I understand this is a low-tech tank, right? If so....
Yep, no bottle... Yet...😈
Each 5ml per 100L dose of APT E adds 5ppm Potassium (K), 4.6ppm Nitrogen (NO3), 1.5ppm Phosphorus (PO4), 0.16ppm Iron (Fe), 0.4ppm Magnesium and additional amounts of Boron (B), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mo) and Zinc (Zn).
The above dosage is designed to be dosed 3 times a week. So the total per week adds up to: 15ppm Potassium (K), 13.8ppm Nitrogen (NO3), 4.5ppm Phosphorus (PO4), 0.48ppm Iron (Fe), 1.2ppm Magnesium (Mg) and additional amounts of Boron (B), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mo) and Zinc (Zn).
Just following the dosing instruction will give you more than enough of everything your plants will ever need (except for Mg if your water source is short).
Sorry, that was supposed to say APT 3. I switched to it from APT E as an experiment 8 days ago and saw an immediate loss of colour in new growth. When I was using APT E, I also saw Iron deficiency symptoms in one of my tanks with large leafed plants(Anubias Hastifolia). So, with my possibly extremely high Calcium levels(leaching from my Seiru Stone and increasing TDS from 45ppm to 140ish) I think even with APT E I am not as plentiful on Iron as one way think. Either way, I have switched back to APT E with my water change yesterday. I will wait two weeks and observe new growth, then add a daily dose of Seachem Iron for two weeks and observe the change to see if there is any improvement over APT E alone(I know I could also just up the dose of E). That should let me know exactly where I stand on Iron in this tank I'm thinking.
I personally never had any success from using it, but others around here have. If you have any mosses I strongly discourage you from using it. It killed my moss and most likely my Vals.
The active ingredient in Seachem Flourish Excel is glutaraldehyde... If I had known what it was back in the day I would never have used it... its nasty stuff, so make sure you use it in a ventilated environment and wash your hands carefully afterwards.
CDC advice:
"
CAS No. 111-30-8
Glutaraldehyde, C5H8O2 or OCH(CH₂)₃CHO, is a transparent oily, liquid with a pungent odor. Exposure to glutaraldehyde may cause the following symptoms: throat and lung irritation, asthma and difficulty breathing, dermatitis, nasal irritation, sneezing, wheezing, burning eyes, and conjunctivitis. Workers may be harmed from exposure to glutaraldehyde. Workers can be exposed to glutaraldehyde through inhalation or skin contact. The level of exposure depends upon the dose, duration, and work being done."
There is a ton of dis and misinformation surrounding this product fyi. I would dig deeper Michael. I'm no expert and already forget half of my research but here are some things...
Excel is not Glutaraldehyde it is Polycycloglutaracetal which is more stable and safer to use. E
ven Glutaraldehyde itself in diluted form is not that dangerous and is routinely used in the medical and other fields. The alarmism surrounding its use, in diluted form, in the aquarium hobby is unwarranted and silly imo.
Research into this compound was contracted by Seachem to Tom Barr who extensively tested it. He is bound by a non-disclosure agreement but, has since spoken highly of it a number of times. As have many other prominent voices(some on this site).
Many controlled experiments have been done by hobbiests(ie: two identical tanks, one with one without) that easly prove its efficiency in both algae reduction and carbon addition.
I have personally used it, at the suggested dosage, for around 3 months in a tank with 2 different species of moss(one of them Vesicularia Ferriei which is a medium/hard level moss that is hard to grow in low tech) and it has been a great addition and my tank is thriving(plants and wildlife). Here...
I was able to go higher with my lighting intensity without CO2 deficiency symptoms in my Rotala & Rotala Green as well since adding it. Algae was reduced and easier to manage in my estimations as well. The only way it hurts the moss is if I spot treat by dripping pure Excel directly in the moss and even then it quickly bounces back.
There is a lot more to this topic too but, there are a few points. There is a ton of interesting discussion out there if you dig. Considering the benefits, I have decided to use it for now but, will likely discontinue use eventually(especially if it starts to hurt any of the 4 species of moss I am growing in this particular tank). I plan to eventually go minimalist and use only dry salts in all of my tanks.
Again, if this is a low tech tank there is no reason to add Flourish Iron as you will get plenty of Fe from ATP E - yes, if your water is hard or high pH Gluconate based Fe is very easy to suck up for the plants but otherwise you do not need to add it on top of what ATP E provides.
I hope that is the case. But, I still need to use up this APT 3 and it causes iron deficiencies in my plants so it's either up the dose adding a bunch of stuff thats unnecessary, or just use the suggested dose and top up the Iron with Flourish Iron. All of these bottles need to get used up before I order dry salts anyway.
Definitely NOT daily. That would accumulate into 70 ppm minus uptake and a staggering 90 ppm of Sulphate (the S in MgSO4) per week. Assuming your doing 50% WC per week, I would just add ~2,5 g to the WC water (or right after WC) - the accumulation would be 9.0 ppm minus uptake which is a lot and perfectly fine.
That's what I figured lol. I added 2.5grams yesterday after my water change before I read this. I'll go with this dosage and see what happens👍.
To me it sounds like you just want to stick to the advised APT E dosing and some additional Mg, with your MgSo4 dosing. that your water source may be short of. Everything else comes with balanced light levels, proper nutrient distribution, consistent maintenance and maturity of the tank.
Cheers,
Michael
Yes, I'm looking to keep feeding simple for now(as simple as daily feeding can be lol) until I decide to try and mix my own from dry salts. No rush to do that either. I'm just going to order 2-4L of NilocG's Thrive for this year and top up if needed with the Seachem products I have in house.
So, the question remains about interactions. Should the APT E, Excel, & MgSO4 be dosed at seperate times? Or is it ok to add all three at once after a water change?
Thanks again for all of your posts Michael, they have been quite helpful👍.
