Does My Dosing Regime Fit

[Shaun147]

Good Afternoon All

I'm New to the forum. I've got a Fluval Roma 240 tank that has been setup for nearly a year now. I am just needing a little reassurance that my regime is suitable. I've been reading so much over the weeks and months. The plants are growing with very little algae at all. I just feel they are missing something. Especially the ferns. I've attached a picture of my tank just to show what it is setup like.

Lighting - 2 x Fluval AquaSky
Substrate - Fluval Stratum on top of Volcano Mineral
PH 7.5
KH 4
GH6

Plants are loads of different java fern on wood, crypts, swords and Bucephalandra
I also dose 12 ml of Neutro c02 daily

My Current EI Mix in a 500ml Bottle Is - 4tsp - Potassium Nitrate
1 tsp - Potassium Phosphate
6tsp - Potassium Sulphate

This is dosed at 13 ml on Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Trace in a 500ml Bottle 1 tsp - CSM+B Trace

This is dosed at 13 ml on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday

50% Water change every Sunday

I would really appreciate any help/suggestions at all.

Many Thanks

Shaun Robinson

 

[John q]

Greetings..

I've got more questions than answers, but the answers might help others give more targeted advice.
I'm guessing this is low tech.

My Current EI Mix in a 500ml Bottle Is - 4tsp - Potassium Nitrate
1 tsp - Potassium Phosphate
6tsp - Potassium Sulphate

This is adding approximately 5.4 ppm No3, 1.25 ppm Po4 & 9.5 ppm K weekly, the trace mix adds about 0.16 ppm Fe weekly. I suppose my main question is why are you adding so much Potassium. The Potassium nitrate & Potassium phosphate should on its own add enough (4 ppm)

PH 7.5
KH 4
GH6

Is this out of the tap or are you adding anything to it? I only ask because I'd assumed the tap water in West Wales was fairly soft. If its out the tap then no biggy, just curious.

Lighting - 2 x Fluval AquaSky

Is this an additional standard 14.5w fixture like the one that came with the original tank, or have you installed 2x 33w aquasky 2's.

Are you running the standard 307 filter, is it filled with media?

Overall the plant health doesn't look to bad to be fair, so all in all you're not doing to bad mate. 😉

 

[Shaun147]

Hi John
Thanks for the reply. To answer a few of you're questions.
Q1 I've been using a mix set out from a site that I have been using to learn about these things before I found this forum. I'm still learning however so this may need to change.
Q2 Those readings are from a test I did earlier today from my tank. I forgot to add Nitrate 10ppm.
Q3 I'm useing the Original Aquasky that came with the brand new setup. I added a Aquasky 2.0 to it recently.
Q4 Im useing the original Fluval 307 with bio home ultimate media plus sponges together with a APS 1400 External filled with Bio home ultimate media and sponges.

Please feel free to suggest anything I should change.

Kind Regards

Shaun

 

[Shaun147]

Hi John
Thanks for the reply. To answer a few of you're questions.
Q1 I've been using a mix set out from a site that I have been using to learn about these things before I found this forum. I'm still learning however so this may need to change.
Q2 Those readings are from a test I did earlier today from my tank. I forgot to add Nitrate 10ppm.
Q3 I'm useing the Original Aquasky that came with the brand new setup. I added a Aquasky 2.0 to it recently.
Q4 Im useing the original Fluval 307 with bio home ultimate media plus sponges together with a APS 1400 External filled with Bio home ultimate media and sponges.

Please feel free to suggest anything I should change.

Kind Regards

Shaun

I also forgot to mention. Yes this is indeed low tech.

 

[John q]

Q1 I've been using a mix set out from a site that I have been using to learn about these things before I found this forum. I'm still learning however so this may need to change.

That's fine, everyone has different ideas and theories about what works and what doesn't. All I can say is through trial and error the chances of your tank needing 9.5 ppm K weekly are highly unlikely.
For me I'd emit the potassium sulphate and depending on the answer to Q2 maybe replace with magnesium sulphate.

Q2 Those readings are from a test I did earlier today from my tank. I forgot to add Nitrate 10ppm.

