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EI dosing and tank parameters

M

Mattsdoneitagain

Member
Joined
13 Mar 2024
Messages
31
Location
Nottinghamshire
Hi all. I’m really quite new to this hobby after 20years out and things seem to have moved on a bit with lighting ferts co2 etc.
I decided to set up a planted tank thinking how hard can at be (cocky me thinks) so last October 23 I set up a 70l dennerle tank oais 250 biomaster co2 injection and chirios wrgb.
I picked a selection of stem plants rotala ludwigia, crypts s Staurogyne repens etc.
Set it all up all went well for 3 months and then bba set in wow this stuff is stubborn tried black out , h202 3% , excel no real change so took out everything affected other than some hc.
I then left it a couple of weeks to get the water parameters right again ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate between 0-5.
Back to today bought some more rotala stems this time, been planted around 3 weeks now lots of healthy top growth.
Also set my co2 up better I now have a a1ppm drop in ph at lights on 9am off @ 12 pm co2 off @ 11am, co2 back on @ 4pm target of 6.8 hit by 5pm lights on , 10pm lights off 8pm co2 off drop checker during periods lovely lime green.
Should have said EI dosing from the beginning.
Mgso4
Kh2po4
Kno3
Dtpa 7% fe
Now bare in mind already having a bba outbreak I’m slightly nervous and not realising how bright these lights really are I’ve taken out the blue and reduced everything else to 25% not the stupid 80% + I was at 😂
So now I think I’m pretty much right with the co2 and light.
My question is
Looking at my dry dosage added to 500 ml dosing bottles 1 macro 1 micro on alternative days 1 50% water change weekly am I in the ball park? Taken from rotala butterfly.
Is the idea to dose above ie overdose and come back down?
I only set my dosage based on 50l rather than 60l which it actually is, would under dosing be causing slow growth and if I upped it to it’s correct dosage of 12ml would it make any difference?
I know patients is key but also plants are still transitioning so I’m not sure how it will go when the tops are replanted.
I started this project with vitro cups but I’m not sure about them after the bad experience.
Thanks to anyone who can be bothered to read it and give layman’s advice
Mind blown won’t take on something like this again without thorough research 🧐
IMG_9093.jpeg
 
Mattsdoneitagain said:
Sorry also can anyone explain how the correlation between gh/kh affects any of the ferts especially iron ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Ph affect the type of chelator for the iron you want to use. The role of chelators is to keep the iron available for plants.

Gluconate : PH < 6
EDTA : PH < 6.5
DTPA : PH < 7
EDDHA : can go over PH 9

These numbers are the optimal Ph to keep all iron availabe depending of the chelator. You can use them in higher ph but you will lose effectiveness. I.E DPTA has 60% iron precipitate at a PH of 8.

The most effective is EDDHA at the cost of tinting your water pink. Still manageable if you do small dose so it wont tint too much.
 
Thanks for that. So when working it out what state should the tank be ie gassed/not gassed I have a ph of 7.8 no co2 and co2 @ lights on is 6.8 / 6.6 can’t see much difference in colour, that’s using api high low drop test.
 
Mattsdoneitagain said:
Sorry also can anyone explain how the correlation between gh/kh affects any of the ferts especially iron ?
Click to expand...

As far as Iron goes the choice of chelate is critical vs. your pH as far as bioavailability is concerned - ultimately driven by your level of alkalinity (dKH). If your pH sits a couple of notches below 7 (slightly acidic say 6.5) you're pretty much safe with any chelate as long as your PO4 level is also relatively low as well as phosphate will sequestrate the iron rendering it less available for the plants to absorb. With higher pH (above neutral pH 7 essentially) your choice becomes more critical as you can see from the chart below.

1710353231212.png

Cheers,
Michael
 
image.jpgThanks. So let’s just go back over this I’m starting with a ph of 7.8 and if I’m reading the chart roughly right looks about 60% and at 6.8/6.6 looks approximately 90/100 %
Am I reading this right thats with DTPA ?
 
I have never been successful at ei levels, more precisely, I was constantly taking gda like kno3 and no3 type nitrates and now I haven't been taking gda for 2 weeks. What I did here is first we reduced the ca and mg ratio by 10/4 and then kno3 and mgno3 were halved and I am using urea as a complement. I do not base it on nitrate, I base it entirely on Nitrogen and I set the weekly iron rate as 0.175.This was all done with the help of @Happi
 
Thank you for taking the time to read. But now I’m more confused 🫤 I’m going to go away and try to translate what you just told me it’s all the abbreviations that throw me. I’m concerned more at this stage to see if the dry amounts and total dose is enough for 60l (pic above of amounts) I think my light and co2 are pretty good now but the bba has really put me off although I think it’s gone maybe a couple of crypt leaves still getting fuzzy 3d edges(raised) but pluck then off when I see them.
 
Hi,
If you have got access to Excel and you want to learn about fert regimes I can't recommend anything better than to familiarise yourself with the IFC Aquarium Fertilizer Calculator it looks a tad daunting at first but if I can learn it anyone can. You can set your targets and find out the quantity of whichever salts you are using, there's an abundance of other features on there too if your in it for the long haul.
Cheers!
 
That's very good for a first attempt, learning to grow the plants is the biggest leap forward you can make and it appears you are well on your way.
Cheers!
 
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