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EI dosing and mixing strengths?

Gary Nelson

Gary Nelson

Member
Joined
20 Jan 2011
Messages
1,292
Location
Leicestershire
I'm new to EI dosing but looking at the below recipe and looking at dosing my 200 litre tank, is it possible to make the mixture stronger by doubling the contents and just dose half the amount?
On the mixture below I'd be dosing 40ml - if I double the mix into the 500ml of water and then dose 20ml, or could i mix it even more concentrated than that? Would this work?

Advice greatly appreciated :thumbup:

Macro Solution
4tsp Potassium Nitrate
1tsp Potassium Phosphate
6tsp Magnesium Sulphate
500ml Water

Micro Solution
1tsp Chelated Trace Elements
500ml Water

Dosing
Macro 3x a week. (10ml per 50ltr of Aquarium water)
Micro 3x a week. (10ml per 50ltr of Aquarium water)
 
Tis exactly what I do and it all dissolves no problem :thumbup:
That's double the concentration, not sure about any more.
 
Gary Nelson said:
To the rescue again Ady :thumbup: so do you mix yours in just boiled water?
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Yeah cooled boiled water but i remember reading a post by Clive suggesting even this isn't necessary and just mix it in tap water.
 
Ady34 said:
Gary Nelson said:
To the rescue again Ady :thumbup: so do you mix yours in just boiled water?
Click to expand...
Yeah cooled boiled water but i remember reading a post by Clive suggesting even this isn't necessary and just mix it in tap water.
Click to expand...


Ok cool, maybe he will be along in a bit to confirm this then. So does the recipe I've got look about what you are working to then?
 
Exactly, I think, it's the one from APFUK is it?
 
There are limits on how much of a salt will dissolve in water, but I cant remember the exacts.
 
johnski said:
There are limits on how much of a salt will dissolve in water, but I cant remember the exacts.
Click to expand...

Yes I did think that myself or of perhaps mixing in slightly warmer water might help dissolve the salts much better?

Also I know I'll be looking to measure the salts out in tea spoon amounts, the only dossing spoons I have are the ones labeled up (Smidgen, Pinch, Dash and Tad)
I take it the Tad one is equivalent to a tea spoon measure? :rolleyes:
 
johnski said:
There are limits on how much of a salt will dissolve in water, but I cant remember the exacts.
Click to expand...


James planted tank to the rescue for this one!

Solubility's In Water
There are limits on how much of a salt can be dissolved in water. As this limit is reached it becomes increasingly difficult to dissolve more. If you are experiencing difficulties in dissolving any of the salts then try doubling the amount of water it is dissolved in. Below are the maximum solubility's of the various chemicals used in the calculator.

Potassium Nitrate 36g per 100ml
Potassium Phosphate 22g per 100ml
Potassium Sulphate 11.1g per 100ml
Magnesium Sulphate heptahydrate 25.5g per 100ml
Calcium Sulphate dihydrate 0.24g per 100ml
Calcium Chloride anhydrous 74g per 100ml
 
Whitey89 said:
Think tad = 1/4
Pinch = 1/12
Dash = 1/32
And smidgen = 1/64

All are fractions of a Teaspoon.
Someone please clarify?
Click to expand...

Blimey, this is getting complicated and maths was never my strong point lol - so would I be putting in 4 X tad amounts to get a tea spoon measure?
 
Or add a teaspoon :) the 5ml plastic medicine spoon that comes with most cough mixtures is a teaspoon AFAIK there's usually a 2.5ml or half tsp on the other end.
 
Gary Nelson said:
Whitey89 said:
Think tad = 1/4
Pinch = 1/12
Dash = 1/32
And smidgen = 1/64

All are fractions of a Teaspoon.
Someone please clarify?
Click to expand...

Blimey, this is getting complicated and maths was never my strong point lol - so would I be putting in 4 X tad amounts to get a tea spoon measure?
Click to expand...
Just heap up your teaspoon after making a cuppa and stick em in....no prob with a little too much and Clive always says its not an exact science and not to get caught up number crunching :)
 
Yeah, no kidding. You've already expended more energy than it deserves. Just dump half teaspoon of NO3 and quarter teaspoon of PO4 and maybe a teaspoon of Epsom Salt in the tank 3X a week. It takes less than a minute to do this. For this size tank making solutions is just more trouble than it's worth, specifically because of the solubility issues. As mentioned above, if you've got your heart set on solutions then just use more water to get more powder to dissolve.

Cheers
 
Thanks for the info Clive - yes I think I was being a bit fussy with the amounts, I suppose being new to EI & salts its just a bit daunting to begin with. Hopefully I'll see over the next week or so how my plants respond :thumbup:
 
Yeah mate, 100% guarantee that a month from now you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. I'm only ever fussy about CO2 and flow/distribution. Nutrients are as easy as making tea... ;)

Cheers,
 
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