Cool, the nitrate reading sounds plausible considering what you dose weekly.
You can get a fairly accurate idea of the kh/gh readings coming out of the tap by checking it here. Just add your postcode in the box half way down the page.

Drinking water quality | Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water

Help and advice on the quality of your drink water and any problems that could arise.

www.dwrcymru.com

What's probably more intresting to me is how much calcium and magnesium is in the water, I'm going to suspect it will have little of the latter.

Q3 I'm useing the Original Aquasky that came with the brand new setup. I added a Aquasky 2.0 to it recently.

What settings are each of lights on %

Q4 Im useing the original Fluval 307 with bio home ultimate media plus sponges together with a APS 1400 External filled with Bio home ultimate media and sponges.

So plenty of flow it would seem. Are you using the through tank inlet outlet with the 307 and how have you got the inlet/outlet for the aps filter positioned, all running right to left down the length of the tank? Opposite?

Maybe a better picture of the tank showing the above might help folks visualise things.

Cheers.

 

[Shaun147]

Funny you have mentioned the magnesium Sulphate. I have been looking at this mix regarding the magnesium 6tsp Potassium Nitrate / 2tsp Potassium Phosphate / 12tsp Magnesium Sulphate

Below is the water report for my area.

I have an inlet and outlet on both back corners of the tank using the tank inlet/outlet supplied on the right back side. Circulation is going along the back and to the front from the 307 and towards the front from the 1400.

 

[Shaun147]

My Light setting for both Aquaskys

 

[John q]

Funny you have mentioned the magnesium Sulphate. I have been looking at this mix regarding the magnesium 6tsp Potassium Nitrate / 2tsp Potassium Phosphate / 12tsp Magnesium Sulphate

I'd probably stick with 4tsp potassium nitrate/1tsp potassium phosphate and add 6tsp of magnesium sulphate to the mix.

Below is the water report for my area.

Low in Calcium and Magnesium, yet high in sodium and alkalinity as CaC03. Might need an expert to unravel the kh/gh of that report @dw1305

I'd also suggest turning the aquasky 2 settings down a tad, maybe R,G,W down to 75% ish (tweak to suit your taste)

Try the added magnesium, lower potassium and slightly lower lights for a few weeks and see if there is any improvement in plant health. There are other tweaks that can be made but for now I'd try the above.

 

[Shaun147]

I'd probably stick with 4tsp potassium nitrate/1tsp potassium phosphate and add 6tsp of magnesium sulphate to the mix.

Low in Calcium and Magnesium, yet high in sodium and alkalinity as CaC03. Might need an expert to unravel the kh/gh of that report @dw1305

I'd also suggest turning the aquasky 2 settings down a tad, maybe R,G,W down to 75% ish (tweak to suit your taste)

Try the added magnesium, lower potassium and slightly lower lights for a few weeks and see if there is any improvement in plant health. There are other tweaks that can be made but for now I'd try the above.

Thank you so much for you're replies. I will give you're suggestions a try for a few weeks then. I'll get the mix sorted after work tomorrow.

Its all the fun of learning. I've not done to bad so far, just a little bit of tweaking things i guess.

thank you again

 

[John q]

Its all the fun of learning. I've not done to bad so far, just a little bit of tweaking things i guess.

Lol, I very much still learning, hence calling in the experts.

 

[_Maq_]

I've attached a picture of my tank just to show what it is setup like.

Your tank is a good example that low-tech can still make a nice piece of green.

I agree with @John q 's recommendation to lower potassium and add a bit magnesium. However, your bottle is much more full than empty - meaning, your tank is in good shape, enjoy the success, and do not make abrupt and substantial changes to your maintenance schedule. There's no hurry, your tank is fine.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I've not done to bad so far, just a little bit of tweaking things i guess.

The first thing to say is that I agree with the others, the plants look absolutely fine, and they don't look deficient at all. For most people in the UK their plants would be showing <"magnesium deficiency symptoms"> with your dosing regime , but your water is slightly unusual.

