium (Mg) 10ppm per week
Iron (Fe) 0.5ppm per week
But, if for simplicity we consider a teaspoon to weigh 6g, the recommended APF mix gives us per dose:
Nitrate: 5.9ppm (17.7 per week)
Potassium: 4.4ppm (13.2 per week)
Phosphorous: 0.54ppm (1.62 per week)
Magnesium: 1.45ppm (4.35 per week)
Iron: 0.15ppm (0.45 per week)
(Using this calculator http://www.aquariumcalculators.com/parts-per-million/stock-solution-ppm-calculator/)
I know I should not be fretting about numbers, and I've simply started dosing double what APF recommend, I'd just like some understanding as to why they recommend those values or for someone to point out where I got it wrong.
Cheers, looking forward to your contributions.
Last edited: