EI Macro solution turning turbid whitish

[niru]

Hello

I have a concentrated EI macro solution made for auto dosing.
Today I saw that it had turned whitish with some turbidity. As a 1st reaction I panicked thinking it to be fungal stuff. But it's all salts only in tap water. So is it some salts deposited/precipitated out or what?? As I mentioned it's a concentrated dose (~80 teaspoon salts in 3 litre water). It doesn't smell perhaps, though I am not sure.

Thanks in advance.

BTW has anyone used easyLufe fluid filter medium (zeolite stuff) while doing weekly water changes? Mainly for chloramine removals...

 

[ceg4048]

Hi niru,
This might be fungal. You can add 20-25 ml Excel per litre to see if it clears up.

Cheers,

 

[niru]

Hi Ceg

Thanks man! Will do. But doesn't fungal stuff grow in micro soln due to presence of sugars in their chelation complexes? Macros are only salts. Why are they affected?

As always, many thanks.

 

[ceg4048]

Hi mate,
Yes, ordinarily the fungi excrete enzymes to breakdown organic matter and then they absorb the products such as amino acids and glucose, but they also need and absorb metals such as found in minerals, and they certainly need phosphates so they can grow in both micro and macro mixes.

Commercial mixes often use HCl (Hydrochloric acid AKA Muriatic acid) to deter aquatic molds and fungi.

Cheers,

 

[niru]

Ok

so I guess my using tap water + stuff from air helps these weirdos get a foothold in the macro soln from where they flourish. I have added 60 ml EasyCarbo in the macro jar. Do you also recomend the same in micro solution? And no issues about Fe precipitating there when reacting with this liquid carbon source? I have TraceMix from Fluidsensor Online (one of thew Ukaps sponcers) which is EDTA. Those guys were kind enough to also send a sample of DPTA chelated Fe. Easy Carbo is easy to get, HCl is not!

Also, when the fungi are killed by easycarbo, do I need to filter the soln, or let it be as it is? I ask because the jar is in an awkward place below the Juwel tank (hiding behind the CO2 cylinder) and is worth taking out only occasionally.

BTW, can I ask if you are also a professional aquarist (like the Shaman Tom Barr who concocts voodoo potions like EI ) , or a fantastically dedicated hobbist ? Its simply awesome to read what you explain (all sounds very logical & many times obvious after reading, though mysterious before ), but more importantly the efforts and patience you guys have answering all the tom-blahblahblahblah-harry querries! (in business world you would be making millions on this )

-niru

 

[a1Matt]

You will find this page an interesting read.
The ingredients to keep the mix fresh are readily available on ebay.

http://www.jsctech.co.uk/theplantedtank/allinone.htm

 

[niru]

Thanks Matt!

I had seen this all in one solution page. Before going there, I was already a 2 soln EI convert. Hence didnt bother to modify...

Now that I have made 2 auto dosing regimes for macros and micros which have been running last 7 months. Each time the jars ran for about 1 month. To avoid even that refill trouble, I got bigger jars and made more and concentration solutions. Guess the moldy stuff came only now, and that too on the Macros, not micros!! Maybe the Fluidsenson Online trace mix is much better in that respect. Earlier I used EasyLife profito + distilled water as micro, and at the very end got some mold there. But that was time to clean up and replace the jars anyway..

next time I will use distilled water even for macros, and add easycarbo to micro and macro soln.

 

[ceg4048]

Hi niru,
It really doesn't matter whether you use distilled water or tap water. Fungal and mold spores enter the container by air. They can even be attached to the powders themselves, or to the surface of the container or lid. You can store the mix in the fridge as well. There should not be any issues with the Excel and the Fe.

Also, when the fungi are killed by easycarbo, do I need to filter the soln, or let it be as it is? I ask because the jar is in an awkward place below the Juwel tank (hiding behind the CO2 cylinder) and is worth taking out only occasionally.

I guess it depends on what residue remains. Does it clog up the plumbing? is it smelly? That usually means decay and organic waste which is generally not a good thing to pump into the tank.

...BTW, can I ask if you are also a professional aquarist...

Nah, just a fanatic, still working my way up the food chain. Long way to go to get to Shaman level. Content to have reached Level 50 Super Pokemon.

Cheers,

 

[niru]

Many thanks!

Another question : Ceg has been a great proponent of (rightly so) increasing and managing proper flows in the tanks. Most tanks I see here use Hydor or other powerheads to assist the spraybars. My question is what happens if there is too much flow? Of course a tornado will uproot most plants, but less than that how is plant growth/development affected?

Reason I ask is that I have nice bushy growth of plants starting from the middle height upwards. The lower third of the tank see less growth. Moreover foreground plants like grasses etc have pretty hard time propogating and growing nicely. On inspection I see theres too much current swishing past them. Reducing/redirecting the flow of the power head doesnt help as then the upper leaves suffer from poor flow issues. My Tunze powerhead assists the spraybar flow in distributing CO2 nicely throughout the tank, but I am not much successful in growing foreground plants.

(perhaps theres a better forum for this querry??)

Thanks!

-niru

 

[ceg4048]

Hi,
Other than mechanical damage, high velocity lowers the ambient pressures in the vicinity of the leaf thereby making it difficult for nutrients/CO2 to enter the leaf. There is a range of optimal water velocities, somewhere around 2-3 mph. At speeds below the range the boundary layer thickness presents an obstacle and above the range the low pressures and turbulence present an obstacle.

Cheers,