I tend to use the <"look and growth of the plants"> as the final arbiter of whether things are in a good place. Have a look at <"The scientific background to the "Leaf Colour Chart"">.

12tsp Magnesium Sulphate

Because of your water I'd probably just make that <"one or two">, rather than twelve.

Below is the water report for my area.

That is really soft water - <Some handy facts about water>, about 1 dGH. You can actually get an idea just from the electrical conductivity (EC (microS / cm)) value. In this case "115 microS", so not many ions of any description.

From the report- Hardness 0.91 degrees German (dGH)

The calculation for dGH & dKH is in the linked thread <"Water Hardness">, but it is about 1.5 dKH - <"CO2 gaseous equilibrium with atmosphere">.

1dKH = 21.8 ppm HCO3
1dKH = 17.86 ppm CaCO3

The high pH is just because of <"sodium hydroxide (NaOH) addition">. Because of where you live Welsh water (Dwr Cymru) would be particularly interested in <"not breaching the heavy metal in tap water limits">.

Low in Calcium and Magnesium, yet high in sodium and alkalinity as CaC03. Might need an expert to unravel the kh/gh of that report @dw1305

It is a slightly strange one. Some of the sodium (Na) <"may be from salt water spray">, but the chloride (Cl-) value is lower, suggesting it is probably from a geological source as well. I honestly wouldn't worry about it.

Try the added magnesium, lower potassium and slightly lower lights for a few weeks and see if there is any improvement in plant health.

I'm guessing that you don't need to add much magnesium (Mg), purely because there is a reasonable amount in the water and the calcium (Ca) : magnesium (Mg) ratio is pretty low already.

Java fern (Microsorum pteropus) doesn't actually do well in very soft water, so you might want to add a <"bit of calcium carbonate"> (CaCO3). Personally I'd probably <"try adding African Fern"> (Bolbitis heudelotii), purely because it does better in soft water than Java Fern (for me).

I have plenty spare if you want to go down that route.

cheers Darrel

 

[Shaun147]

Hi all,

The first thing to say is that I agree with the others, the plants look absolutely fine, and they don't look deficient at all. For most people in the UK their plants would be showing <"magnesium deficiency symptoms"> with your dosing regime , but your water is slightly unusual.

I tend to use the <"look and growth of the plants"> as the final arbiter of whether things are in a good place. Have a look at <"The scientific background to the "Leaf Colour Chart"">.

Because of your water I'd probably just make that <"one or two">, rather than twelve.

That is really soft water - <Some handy facts about water>, about 1 dGH. You can actually get an idea just from the electrical conductivity (EC (microS / cm)) value. In this case "115 microS", so not many ions of any description.

The calculation for dGH & dKH is in the linked thread <"Water Hardness">, but it is about 1.5 dKH - <"CO2 gaseous equilibrium with atmosphere">.

The high pH is just because of <"sodium hydroxide (NaOH) addition">. Because of where you live Welsh water (Dwr Cymru) would be particularly interested in <"not breaching the heavy metal in tap water limits">.

It is a slightly strange one. Some of the sodium (Na) <"may be from salt water spray">, but the chloride (Cl-) value is lower, suggesting it is probably from a geological source as well. I honestly wouldn't worry about it.

I'm guessing that you don't need to add much magnesium (Mg), purely because there is a reasonable amount in the water and the calcium (Ca) : magnesium (Mg) ratio is pretty low already.

Java fern (Microsorum pteropus) doesn't actually do well in very soft water, so you might want to add a <"bit of calcium carbonate"> (CaCO3). Personally I'd probably <"try adding African Fern"> (Bolbitis heudelotii), purely because it does better in soft water than Java Fern (for me).

I have plenty spare if you want to go down that route.

cheers Darrel

Thank you Darrel for the detailed reply.

So adding from you're reply would this look ok going forward 6tsp Potassium Nitrate / 2tsp Potassium Phosphate / 2tsp Magnesium Sulphate - How Many Ml per day would be suitable for the 240l tank i have per day. i would dose this 3 times per week. Then 3 times per week i will dose Trace of CSM+B

I will have to give the african fern "Bolbitis heudelotii" a go. I've never tried.

Thank You so much for the reply explaining. A bit more stuff for me to look into.

Kind Regards

Shaun

 

[Shaun147]

Your tank is a good example that low-tech can still make a nice piece of green.

I agree with @John q 's recommendation to lower potassium and add a bit magnesium. However, your bottle is much more full than empty - meaning, your tank is in good shape, enjoy the success, and do not make abrupt and substantial changes to your maintenance schedule. There's no hurry, your tank is fine.

Thank you Maq for the kind reply

Like you say. Its just a case of fine tweaking. nothing major. I did put a lot of effort into trying to get the basics right before starting up the tank which helped. I'm just looking at fine tuning the dosing routine. There's so many variations.

Kind Regards

Shaun

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

My Current EI Mix in a 500ml Bottle Is - 4tsp - Potassium Nitrate
1 tsp - Potassium Phosphate
6tsp - Potassium Sulphate

This is dosed at 13 ml on Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Trace in a 500ml Bottle 1 tsp - CSM+B Trace

This is dosed at 13 ml on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday

So adding from you're reply would this look ok going forward 6tsp Potassium Nitrate / 2tsp Potassium Phosphate / 2tsp Magnesium Sulphate - How Many Ml per day would be suitable for the 240l tank i have per day. i would dose this 3 times per week. Then 3 times per week i will dose Trace of CSM+B

I'd just carry on with the same dosing (having swapped K2SO4 for MgSO4.7H2O). You can buy MgSO4.7H2O cheaply as "Epsom Salts", sold for baths <"Westlab Epsom Salt | Holland & Barrett"> etc.

If you want to know how many ppm (Mg / L) you've dosed? You can use an aquarium calculator <"Nutrient Dosing Calculator">, but it is going to be a nominal ~0.3 ppm Mg per week, because MgSO4.7H2O is only about 10% Mg.

When you've run out <"of your dry salts">, you may struggle to <"buy some more"> and if you do? I'd just make a very modest investment in some <"Solufeed macro and micro">, full details are here <"Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination">.

cheers Darrel

 

[John q]

going forward 6tsp Potassium Nitrate / 2tsp Potassium Phosphate / 2tsp Magnesium Sulphate

I honestly don't think you have any issues that require more than 5.4ppm No3 and 1.27ppm Po4 in this tank, which is what you are currently adding, especially with what looks like a decent fish load.

My Current EI Mix in a 500ml Bottle Is - 4tsp - Potassium Nitrate
1 tsp - Potassium Phosphate
6tsp - Potassium Sulphate

This is dosed at 13 ml on Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Do the same mix as above but switch out the Potassium sulphate for Magnesium Sulphate (6tsp) this will only add 0.9ppm of Magnesium per week.

Keep the dosing the same 13ml daily, try not to complicate things.

 

[Shaun147]

I honestly don't think you have any issues that require more than 5.4ppm No3 and 1.27ppm in this tank, which is what you are currently adding, especially with what looks like a decent fish load.

Do the same mix as above but switch out the Potassium sulphate for Magnesium Sulphate (6tsp) this will only add 0.9ppm of Magnesium per week.

Keep the dosing the same 13ml daily, try not to complicate things.

Absolutely, all mixed and ready to go .

Will give bobitis a try as I've never tried that one of the ferns before.

I'll See how things go going forward and provide updates... Thanks Again All!

Shaun

 

[Shaun147]

Hi All
Just a quick update on how things are going. I can see a fair bit of new growth since adding the magnesium 6tsp added to my mix. Still dosing 13ml daily.

Kind Regards

Shaun
Ps ignore the 2 pots of Cryptocoryne Ustriana in the foreground. They will be planted in the background shortly 😉

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Just a quick update on how things are going. I can see a fair bit of new growth since adding the magnesium 6tsp added to my mix. Still dosing 13ml daily.

That is looking very healthy.

cheers Darrel

 

[Shaun147]

Hi all,

That is looking very healthy.

cheers Darrel

Thank you. Little tweaks from the help you’ve all gave.

Shaun